Most of Patel’s properties are franchises of larger brands and require conforming to brand standards. Patel typically orders items from an approved vendor, which previously took about 48 hours to arrive.
“Now, it can take months,” he says. “You’re lucky to get it within three weeks.”
Towels are typically reordered every other month, as they get discolored after enough use (and some just disappear). Yet, bulky items like these are tough to stockpile, since most hotels have limited storage space.
“We’ll have a family of four use all the towels in the morning, and then ask for a second set in the evening,” he says. “Sometimes we just don’t have enough.”
Amid the coffee cup shortage, Patel had to send an employee to Costco to buy whatever cups they could find. “With basic necessities, it’s hard to tell a customer, ‘We don’t have that,’ so sometimes you just have to make it work,” he says.
