The labor shortage has put the guest laundry amenity on the back burner for many hotels. They can’t afford to have a team member working in the laundry room when there are areas that would be better served.
Rumby, a Cincinnati-based startup, has launched a DaaS (delivery as a service)-enabled e-commerce platform for laundry and dry cleaning. One could consider it the Uber Eats or Postmates of laundry.
Ben Cantey Rumby
The company’s Rumby Exchange connects hotels with a network of dry cleaners and laundry facilities so that guests’ needs are handled offsite, freeing up team members to work in other positions on property.
The company was founded in early 2020 at the height of the pandemic, when shutdowns kept people in their homes.
“COVID created massive growth for on-demand delivery services like Instacart and Postmates,” said Ben Cantey, founder/CEO, Rumby. “We recognized laundry and dry cleaning as one of the last brick-and-mortar businesses to be disrupted by Software as a Service (SaaS). Rumby was born to offer an e-commerce platform that brings dry cleaners and laundromats online and connects them to individuals.”
Shortly after, Hotel x Rumby was created for the hotel industry. It brings guest laundry into the Internet of Things (IoT) era.
“Rumby offers a technology solution to replace a very outdated process,” said Cantey. “Currently, local hotel managers must either source a local cleaner or manage cleaning in-house. Rumby either integrates with the hotel’s current cleaner or procures one locally, essentially removing cleaner management and interaction from the hotel’s responsibilities.”
Hotel clients are equipped with printed materials with QR codes, which are placed in guestrooms and public areas. Rumby also provides laundry bags into which guests put their dirty items.
After scanning the Rumby Exchange QR code, guests are taken to the mobile interface, where they can place their orders.
“Guests scan the code and go to a hotel-specific checkout page to setup their laundry order and receive a tracking link,” said Cantey. “Guests put only their room number on the laundry bag and leave at the front desk. A driver will pick up the order and drop it back off at the front desk when it is complete. The driver’s only contact is with the front desk. The hotel can then add a personal touch when delivering the order.”
Both hotel staff and guests can track laundry orders using a browser-based platform, and Rumby sends back a revenue share to the hotel on every guest order placed.
Cantey noted that the company is approaching 100 hotels on the Rumby platform, adding, “These are privately managed properties operating under the brand flags of Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Marriott and more.”
The CEO pointed out that Rumby now also offers staff laundry capability. “Properties can send off employee laundry using the services and individual employees can manage and place orders themselves,” said Cantey
