Linen PAR calculator
Linen par level
Calculate the right linen PAR (Periodic Automatic Replacement) for your property in seconds, covering rooms, laundry turnaround, safety stock and a seasonality buffer so housekeeping never runs out.
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Inputs
Your linen PAR
, sets
Linen PAR = (Occupied Rooms × Sets per Room × Turnaround Days) + Safety Buffer
What is a linen PAR level?
In hospitality, PAR (Periodic Automatic Replacement) is the standard number of linen sets you hold in inventory to service every room while accounting for what’s in use, what’s in laundry and what’s on the shelf. It’s the number that decides whether housekeeping ever gets caught short.
The industry rule of thumb is 3–5 PAR: one set in rooms, one set in laundry, one to three in storage or rotation. The reality varies dramatically by property size, occupancy pattern, change policy, laundry turnaround, loss rate and seasonal swing.
The classic 3–5 PAR breakdown
- 1 PAR in rooms (currently dressed on beds).
- 1 PAR in laundry (washed, drying, folded, in transit).
- 1–3 PAR in storage / rotation (clean, on the shelf, ready to deploy).
Linen PAR formula
Formula
Linen PAR = (Occupied Rooms × Sets per Room × Turnaround Days) + Safety Buffer
- Occupied rooms
- Average daily occupied rooms during the period being planned for.
- Sets per room
- Linen sets used per change (sheets, pillowcases, towels, etc.).
- Turnaround days
- Time from soiled drop-off to clean return on the shelf.
- Safety buffer
- Slack for occupancy spikes, breakage and missed laundry cycles, typically 20–30%.
Why getting PAR right matters
Too little linen and housekeeping runs short on a peak-occupancy day. Too much and you’ve trapped working capital in a stockroom and committed to storage you don’t need. The right PAR sits at the intersection of operational reliability and inventory cost, and it shifts seasonally.
It’s also a sustainability lever: lower PAR means fewer textiles in circulation, less storage, less laundry chemical and lower replacement cycles. Properties that tighten PAR aggressively often see meaningful drops in laundry and supplies cost lines.
Strategies to optimise linen PAR
- Tighten PAR seasonally rather than holding peak-season levels year-round.
- Move to in-house laundry on properties large enough to justify it. Turnaround drops to hours, PAR drops with it.
- Route high-wear items (towels, pool towels) through a separate cycle so they don’t bottleneck the bed-linen cycle.
- Track loss/damage rate by item monthly and adjust buffer accordingly. Stop guessing.
- Standardise on fewer linen sizes/styles so par-level slack works across more rooms.
Common questions about Linen PAR.
PAR stands for Periodic Automatic Replacement. It’s the number of complete linen sets required to service every room while covering items currently in use, in the laundry cycle and held in storage.
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