NEW YORK? Just how heavenly is laundering Westin?s new Heavenly Bed linens? Those involved in the process report that it can be challenging although rewarding once the desired results are achieved. Westin last fall introduced the new ?Heavenly Bed? concept which, aside from an expensive, luxurious mattress, also included stark white comforters covered with lush duvets, 250-thread count linens and pillowcases, all complemented with a wrap-around ornate dark trim. At the 891-room Westin in Seattle, which has a total of 1,268 beds, Stephanie Kampas, director of housekeeping, said when the upscale linens arrived last October, life for the housekeeping and laundry staff changed dramatically, since caring for the product takes more time than ordinary bedding. But, she said, the results are worth it. ?The scores are going up in the guestrooms, because of the way the bed offsets the whole room. It makes it all look so fresh,? she said, noting that she is ?proud as punch? at the teamwork that goes into making the beds look so strikingly inviting and heavenly. ?The end result can?t look like it is sloppily produced, or we would lose the value of the money Westin put into the bed,? she said. Getting that bedding so clean and crisp and white isn?t easy, and behind the scenes, Kampas has been revising her strategy as she goes along in order to find the most efficient way to launder and press all of the components of the Heavenly Bed. ?I can?t say we are perfect at this point, but we do know a few hints,? said Kampas, who is always seeking to speed up the laundering process while maintaining the quality of the beds? look. ?In laundering, the pie is divided into time, chemicals and equipment,? she said. ?Depending on what you have, you have to move something in order to get results. For us, it is time,? she added. ?We have slowed the laundry production from 95 pounds per associate per hour to 76,? she said, adding that the hotel produces 10,000 to 15,000 pounds of linen a day. One of the challenges is caused by the different types of linen on the bed. Three sheets are involved, two of them of a 180-thread count, one a 250-count. The higher thread-count sheets absorb more water, and therefore take more time to dry on the hotel?s six-roll ironer, and as a result, slow down the entire laundering process. Kampas said the solution to that is to either have the housekeeping staff sort the linens as they change the beds, or to simply wash it all together and separate it as it enters the ironing phase. Either way, time becomes an issue. NEW YORK? Just how heavenly is laundering Westin?s new Heavenly Bed linens? Those involved in the process report that it can be challenging although rewarding once the desired results are achieved. Westin last fall introduced the new ?Heavenly Bed? concept which, aside from an expensive, luxurious mattress, also included stark white comforters covered with lush duvets, 250-thread count linens and pillowcases, all complemented with a wrap-around ornate dark trim. At the 891-room Westin in Seattle, which has a total of 1,268 beds, Stephanie Kampas, director of housekeeping, said when the upscale linens arrived last October, life for the housekeeping and laundry staff changed dramatically, since caring for the product takes more time than ordinary bedding. But, she said, the results are worth it. ?The scores are going up in the guestrooms, because of the way the bed offsets the whole room. It makes it all look so fresh,? she said, noting that she is ?proud as punch? at the teamwork that goes into making the beds look so strikingly inviting and heavenly. ?The end result can?t look like it is sloppily produced, or we would lose the value of the money Westin put into the bed,? she said. Getting that bedding so clean and crisp and white isn?t easy, and behind the scenes, Kampas has been revising her strategy as she goes along in order to find the most efficient way to launder and press all of the components of the Heav
