NEW YORK— The on-premise laundry at the Four Seasons Hotel New York is a busy place, processing up to 15,000 pounds of laundry on a daily basis. “We do all in-house laundry including everything from the guestrooms— the bedding and terry items— as well as all linens from the meeting space,” said Anjani Dhanna, laundry manager for the hotel, which has 364 guestrooms and 9,584 square feet of meeting and function space. Additionally, the facility handles all laundry from the hotel’s 5,000-square-foot spa and fitness center. Located on the hotel’s third below-ground level, the 4,000-square-foot laundry facility is equipped with three 250-pound washers by Braun and one 85-pound machine by Washex. It also has two 150-pound dryers by Ajax and one 250-pound tumbler by Challenger. Other equipment includes an ironer and folder by Braun. The Four Seasons has a good-sized staff for the laundry operation, Dhanna noted. “We have 11 people on the day shift which runs from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. and four people on the evening shift from 2:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.,” she said. “In addition, we have a valet department working around the clock. There are eight people on the day shift, eight people on the evening shift and there is also an overnight shift.” When assessing the advantages of an on-premise laundry facility, Dhanna was quick to point out what she sees as the biggest benefit. “It’s the immediate turnaround which is very important if there is a shortage of linens for the rooms. There would be a 24-hour turnaround if the laundry was sent out,” she said. Another advantage of an on-premise facility is “the reliability of our quality,” noted Ilse Harley, director of rooms at the Four Seasons. “If we sent it out, we would be depending on a third party to meet our expectations which is sometimes difficult to do,” Harley said. “We feel we can do it better,” Dhanna added. As for challenges in the laundry operation, “how fast we can turn it around is the top challenge,” Dhanna said. “In addition to that, it’s keeping the staff motivated.” She noted that daily meetings are held to encourage efficiency and to suggest ways for employees to work more efficiently.