St Martins Lodge is a 28-room boutique hotel located across the road from the famous Leicester Cathedral where Richard III is buried. The Diocese of Leicester owns the hotel, and all proceeds from the hotel are used to fund the charitable contributions of the Church.

Last year, the team chose to focus on the capability and reliability of its linen supply service. After extensive research, a transformative relationship with CLEAN was formed, founded on open communication and trust.

The team at St Martins Lodge embraced the alignment with CLEAN, resulting in a further improvement in sustainability, guest comfort, and housekeeping operations. In this case study, Sinade Hartley, Operations Manager, and Simon Wilson, Finance Director, explain the relationship between St Martin Lodge and CLEAN, unpacking the key insights behind their success.

What Makes St Martins Hotel Different

St Martins Lodge has secured a unique offering in Leicester’s hospitality sector; a peaceful retreat where guests can enjoy their own space while still having access to the attractions from the city centre, right from the front door. Each room is uniquely designed, most of which have direct views of the Leicester Cathedral.

Understanding the guests' experience is the management team’s main focus at St Martin Lodge’. First impressions are everything, and bed linen is fundamental in this respect. Efficiency in linen turnover is essential to maintaining room readiness without excess stock.

The hotel is also committed to sustainability. ‘Hotels for Trees’ is an initiative that involves giving each guest the option to forgo the room cleaning service. Guests simply hang a simple door sign on the door handle, informing the housekeeping team to skip their room. In return, the hotel promises to plant a tree instead. What a wonderful way to give back to the earth and still maintain high hotel standards.

The Challenge

Over the years, the hotel has become increasingly popular with leisure and business guests alike. Unfortunately, St Martin’s Lodge started to experience poor service from their previous linen supplier. The housekeeping team were left in the lurch with unreliable deliveries on several occasions, particularly around bank holidays. This forced the team to place orders for additional items that were neither cost-effective nor sustainable. The housekeeping staff were spending too much time counting, sorting and checking linen deliveries – it simply wasn’t working. It became clear that a change was needed. Not just a new supplier, but a partner who could truly align with the lodge’s ethos and operational requirements.

The Solution

After careful consideration of several alternative suppliers, St Martins Lodge selected CLEAN as its new linen partner. CLEAN’s combination of quality bed linen, scalability, and agility aligned perfectly with the lodge’s business ambitions. CLEAN proposed using the Oria brand of bed linen and towelling ranges. This premium product presented the visual and tactile quality that the lodge desired. Oria offers a 300 thread count with a 100% cotton Sateen weave. Luxurious and comfortable, the bedding is easy to handle, which is great news for the housekeeping team.

Logistically, CLEAN’s network of seven national laundries across the UK provided the resilience needed to manage peak periods, last-minute surges, and holiday schedules without compromise.

Onboarding

The switch to CLEAN was carefully planned and executed to avoid disrupting the guests already booked to stay at St Martin Lodge. The first step was a full audit of the hotel’s linen requirements, leading to a tailored stock plan that accounted for in-use, reserve, and emergency items.

CLEAN’s onboarding team ensured that the linen from the previous supplier was removed from the beds and carefully stored for collection. The team worked seamlessly with the Lodge housekeepers to install the fresh new linen and provided valuable training on how to maintain good stock levels.

After the installation was complete, CLEAN ensured that regular communication with St Martins lodge was conducted to provide any additional support. This process is embedded into every installation conducted by CLEAN to instill confidence in our customers that they have made the right decision in joining CLEAN.

The Result

CLEAN has now been the proud linen supplier to St Martin’s lodge for the last year. We provide fresh, hygienically clean linen to the Lodge on a regular, dependable schedule. As a result, the Lodge enjoys a seamless service that happens in the background without disrupting any operations. Guest reviews have subsequently improved, and the housekeeping team feels secure that they will always have quick access to linen, even during unforeseen spikes in hotel occupancy.