A hotel laundry attendant washes, dries, irons and folds the hotel's sheets, towels, pool towels, tablecloths and napkins in its own laundry. They sort soiled linen, run washer-extractors, dryers and the flatwork ironer, pull stained or torn pieces, and keep housekeeping and banquets supplied on time.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Laundry Attendants wash, dry, fold and press every sheet, towel, tablecloth and napkin the hotel uses. You'll sort soiled linen, run commercial washers, dryers and the ironer, handle chemicals and lint safely, and get clean linen to housekeeping and banquets on time so rooms and events aren't held up.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Sort soiled linen by type and stain, and pull stained or torn pieces for treatment or rag-out.
Load and run commercial washers and dryers on the right program for each linen type.
Feed sheets, pillowcases and tablecloths through the flatwork ironer and fold them to standard.
Handle laundry chemicals with gloves and eye protection, follow the Safety Data Sheets and report dispenser problems.
Clean dryer lint screens on schedule and let every load finish its cool-down cycle to prevent dryer fires.
Count linen going out and coming back, and keep shelves at par.
Wash banquet and restaurant linen to match the event schedule.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Collect soiled linen from chutes and carts and count or weigh it in.
Run sheets and towels first for the morning's checkouts.
Re-wash anything that comes out stained, gray or damp.
Log chemical levels, machine problems and linen damage.
Clean machines, floors and folding tables at the end of the shift.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Linen delivered to floors on time: [your target].
Re-wash rate: [your target].
Pounds processed per labor hour: [your target].
Linen loss and rag-out: [your target].
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Follows written steps for machines, chemicals and sorting.
Catches stains, tears and damp linen before it leaves the laundry.
Keeps up with heavy volume and keeps the work area clean.
Follows safety rules for hot equipment and chemicals every time.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in a hotel, hospital or commercial laundry.
Has run a flatwork ironer or folding machine.
Can handle basic machine problems, such as clearing jams and checking dispensers.
7. Physical Requirements
Lift wet linen and bags up to [50] pounds and load machines at waist and shoulder height.
Stand for most of an [8]-hour shift in a hot, humid room.
Repeat folding and feeding motions for long periods.
With or without reasonable accommodation.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Shifts of [6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.] and [2 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.], including weekends and holidays.
Hot, humid and noisy laundry room with industrial machines and chemicals.
Protective gear provided: gloves, aprons and eye protection.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Pay: [range and hourly or salary basis].
Additional pay: [overtime, bonus or incentive terms, or none].
Benefits: [health, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and when they start].
10. Company Culture and Overview
[Two or three sentences on what your company does, the area you serve, and the support a new laundry attendant gets in the first 90 days.]
11. How to Apply
[Apply link or email]. Our process: [phone interview, in-person interview, and next steps]. Contact [hiring contact] if you need an accommodation during the application process.
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Commercial laundries wash big batches for many customers. A hotel laundry runs on the hotel's own clock: checkout sheets in the morning, pool towels all afternoon, and banquet linen whenever the event calendar says.
Sheets first, because rooms are waiting
Beds get stripped all morning, and attendants can't make them up without clean sheets. The laundry runs sheets and bath towels for checkouts first, then turns to pool towels, kitchen rags and banquet linen as events need them. When a washer goes down at nine, housekeeping feels it by noon.
Oily towels can catch fire after drying
Spa, massage and kitchen towels can hold oils that washing doesn't fully remove. New Zealand's fire service reported tea towels that burst into flame two hours after a laundry stopped the dryer early and left them in the drum. Its advice: let every load finish the full cycle, cool-down included, and spread out fabrics that may hold oil so heat can escape. Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Heads Up 13: Spontaneous combustion with organic oils.
Laundry machines have their own OSHA rule
OSHA's rule for laundry machines requires a way to hold washer and dryer doors open while they are loaded and unloaded. Safety devices come off only for immediate repairs or adjustments, and go back on as soon as the work is done. Workers must be taught the hazards of the job through bulletins, printed rules and spoken instructions. Source: 29 CFR 1910.264: Laundry machinery and operations (Cornell LII).
Soiled linen gets handled with care
The same OSHA rule says workers who handle soiled laundry must be warned not to touch their eyes, mouth or broken skin, and not to eat until they wash their hands. Needles and broken glass sometimes turn up in sheets, so sort with gloves on and never reach blindly into a bag. Source: 29 CFR 1910.264: Laundry machinery and operations (Cornell LII).
Laundry heat and California's indoor rule
Dryers and the ironer make a laundry hot and humid. California's indoor heat rule covers indoor work areas at 82 degrees or more while employees are there, with water, cool-down areas and training. At 87 degrees (air temperature or heat index), or at 82 in a high radiant heat area, the employer must also measure the heat and take steps to cut it. Outside California, check your state's rules. Source: Cal/OSHA Title 8, section 3396: Heat illness prevention in indoor places of employment.
How much hotel laundry attendants make
The closest BLS group for hotel laundry attendants is laundry and Dry-Cleaning workers. Laundry and Dry-Cleaning workers who work for hotels, resorts, and motels earned a median of $16.65 an hour ($34,640 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $34,890 median for laundry and Dry-Cleaning workers in all industries. About 39,870 of the 198,040 laundry and Dry-Cleaning workers in that survey work for hotels and resorts.
Hourly with overtime. Some hotels add a shift differential for the late shift.
Hotels and resorts
$34,640$34,640 median Middle half $29,710–$37,580 10th–90th $27,470–$43,920
All industries
$34,890$34,890 median Middle half $30,360–$37,560 10th–90th $27,440–$43,190
$20k$30k$40k$50k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Hotels and resorts
$27,470
$29,710
$34,640
$37,580
$43,920
All industries
$27,440
$30,360
$34,890
$37,560
$43,190
BLS groups hotels, resorts and motels as traveler accommodation. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Follows the wash program and chemical steps exactly, load after load
Catches stains, tears and damp spots before linen leaves the laundry
Keeps pace on a heavy checkout morning without skipping steps
Cleans lint screens, floors and folding tables during the shift, not just at the end
Counts carefully: pieces out, pieces back and what went to rag
Teach these on the job
Your wash formulas by linen type and stain
Feeding and folding on the flatwork ironer
Your chemical dispenser's alarms and when to call the supplier
Sorting rules for spa, kitchen and pool towels
Par levels and the banquet linen schedule
Hotel laundries run washer-extractors, large tumble dryers, a flatwork ironer that may have a feeder and folder, and an automatic chemical dispenser serviced by a supplier. List your machines in the posting, because someone who has fed an ironer before starts closer to full speed than a towel folder does.
Hotel laundry attendant interview questions
They have their own page: 6 questions that test this job, what strong and weak answers sound like, and a work exercise to run with your finalists.
Your machines and occupancy decide the targets. An older ironer or a short-staffed weekend changes what a shift can turn out.
Linen delivered to floors on time
Log when clean sheets and towels reach the linen room or floors against when housekeeping needed them, each day. Write down each late day and what caused it, like a machine down.
Re-wash rate
Pieces sent back through the wash divided by pieces processed, by linen type, from a tally kept at the folding table. A rising rate can point to wash formulas, chemicals or overloaded machines.
Pounds processed per labor hour
Weigh soiled linen in, or use load counts from the machines, and divide by laundry hours from the time clock. Line up weeks that had about the same occupancy and banquet volume.
Linen loss and rag-out
Pieces pulled for rag plus pieces missing at the monthly count, by type. Keep stains and tears separate from linen that never came back, such as pool towels.
Career path
Laundry attendantWashes, dries, irons and folds the hotel's linen.
Laundry lead or laundry supervisorSchedules the laundry, trains attendants and calls in machine repairs.
Not always. The template lists hotel, hospital or commercial laundry work as a plus. What you can't easily teach is care: following the steps on every load and catching a stain before it reaches a bed. Running the ironer and reading the chemical system can be learned in the first weeks.
How much does a hotel laundry attendant make?
Laundry and Dry-Cleaning workers who work for hotels, resorts, and motels earned a median of $16.65 an hour ($34,640 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $29,710 and $37,580 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Should a hotel run its own laundry or send it out?
It depends on space, machines, utilities and staff. An on-site laundry gives you control over turnaround and quality, and lets you rewash a stained sheet the same day. Sending linen out frees up space and people but ties you to a delivery schedule. Some hotels split it, washing terry in house and sending out sheets.
Does a laundry attendant also wash banquet linen?
At hotels with banquets, usually yes. Tablecloths and napkins come back with wine, wax and food stains, and they're often needed again the next day. The laundry plans around the event schedule, and colored linen is sorted and washed apart from white. Ask candidates if they've handled stain treatment for table linen.
Who provides the gloves, aprons and eye protection?
The employer. OSHA requires employers to assess the hazards and, where gear is needed, pick protective equipment that fits each worker and provide it at no cost. The employer also pays to replace it, except when a worker loses it or damages it on purpose. In a hotel laundry, the chemicals and hot machines are what call for it.
