Forbes Professional are continuing to offer flexibility as students return to campus

September and October will see the return of students back on university campuses across the UK. Staff and students alike will be adapting to a “new normal” and this will be a year like no other. It is really important for students to feel at home when they are at university, especially in these unprecedented and ever changing times. Some things don’t change, and students will always need to be able  to carry out every day domestic tasks, alongside their studies. Now, more than ever, it is key that students have access to facilities that enable high levels of hygiene. We need to ensure that students are using the university facilities so that items being moved between home and university is kept to a minimum. This includes laundry.

As our landscape changes, Forbes Professional have looked at ways that we can offer a flexible approach to laundry facilities. It is going to be important to deliver solutions that support universities in keeping students within their social bubbles and limit the need to access multiple areas on campus.

In 2018/19, working in partnership with a Russell Group University, we installed over 350 domestic Bosch washing machines and tumble dryers in central, communal kitchen areas, shared by single occupancy rooms. Two years later, the model has been a huge success. The appliances are rented with our Complete Care service and finance solution. This frees the university from upfront capital expenditure and means they will have no repair bills for the life of the contract. For the student the machines are familiar and easy to use and there is no requirement for top up cards or coins. This model of asset procurement will be hugely advantageous for keeping students in their social bubbles, whilst still offering all of the facilities needed to live day to day. No-one could have predicted how our lives would change in 2020. What we have learnt during this time is that we can offer far more flexibility to universities looking to change their current laundry offerings.

Forbes Professional continues to adapt and make changes as needed. We are working hard to ensure that we can support universities in their decisions and offer solutions to the many changes that we all face.