What hospitality businesses need from us
Hotels and restaurants operate under conditions that other B2B sectors do not encounter: hot kitchens, sauces, wine, daily industrial laundry at 60-90 °C, frequent staff changes with short-notice reorders.
- Embroidery boil-proof to 90 °C — readable even after 100 industrial wash cycles
- OEKO-TEX Standard 100 for selected brands — e.g. Stanley/Stella, Stedman and Russell, tested for harmful substances and skin-friendly
- Easy reorders — embroidery file kept on file, single pieces reorderable any time (embroidery: 8–12 working days production plus shipping)
- Full range of aprons, chef jackets, polos, shirts, vests, caps
- Food-safe inks when printing on contact areas
- Multi-address shipping for hotel groups and restaurant chains
For a fully coordinated outfit stack across kitchen brigade, service crew and reception team, see the dedicated sub-hub Hospitality Workwear Full Set with Karlowsky chef jackets (HACCP-compliant), Russell polos, Beechfield caps and Kustom Kit reception shirts. For hotel-specific reception crews (front desk, concierge, spa and housekeeping) with gold/silver/mercerized embroidery for boutique hotels, see Hotel Reception Crew Uniform.
Which finishing process fits hospitality?
The choice is clear: embroidery dominates in hospitality because it withstands heat, grease and industrial laundry better than any print.
- Embroidery — first choice for aprons, chef jackets, polos and shirts. We use Madeira yarns with high heat resistance that survive mangle ironing and hot tumble drying without colour loss. Recommended size: 7 x 5 cm chest logo, larger on apron bibs.
- Screen printing — economical for promotional aprons with large logos, cocktail bar promo shirts or event apparel away from the kitchen. Use plastisol printing with food-safe pigments.
- DTF printing — useful for complex logos on dark aprons or functional fabrics. Withstands industrial laundry at 60 °C.
Embroidery is also the only process accepted as visually premium in upscale hospitality — an embroidered logo on the apron looks considerably more refined than a print.
Recommended brands and styles
- Karlowsky aprons — restaurant classic, many cuts and colours
- B&C Pro Performance Polo 110 — boil-proof polos for service staff
- B&C Inspire Plus — organic polo for service in sustainability-focused restaurants
- Stanley/Stella Vibes — modern organic t-shirts for café crews and bartenders
For aprons and chef jackets we recommend 65/35 polycotton blend — boil-proof, dimensionally stable, less wrinkling under mangle ironing. Pure cotton is possible but more care-intensive.
Volume discount and pricing
Hospitality orders vary in size: a café with 6 aprons, a restaurant with 25, a hotel chain with 200. We calculate transparently: the tier applies to the garments per style — all sizes and colours of one style count together.
| Quantity | Discount | Typical use case (hospitality) |
|---|---|---|
| from 3 pcs | 3 % | Mini crew, pilot order |
| from 20 pcs | 10 % | Restaurant, mid-sized café |
| from 50 pcs | 15 % | Larger restaurant, small hotel |
| from 100 pcs | 25 % | Hotel with multiple departments, restaurant chain |
| from 200 pcs | 30 % | Restaurant group, hotel chain with multiple properties |
| from 500 pcs | 32 % | Major event, festival, corporate rollout |
Different styles (e.g. aprons, polos, chef jackets) are tiered separately. Embroidery, printing and digitising are excluded from the volume discount.
Real-world example orders
- Restaurant chain with five locations — 60 bistro aprons Karlowsky in two colours with embroidery (logo chest and lettering on the back). Delivery to all five locations coordinated, 11 working days production.
- Hotel with 80 rooms — 40 polo shirts Russell Performance for reception and service plus 20 aprons for the breakfast room. Embroidery on polos, embroidery and print combined on aprons.
- Café-bar in Berlin — 18 t-shirts Stanley/Stella Vibes (organic cotton) plus 12 bartender aprons. Small order with DTG digital print due to detail-rich café logo.
How reorders work
Staff turnover is frequent in hospitality — a new server, a new chef, a lost polo. We have a simple process:
- You send your need by email or phone with quantity and size
- We use your stored data — style, colour, logo position, embroidery file
- Delivery like any embroidery order — 8–12 working days production plus shipping (1–2 working days within Germany)
- Invoice referencing the original order — no new mockup needed; digitising is charged as on every order
This routine saves you coordination effort. Digitising is charged on every order, including reorders; we keep your embroidery file on file.
Material specification table — the key hospitality models
| Model | Brand / Article | Fabric weight | Fibre content | Cut | Industrial wash | Hospitality use-case |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro Heavy Polo | B&C PUC11 | 230 g/m² | 100 % cotton (piqué) | Classic | 60 °C | Restaurant service, hotel reception |
| ID.001 Polo | B&C PUI10 | 200 g/m² | 65 % cotton / 35 % polyester | Classic | 60 °C | Mid-range service crew |
| Lux Polo Men | Stedman ST3000 | 200 g/m² | 100 % cotton (piqué) | Classic | 40 °C | Standard hotel polo |
| Lux Polo Women | Stedman ST3600 | 200 g/m² | 100 % cotton (piqué) | Tailored | 40 °C | Women's service crew |
| Performance Polo | Tee Jays | 200 g/m² | 95 % cotton / 5 % elastane | Stretch | 40 °C | Service crews with movement |
| Karlowsky apron | Karlowsky | 180–300 g/m² | 65 % polyester / 35 % cotton | Classic | 95 °C | Kitchen, breakfast, buffet |
Industrial wash compatibility documented.
Print method comparison for hospitality apparel
| Method | Min. quantity | Durability | Industrial wash | Suitable for | Not suitable for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Embroidery | 1 pc | 100+ washes | up to 95 °C | aprons, polos, shirts — service standard | photo motifs |
| DTF print | 1 pc | 50+ washes | up to 60 °C | service tees, caps, multi-colour | 95 °C industrial wash |
| Flex print | 1 pc | 40 washes | up to 60 °C | employee names, job title lettering | 95 °C industrial wash |
| Screen print | 50 pcs | 80+ washes | up to 60 °C | promo tee bulk runs | polos (piqué) |
Recommendation: restaurant service polos are embroidered in 99 % of cases. Embroidery is the only finishing that survives industrial wash at 90–95 °C. Print methods handle 60 °C maximum.
Configurator workflow — hospitality order in 5 steps
- Pick apparel type. Restaurant service: B&C Pro Heavy Polo. Hotel reception: Lux Polo Men + Women. Kitchen staff and cocktail bar: Karlowsky apron.
- Record size needs. Standard 5–25 employees per location. For multi-location hotel chains: women's/men's/mix combined in one order with multi-address shipping.
- Upload logo. Vector SVG/PDF for embroidery. Embroidery logo left chest 7 cm standard. For Pantone brand colour (hotel brand colours) specify Pantone reference.
- Embroidery with optional print combination. Standard: embroidery left chest (hotel/restaurant logo). Optional: DTF chest right with employee first name for personal service.
- Pre-press sample option. For Pantone-critical logos (bank-hotel brand colours) we offer embroidery pre-press samples (price on request). Guarantees colour-accurate bulk run.
Experience cases — three typical hospitality orders
Case 1 — Lübeck hotel chain, 125 Lux polos (Men + Women) for reception
Hotel chain in Lübeck ordered 75 Lux Polo Men (ST3000) + 50 Lux Polo Women (ST3600) in hotel brand colour sand for four site reception crews. Finishing: embroidery left chest (hotel logo, 7 cm, Pantone gold thread). Pantone match via pre-press sample (price on request). Delivery 12 working days.
Case 2 — Hamburg restaurant chain, 45 B&C Pro Heavy polos
Restaurant chain in Hamburg ordered 45 B&C Pro Heavy polos (PUC11) in bottle green for three locations. Requirement: 60 °C industrial wash compatible (restaurant laundry), embroidered restaurant logo. Finishing: embroidery left chest + flex print right chest (first name per employee). Delivery 11 working days.
Case 3 — Munich café crew, 18 Karlowsky aprons with embroidery
Café operator in Munich ordered 18 Karlowsky aprons in black with café logo embroidery. 95 °C industrial wash compatible. Embroidery unit price by stitch area per the embroidery price table (10–19 piece tier, net), plus digitising for this order. Delivery 9 working days.
What we do better than competitors
- 95 °C industrial wash compatible — embroidery from our facility survives industrial wash up to 95 °C. Industry standard often guarantees only up to 60 °C.
- Multi-address shipping for hotel chains — for multi-location orders we ship directly to each hotel address with one collective invoice. Important for hotel groups with multiple locations.
- Re-order service with stored logos — we keep your embroidery file on file, so follow-up orders run without new coordination. Digitising (€27.50–88 net depending on stitch area) is charged on every order.
- Personal consultation, reply by the next business day — a named account contact answers your enquiry by email by the next business day (Monday to Friday) at the latest, including a mock-up and quantity-discount suggestion.
- Pantone match service — for hotel brand colours we offer embroidery pre-press samples (price on request). Guarantees colour-accurate bulk run.
Ready for your service apparel?
Request a quote → · Open configurator →
ShirtStore is your partner for hospitality and hotel apparel with logo, apron embroidery and service outfits across Germany and the EU. We embroider and print aprons, chef jackets, polos, service shirts, t-shirts, vests and caps for restaurants, hotels, cafés, bars, bistros, catering operations, restaurant chains and hotel groups. Our embroidery is boil-proof to 90 °C — it withstands industrial laundry, mangle ironing and commercial detergents over years. We offer classic brands like Karlowsky, Russell Performance, B&C Inspire and Stanley/Stella for café apparel. Volume discount starts at 3 pieces (3 % → 10 % → 15 % → 25 % → 30 % → 32 % at 3/20/50/100/200/500) — on the garments, tiered per style. Benefit from easy reorders with your embroidery file kept on file, multi-address shipping for hotel chains and a personal account manager from 50 pieces. Standard delivery with finishing takes 7–10 working days; embroidery takes longer (8–12 working days production from print approval, plus shipping); on request we combine embroidery with printed names for personal service interaction. Made in EU from our facility in Berlin, Germany.
