In the Gulf, some of the busiest weeks of the year are tied to Ramadan, Eid and the Hajj and Umrah seasons. Occupancy rises, banquets and events fill the calendar, and linen and towels go through the laundry more often than usual. A hotel that waits until the rush to find out its stock is thin has very little room to fix it.
Start from your own calendar, not last year’s
Ramadan and Hajj follow the Islamic lunar calendar, so they arrive roughly ten to eleven days earlier in the Gregorian calendar each year. A plan copied from last year will be off. Confirm the dates for the coming season, add your own booking pace and event schedule, and fix the date by which stock must be on the shelves, washed and ready.
Audit what you actually have
Before ordering anything, count stock by category: sets in use on beds, sets in the laundry cycle, and sets in storage. Then check condition, not only quantity.
- Towels that have gone thin, rough or grey, and sheets with worn seams or pilling, are the first to replace
- Mattress and pillow protectors with failing waterproofing or elastic
- Robes, slippers and amenity items you will need in larger numbers during peak weeks
- Table linen and napkins, if your property hosts iftar, suhoor or event banquets
Match the stock to the season
Peak weeks load different items differently. Higher occupancy means more bed changes and bath towels every day. Evening banquets during Ramadan raise the use of tablecloths and napkins, which are washed after every service. Properties that host pilgrims and visitors may run at high occupancy for long stretches, with little time for the laundry to catch up. Think about which items run out first, and hold a reserve for those.
Work backwards from the date you need the stock
Write the plan from the end. Start with the date the stock must be in place, then subtract each step: first wash and sorting, receiving and checking, transport and customs clearance, production, and approval of a sample. Ask your supplier for the production and shipping time in writing, and add a margin for the unexpected. If a step is longer than you assumed, you will see it while there is still time to react.
Top up without breaking your specification
Peak-season top-ups are where mismatches creep in: a slightly different white, a different weight, a towel that looks right on the shelf but washes differently. Keep your approved sample as the reference and ask for the same specification in the new order.
- Re-order against the approved sample, not from memory
- Check size, weight per piece and colour against your existing stock
- Test a sample through your own wash cycle before approving the order
Settle the import side early
If you are importing, confirm duties, documents and labelling requirements with your customs broker, and agree who handles clearance. A delay at the border costs as much as a delay in production.
What to include in your request
- Property type, number of rooms and the country and city of delivery
- Products and quantities per product, remembering that our minimum order is 100 pieces per product
- The date the stock must be in place, and whether you need a sample first
- Any specification you need to match
If you are planning for the coming season, send us your requirements through the Request a Quote form. Our team will respond with the specification, the sample options and the next steps. HADARA Hospitality is based in Istanbul and is developing its partnership network in Gulf hospitality markets.