Unique tips and information that can be utilized by innkeepers to provide an exceptional guest experience.
The hotel industry has been battling bed bugs for, well, as long as there have been hotels.
If you traveled back in time to ancient Egypt or medieval England or colonial America, you’d likely find some frazzled property manager wondering how to keep all kinds of insects out of their establishment.
Continue reading The Property Manager’s Brilliant Bed Bug Action Plan →
In 2013, the New York Times told the story of Leslie Ciminello, a business traveler and frequent guest at the Hotel 1000 in Seattle.
Why did she keep coming back? Because the hotel would make sure to keep her room refrigerator stocked with lactose-free milk and gluten-free cereal.
“It’s one of the small but significant ways the hotel has kept her coming back,” wrote the Times’ Harriet Edelson, who noted that hotels around the country “are increasingly emphasizing personalized services that do not show up on any list of amenities.”
Continue reading 4 Great Ways Innkeepers can Encourage Repeat Guests →
Some of the best gifts we get can be things we’d never choose to buy for ourselves. Things that might seem like too much of an indulgence if we bought them on our own.
Are you looking to pamper someone in your life this year? Here are 10 luxurious gifts to look for this holiday season.
Continue reading 10 Luxurious Gifts for the Holiday Season →
Shopping for mattresses isn’t what it used to be. There was a time when choosing a mattress meant answering a simple question: soft or firm?
When it’s time for a mattress makeover, today’s innkeepers look for features like memory foam, pocketed coils and moisture wicking fabrics, all in the service of that vital factor of any customer’s stay: a good night’s rest.
Continue reading Important Innkeeper Tips for 4 Common Mattresses →
It’s an age-old question: Do I prewash my fabrics, or not?
In addition to getting any shrinkage out of the way before you sew with the fabric, prewashing can keep dark fabric dyes (blacks, reds, and purples) from bleeding onto lighter-colored fabrics.
Fortunately, there are several natural remedies to help fabric colors stay bright when laundered. To keep fabrics from fading in the wash, follow these simple steps for using some common items from around your house!
Don’t let those brilliant hues escape your fabrics, especially if you’ve already invested hours into stitching up completed projects, like a garment or quilt.
Here are a few natural methods to keep fabrics from fading:
Continue reading How to Keep Fabrics From Fading →
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.
Continue reading How Important Is Thread Count When Choosing A Sheet? →
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.
Continue reading How to Choose the Right Pillow →
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.
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.
Continue reading How to Maximize the Life of Your Mattresses →
While many factors will affect the longevity of your mattress (its original quality, for instance, and the amount of use), cleaning your mattress on a regular basis and protecting it from spills, insects, and even allergens can help you get the most from your investment.
As our regular readers will remember, we briefly touched on the topic of mattress protection in a recent blog post titled “How to Make the Perfect Bed”. In this post we’ll delve more deeply into the topic of the care and protection of your mattress, and provide you with a list of our favorite products to accomplish this important task.
Continue reading How to Best Protect Your Mattress: Our Top Product Recommendations →
