Hotels: Ordering Jackets & Outerwear in Bulk
By The Velocity Wear Team
Hotel outerwear is judged on how it looks after the laundry, not on how it looks on the sample rail. Doormen, valets, grounds staff and spa teams all need something guest-facing that survives a commercial wash cycle. Outerwear is quoted against the spec you send, fifty pieces per design, and towels usually sit on the same order.
What does a guest-facing jacket look like after laundry?
That depends entirely on the decoration. Commercial laundry is hotter and harsher than anything domestic, and a printed mark on a shell will craze long before the fabric gives out. Embroidery is the method that survives it, which is why nearly every hotel jacket carries a stitched crest rather than a print. Keep the mark small and high on the chest, where it stays flat through a press.
Colour matters as much. Deep navy, charcoal and black hold their depth through repeated cycles; mid-tones and brights fade unevenly and start to look tired next to a newer garment.
Which hotel teams need outerwear?
The ones who work at the threshold. Doormen and valets are outside for a shift at a time and need a proper shell rather than a suit jacket. Grounds and maintenance teams need something that layers. Spa and pool staff need a light jacket between treatments rather than a coat. Front desk rarely needs outerwear at all, which is where hotel budgets are usually wasted.
Custom apparel for hotels covers the rest of the uniform list and how it is usually split by department.
How do jackets sit alongside the linen order?
Put them on the same cycle. Towels are quoted per job like outerwear, and a hotel that orders both together runs one artwork approval and one delivery rather than two of each. Our wholesale towels page covers the spa and pool side, and the shells are on the wholesale jackets page.
The practical reason to separate them afterwards is stock rotation. Linen turns over far faster than uniform, so a hotel that pegs its jacket reorder to a linen order ends up with far too many jackets. Order them together once, then reorder them on different clocks.
How many jackets does a hotel need to order?
Fifty per design is the floor, and a single property rarely needs fifty of one role. The answer most hotels reach is one shell across every outdoor role, differentiated by nothing more than an embroidered department line under the crest — and even that is a separate design, so most drop it. Groups clear fifty across properties easily and land in a better tier, with discounts rising to 35% from the fifty-piece price. Production takes 10–15 working days once artwork is approved, and delivery follows.
How should a hotel specify the order?
In writing, department by department, before asking for a price. A specification that names the role, the shell, the colour, the decoration and the quantity gets a quote that can be compared; a request for a price on hotel jackets does not. Include the laundry the garments will go through, because that changes what should be recommended.
Decide the sizing policy at the same time. Doormen and valets should be measured, since the garment is worn for a full shift in public view. Grounds and maintenance kit can be issued on nominal sizes from stock. Mixing the two approaches on one order is fine, provided the size split reflects it.
Then agree how replacements are handled and who holds the spare stock. Housekeeping usually ends up as the de facto store, which works only if somebody records what leaves it.
