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Snapdeal co-founder gets ₹5,900 laundry bill from hotel for 7 basic garments: ‘Out of touch’
Snapdeal co-founder Kunal Bahl has turned his attention to a hospitality pain point — very high laundry prices.
After raising the issue of hotel guests preferring to order via Swiggy and Zomato instead of eating in-house fare, Snapdeal co-founder Kunal Bahl has turned his attention to another pain point — very high laundry prices.
Bahl said that during a work trip, he gave seven pieces to be laundered at his hotel. The total bill was ₹5,900 — which is more than ₹800 per garment. And that’s not even including the taxes that were charged on top.
Bahl called it an example of hotels being out of touch. He did not specify the name of his hotel.
Snapdeal co-founder on hotel laundry prices
“Part 2 of hotels being out of touch with changing services landscape for consumers,” Bahl wrote on X, sharing a picture of his bill. “Laundry of 7 pieces of basic garments during work travel = ₹5900 + taxes.”
The Delhi-based entrepreneur and investor added that some of the garments cost less than the amount it took to get them laundered. He then wondered if any startups are building a quick commerce service for laundry, the way it has been done for groceries.
“Some of the garments cost less than the laundry. Founders: anyone building quick commerce for laundry?” Bahl asked.
“Those clothes might have been hand washed in an exclusive artisanal manner,” quipped one X user in the comments section.
“They are basically asking consumers not to give them any laundry . They are charging you for the opportunity loss in future,” another theorised.
“That is crazy, I can cover 2 years of clothing with that much amount,” a user added.
While some X users said they would happily pay for laundry quick commerce, others said that such an idea would not work in India. “This idea wouldn't work in India. If quick commerce players are struggling to make a profit in a high-frequency niche like food delivery, it’s unlikely that a laundry service would be profitable in the same space,” a user wrote.
Kunal Bahl had earlier pointed out that most hotel guests today prefer to order food from outside rather than eat hotel food, calling for those in the hospitality industry to introspect on why that is. (Also read: Snapdeal co-founder Kunal Bahl flags rise in hotel guests ordering food via delivery apps: 'Time for introspection’)
