Laundering Bedding

[Holly471]

As a host, should I wash ALL bedding after each guest stay (comforter, blanket, sheets) or just the sheets?

-Holly

[Robin4]

@Holly471 

Holly, bedding is the major item you cannot take shortcuts on. You must not just been clean, you must be seen to be clean. It takes a minimal amount of extra time to change bedding thoroughly between guests and by doing so you not only help with your review ratings, you minimise the risk of complaints like bedbugs. 

After every guest, I change everything including the mattress protector and pillow protectors. Think about it for a second Holly, would you want to sleep with some random strangers dribble on your pillow!!

For my guest cottage I have 8 sets of bed linens, 6 quilt (Dona cover) sets, 2 blankets, 3 mattress protectors and 2 sets of pillow protectors which are all washed and rotated between guests........

I discard and replace the pillow protectors after every 10 washings. For longer term guests I do a full bed service every 4 days. I don't like to sleep on the same linens for any more than 4 days and I would not expect a guest to!

Guests like to see ironing creases in the linens, it gives them a bit more confidence that the bed has been prepared just for them.

Holly if the guest gets a good nights sleep and feels comfortable with the bed they will overlook other shortcomings when it comes to the review. 

Spend some time and effort on the bed, regardless of COVID-19, make the bed look inviting and you will be rewarded with a steady stream of happy guests!

Cheers........Rob

[Holly471]

Thank you so much Robin, this is quite helpful!  One follow-up question - with your long-term guests, do you actually enter the home and change the bed while they are on premises?  Or do you supply a compete linen change and pick up the dirty laundry?

It would be great to hear some different points of view from the community.  Thanks again!

[Emiel1]

@Holly471 

I provide long term guests  a basket with fresh bedlinen on request. Most of them prefer to change the bedding themself On average they request it every 10 - 14 nights stay. Just ask the guest what he/she prefers !

[Robin4]

@Holly471 

Hi again Holly, No, I would never enter the cottage unannounced. When a longer term guest starts their stay I say to them...."Is it ok with you if I come in and change the bedding in 4 days time. I like to keep on top of my laundry and if you would just like to let me know when will be convenient on that day that would be great!" 

Holly they are all  appreciative of the offer and do like the notice that I give them!

Most times I will wait until I see them leave on the nominated day, but if they invite me in while they are there, that's fine, the main thing is....we have an arrangement in place.

And to clear up @Clare167 's point, I change the item coverings, not the items themselves.

I do not wash pillows, doona's or the mattress between guests.

I consider 6 months is a reasonable lifespan for pillows and I now supply 6 pillows for the main bed.....2 thin, 2 medium density and 2 thick pillows. This ensures I have all the bases covered as far as individual comfort taste is concerned. 

As I have said, the bed is the centrepiece of my rental cottage. It is a specially made Queen size bed with an extra 8 inches 20 cms built into the length. It is 8 ft long and has 6 electric motors in it to raise the head, the foot and provide massage function. All my linens I buy as King Size to suit the length and we cut them down in the width and re-hem them to suit the queen size bed.

I know I go a bit overboard Holly but from years of travelling we got to pick the quality of places we stayed by the quality of the sleep we got and I wanted to make my guests experience second to none.....and hopefully that is what we have achieved.

Cheers........Rob

[Shaun304]

Very inviting beds.  

[Robin4]

@Shaun304 

Shaun, when my wife was diagnosed with MS in 1994 I scaled my involvement in my mechanical services company back and we spent a couple of decades travelling.....because we knew we would not be able to do it later in life when we would normally retire.

I cannot tell you the numbers of hotel/motel rooms. B&Bs, ships cabins, caravan park cabins we have stayed in and the one thing we learned from this travel......the bed is the heart of a rental property. 

When we decided to STR I had our cottage bed specifically made, it is 2.4 m (8 ft) long Queen bed, it has 6 electric motors in it. It has a custom mattress and  altered King linens. 

All our guests compliment us on the bed and most say it is the best nights sleep they can remember having. Even a 7ft 6in  NBL basketball player could not reach the bottom of this bed with his toes.

Shaun, that bed has paid for itself a dozen times over and has turned out to be one of the best investments I have made!

If a guest can get a good nights sleep they will reward you in the review process even if other things weren't perfect. If they roll around on an uncomfortable cheap piece of rubbish all night your chances of getting a good review are not great.

Cheers.......Rob

[Michelle1851]

@Robin4  I couldn't agree with you more.  The bed is at the heart of the experience.  Those extra ZZZ's of being on a holiday are so worth it, but only if you are in a clean and comfortable bed. I tried to make my beds reminiscent of all my favorite places.  So far no complaints.  I truly appreciate nice sheets, comfortable beds and great pillows, 

[Heather1444]

We are buying our first home to use as an Airbnb. How do 10 sets of sheets and towels get cleaned in the time the cleaning company is there? 
thanks for help. 

[Sarah977]

@Heather1444  They don't. You either have 2 or 3 sets of everything, so the dirty stuff can just be changed out for clean, and the rest send out to a laundry service or washed yourself, or you leave a day between bookings to get that done.

10 sets, if you have beds that sleep 2, sounds like a very high guest count. Don't make the mistake of trying to cram in more people than is really suitable for the home, and be aware that high guest counts can encourage partiers.

[Kelly149]

@Holly471 if you agreed to the ECP then you should be laundering every fabric thing in the listing between every guest. Cupboard items included.

[Sarah977]

When I have guests who stay long enough to warrant a clean set of sheets and towels (I'm not like Rob- I offer after a week and that seems fine with all my guests), I ask them if they'd like me to change things out or they'd prefer to do it themselves. All have said they would do it, which tells me that either want their privacy or don't want to trouble me.

And when I say they seem to want their privacy, it's not that they are trying to hide the messy state of their room- my home-share guest room opens onto a balcony that I have to walk on and past their door to get to my bedroom- if the guests are home, their door is often open (I live in the tropics and they have a great jungled hillside view from their door and also there are often beautiful birds in the trees in my yard), so they obviously aren't hiding anything.

During a stay, there's no need to offer clean blankets, mattress pad, etc, just the sheets, pillowcases and towels. The other stuff gets washed between guests.

@Holly471

[Clare167]

I don't read Robin's post as saying that he would actually wash the pillows and duvet (quilt) between guests. Hotels surely do not. Just their fabric covers, including the pillow protectors that go underneath the pillowcases. @Holly471 @Robin4 

[Susan1404]

I keep a spare set of everything for each bed in my cabin - extra mattress protector, spare sheets, pillow covers, blankets and bedspread.  When a guest checks out, the spare set is put on the bed, and the previously used set is laundered at my convenience.  If the guest needs a change of linens during their stay, they can launder their bath towels in the washer and dryer in the cabin.  If it is bed linens, I simply take them the set I've just laundered and we swap out.  It has worked perfectly and never had an issue.  In answer to your original question - I launder everything that is on the bed.

[Holly471]

Thanks Everyone!  This is super helpful.  My goal is to make sure every guest feels like they are in a super-clean home so they can relax and enjoy their stay.  Now I know what to do!