Uniforms for hotels and guest houses

A good hotel uniform plan dresses each team for its job while keeping one look that guests recognise anywhere in the building. Here is how to approach it. Start with the brand.

One brand, five departments

Start with a colour palette and a single logo treatment, then choose the right garment for each role. Reception might wear blouses, shirts and knitwear with ties or scarves. Housekeeping needs tabards or tunics with stretch. Restaurant staff wear aprons over shirts. Maintenance wears polos and work trousers. Porters and night staff need something warm and smart for the front door.

When every department uses the same colour and logo, guests can identify any member of staff, even if they are only passing in the corridor.

• Reception: blouses, shirts, knitwear, ties and scarves
• Housekeeping: tunics or tabards, comfortable trousers
• Food and beverage: shirts, aprons, chef jackets
• Maintenance: polos, work trousers, safety footwear

Housekeeping works hardest

Room attendants bend, stretch and lift all shift, and use cleaning chemicals in small bathrooms. Tunics and tabards with stretch panels and pockets for keys and cloths are more practical than shirts. Fabrics need to survive frequent washing at high temperatures. Give enough sets for each person to change daily, plus spares for busy weekends. Pockets for a pen and phone save trips back to the trolley.

Small guest houses and B and Bs

A guest house run by a couple and one or two staff does not need a formal uniform. A smart embroidered polo or blouse with a matching apron for breakfast service is enough to look professional and make the business feel established. It also helps guests know who to ask when the owners are not around. Add a fleece for outdoor jobs.

Where to put your logo

Hotels suit embroidery throughout. A small, refined logo on the left chest of blouses, shirts and knitwear looks right at reception. Housekeeping tunics take the same logo for consistency, and adding a first name under the logo helps guests address staff. Use the same thread colours on every garment. Embroidered towels and robes in guest rooms extend the brand beyond the uniform.

Ordering for hotels and guest houses

Most hotels and guest houses start with women's blouses and shirts, oxford work shirts and jumpers and knitwear. You can order from one garment and add more as you take people on. The logo price drops at 9 and again at 25 garments, and every garment with a small logo counts towards it, so mixing styles and colours still gets the better price. Before anything is made, we embroider an actual sample of your logo and email you a photo to approve, or you can pop in to our Hull workshop to see it.