Bedding: 4 Reasons It is the Ultimate Holiday Gift

Decorations, gingerbread houses, candy canes, presents, and family are some of the many thoughts and memories people might think of as the holiday season approaches. Many people associate the holidays with a time of giving and thankfulness. This time of year can also bring about stress and anxiety about what gifts to give to friends and family. Common gifts include new cell phones, clothing, or gift cards. However, there are plenty of other unique gift ideas, like bedding. This blog explains why bedding can make a great holiday gift.

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Reliable Mattress Toppers: Keep a Feather Bed or Fiber Bed on Hand

When you’ve been in business for more than 70 years, people come to you with questions.

For example, when would you suggest purchasing mattress toppers for our beds?

And the answer is that a mattress topper is something hotels, vacation rentals, and bed & breakfast owners should consider if they’ve just bought a new mattress, or are trying to salvage an older one.

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Guests Want Clean, Comfortable Bedding

Guests want clean rooms and bedding. It’s a fairly obvious statement, and one that’s been proven by customer surveys.

Guests expect all facets of the property to meet their expectations. The failure to do so can spell trouble for the property as dissatisfied guests may share negative reviews online about their experience and dissuade others from booking future reservations there.

InnStyle addressed this issue in our last blog post about clean white sheets, towels, and bed bugs. A tired-looking room, with a worn carpet, faded draperies, broken blinds, or ripped towels, sends the wrong message. Every guest deserves a well-appointed and clean room every time.

What else do guests want? Here’s a list:

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Give The Gift Of Warmth To A Homeless Person

Give a Gift — Donate A Blanket For The Homeless

“It’s better to give than to receive.”

That little bit of wisdom tends to come up a lot during the winter holidays. It’s only after people get a little older – and gain some wisdom of their own – that they discover it’s true.

When people are kids, part of the joy of Christmas comes from getting gifts. When they grow up, they discover the joy of giving gifts.

And while it feels great to give gifts to family and friends, what if you could give a gift to a stranger?

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How Important Is Thread Count When Choosing A Sheet?

There’s a lot of confusion surrounding thread count in the bedding industry, and we’d like to use this blog post as an opportunity to clear up some of that misunderstanding.

First of all, it’s important to understand that bed sheets weren’t always judged by thread count alone. In fact, the high thread count story barely existed prior to the mid-1990s. And yet even today, it’s still the first question most customers ask about bed linens.

Don’t misunderstand: Thread count certainly is an important way to judge the quality — or lack thereof — of a bed sheet. But it’s only one of many factors you should consider when comparing linens. Other important sheeting quality indicators include fiber quality, yarn size, finishing, and the actual construction of the sheets.

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Which Type of Bed Sheets Last the Longest?

Q. How long should my bed sheets last?

This is a question we’re asked frequently by innkeepers who are attempting to keep their costs to a reasonable minimum, and also by customers who only plan to use their bed sheets at home.

No matter who’s doing the asking, though, it’s a wise question to ask. Because bed sheets—especially well-made and comfortable bed sheets—can be costly. And for both hospitality and home use, most experts recommend having a minimum of three sets of sheeting per bed: one on the bed, one in the wash, and one in the closet. In between each use, we recommend laundering and then storing your linens in a well-ventilated space.

But take heart: With proper care, fine bed linens can last for many years, regardless of whether you’re using them exclusively in the home, or in a busy hotel or inn with a heavy guest turnover.

To ensure that your bed sheets will last as long as possible, alternate the use of each set on a weekly basis for home use. For innkeepers, of course, sheets need to be changed each time a guest checks out and a new guest arrives. Depending on the level of turnover, innkeepers will find that the majority of their sheets need to be replaced much sooner than a homeowner will need to replace hers.

For best results when laundering, use a non-chlorine bleach and a gentle liquid detergent not a fabric softener as it will lessen the life of the fabric and add a substance that does not allow the fabric to breathe. Wash on a gentle cycle with warm water, then tumble dry until slightly damp.

Pro tip: Over drying or drying on too hot a setting is the single biggest factor in reducing the life of your sheets. This is why we suggest taking your sheets out while slightly damp. Once smoothed and folded, most sheeting will be less wrinkled. Again, you can touch up with an iron on the hem of the flat sheet and pillowcase hem.

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How to Choose the Right Pillow

The type of pillow we use to sleep on at night doesn’t necessarily seem like the most important thing in the world, does it?

But consider this: The vast majority of us spend a full one-third of our lives in bed, with our heads placed firmly on a pillow. And if you’re using a pillow that’s too hard, too soft, too firm, or too weak, both your neck and your spine will suffer as a result.

In the short term, a low-quality pillow will also lead to a less-than-ideal night’s sleep. That’s why choosing the right pillow—the best pillow—has always been such a difficult and even agonizing decision for innkeepers.

Naturally, the comfort of an innkeeper’s guests is always a top-of-mind concern. But whether you’re running a luxury hotel or your own small household, there are a few other pillow-specific considerations to bear in mind.

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How to Maximize the Life of Your Mattresses

A comfortable mattress is not only a necessity, but also an investment into your health and well-being.

We all rely on our mattresses to provide us with a clean and comfortable night’s rest. Unfortunately, the quality of a mattress is often overlooked until you start experiencing an achy back or lose multiple nights of sleep.

While there is not a single type of mattress that is perfect for everyone, taking a few steps to capitalize on the life of your mattress can make you realize other multiple health benefits.

Here are a few tips that will help your mattresses last a little bit longer.

Keep the Mattress Dry

The one thing that can cut back on the life of your mattress is moisture. Whenever you sleep, your body generates moisture in the form of sweat that gets trapped in your blankets or the mattress. This becomes even more persistent during the spring and summer months, particularly if you reside in a humid environment where the air remains damp, which prevents the evaporation of moisture.

The trapped moisture can get the spring and the foam inside affected. Worse still, the mattress can sag, grow mold, develop rust, or give off an unpleasant odor if not aerated and dried as soon as possible.

To protect your mattress from moisture, leave it uncovered for awhile after waking up in order to aerate it. In the case of spillage, wipe the affected area immediately with a towel. Directing a fan or a blower at an uncovered bed can also help drive away the moisture.

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Monogramming Your Robes, Towels, Bed, Bath and Table Linens

Monogramming for Innkeepers

Many of our bed-and-breakfast, country inn and upscale hotel customers provide monogrammed robes in every guest room. Innkeepers find their guests love these robes and quite often want to purchase them. Simply putting a small tag on the robe hanger can explain to the guest that if they wish to purchase the robes, new robes are available for sale at the front desk.

Some innkeepers have little shops or a few shelves behind the front desk where they show inventory of many of the monogrammed items used in the rooms. Monogramming your robes not only reminds guests where they stayed but also brings back the many fond memories they made while staying at your property.

Crests, logos and initials can be monogrammed on all bath and bedding items. All monogrammed orders must be approved before work can be completed.

We use a two-step approval process:

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How to Make the Perfect Hospitality Bed

Whether you’re running a three-room bed and breakfast from your quaint seaside cottage or a bustling 50-room boutique hotel in a trendy urban locale, making the perfect bed is one of your most important tasks.

Large hotels understand the importance most travelers place on getting a good night’s rest in a comfortable and luxurious bed, so much so that hotel chains have spent millions of dollars in recent years in what industry insiders have dubbed “the bed wars”.

Thanks to research conducted by large hotel chains, we know that, in general, guests tend to associate white bedding with comfort, luxury, and calm. Do remember, though, that such a simple color palette need not be boring. You can really let your creativity shine by layering and mixing textures and accessorizing with tasteful pops of color.

Here, we’ll show you not only how to protect one of your most important investments, your mattresses, but also how to make your hospitality bed in a manner that will be most appealing to your guests.

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