Pool Towels for Holiday Lets: A Buying Guide

Pool towels for holiday lets have a completely different purchasing profile from hotel or hostel towels. The holiday let manager operates on tighter margins, without their own laundry staff in most cases, with a significantly higher risk of towel loss than in a hotel — where control is more systematic — and with guests who in many cases treat the holiday let as a second home and have quality expectations similar to those of a mid-category hotel.

This guide explains which criteria take priority when buying pool towels for holiday lets, which formats and weights make sense in this context, how to manage stock and losses, and what distinguishes a good supplier of towels for holiday accommodation from a generic one.

The Holiday Let Context: Differences from the Hotel

Without Own Laundry

Most holiday let managers do not have their own industrial laundry. Towels are washed in domestic or semi-industrial machines, taken to external laundries or included in the cleaning service.

Towels must withstand frequent washes in domestic machines — at a minimum of 60°C to guarantee hygiene — without loss of shape or colour. Fabrics requiring special care — low-temperature washing, no spin — make no sense in this context.

Drying time matters. In a holiday let without an industrial tumble dryer, towels must dry in a reasonable time. Very high weights — above 600 g/m² — take too long to dry between guest changeovers.

Higher Risk of Losses

The pool towel in a holiday let is the item with the greatest risk of not being returned. The most efficient solution is not to buy very cheap towels — which communicate low quality and generate a poorer guest experience — but to manage the inventory with a deposit system or include the replacement cost in the stay price.

Colour differentiation — pool towels in a different colour from bath towels — facilitates visual inventory control at every check-out and reduces losses from confusion.

Guest Expectations

The holiday let guest has growing textile quality expectations. Short-term rental platforms — Airbnb, Booking, VRBO — allow specific ratings for cleanliness and linen quality, and a poor rating in this area directly affects the listing's visibility and future income.

Formats: Which Pool Towels for Holiday Lets

Pool or Beach Towel (70x140 cm — 80x160 cm)

The pool towel is the most common format in holiday lets with pool access. Its size — significantly larger than the standard bath towel — allows it to be used both on the sun lounger and for comfortably drying off after swimming.

Recommended weight: 400–500 g/m². Below 400 g/m², the towel is too thin for use on a sun lounger; above 500 g/m², drying time is too long for the holiday let changeover cycle.

Large Bath Towel (70x140 cm)

Some holiday lets offer the same towel for bathroom and pool use in a large format that serves both purposes. The most economical option in stock terms — one towel type for two uses — but may generate more rotation and wear.

Sarong or Microfibre Towel as a Complement

Some lower-positioned holiday lets offer microfibre towels as pool towels: lighter, cheaper and easier to wash and dry. Their disadvantage is the feel — microfibre against wet skin generates more friction than cotton — and a lower quality perception.

Materials: Standard Cotton vs Terry

Standard Terry Cotton

Standard terry cotton is the most common material in holiday let pool towels. It offers the most suitable balance between absorbency, durability in frequent domestic laundering and unit cost.

Velour terry for holiday lets: the velour towel is particularly suitable for pool use because its smooth face is more resistant to sand and the rough edges of sun loungers, and its impeccable appearance withstands intensive laundering cycles better.

Polyester-Cotton Blend or Microfibre

These options dry faster — relevant when there are frequent guest changeovers — and are lighter. Their disadvantage is lower absorbency.

Stock Management: How Many Towels the Holiday Let Needs

Per guest: 1 pool towel per person per stay as a minimum. For stays of more than 3–4 days, a second towel or a mid-stay changeover service may be necessary.

Minimum total stock: maximum number of guests × 2. With double the minimum stock, there are always clean towels available while the previous set is being laundered.

Margin for losses: add 15–20% additional stock to cover estimated annual losses.

For managers of multiple properties: centralising stock in a single storage location and distributing between units is more efficient than independent stock per property.

Colour in Holiday Let Pool Towels

White: communicates cleanliness and hygiene but shows sun cream stains more easily — the main cause of pool towel deterioration.

Mid-tone colour (blue, green, terracotta): conceals sun cream stains better and facilitates visual differentiation of pool towels from bath towels. The most practical option for most holiday lets.

Note on dyes: choose fabrics with high colourfastness to both washing and chlorine — pool chlorine is one of the main agents of towel colour fading — to prevent towels losing colour in the first few washes.