A Good Nights Rest

[Dexter-and-Marilyn0]

Being Superhosts to us is such an honor, we believe that every one of our guests deserves to be honored too.  And when we travel one thing is always on the top of our list, a good bed and good rest.

we have stayed with Airbnb Superhosts several times and have had, for the most part, a marginal night.  Oh yes we have had the conversation with hosts  and most have said that they had plans to buy a new mattress.  We are average retirees with good backs and like a somewhat firm bed so why can’t we sleep well? Even hotels buy new beds and they aren’t expensive mattresses.  

Here’s a idea,  go spend a night or two on the bed that your guests sleep on and if it ain’t right go to Costco(or similar)and buy a $400 mattress, then sleep on that one.  You don’t need a $1200 Mattress, trust me.  Ask your guests for feedback.  When we travel one of my first questions is, how is the bed.  It’s nog worth it to pay $150/night and not get good rest.  The bed is one of our top priorities.

[Sarah977]

@Christopher-and-Elisa0  Ticking "no bedding" is, of course, ridiculous and unfair. 

That said, I don't think a guest should have to ask for a selection of bedding to make themselves comfortable. Regardless of ambient temperature, some people sleep "hot" some like lots of covers. It's very individual.

I make the bed with a top sheet, a blanket, and a light bedspread (to keep bedding clean). A warm duvet folded up at the bottom of the bed. That way, guests can make themselves comfortable according to their preference. Of course, the duvet gets packed away in the hot summer months, as no one would want that.

I'm aware that top sheets aren't traditional in many countries- just a duvet. But I've read a few posts here from guests who said they couldn't get a good night's sleep because the duvet was too hot and there was no top sheet. 

[Christopher-and-Elisa0]

@Sarah0Sarah, providing our guests with everything one could possibly wish to use in bed is simply not feasible. We’re renting out a master with ensuite converted into a little self-contained unit with separate entry, small kitchenette and deck. We don’t charge much and do all the work ourselves. Every couple means 2 loads of washing or more if they use additional items like slippers, bath robes etc. Or if they soil the bedding with a selection of foods and drinks which requires repeated washing to get rid of all the staining. We accept one-nighters and sometimes I have 5 of those in a week. So the amount of laundry is ridiculously high. And then the hours of ironing. Don’t get me wrong, we chose to do it and I enjoy providing people with a nice, cosy and comfortable place to stay with lovely touches like quality bedding. But we have to be realistic. If I start providing a selection of beddings where will this end? Many guests, even if they don’t use things they just finger through everything leaving things in a state where you can’t be sure that they haven’t been used. I can’t leave things like that for the next guest without washing it  I really don’t think that providing a selection of things to cater for every possible scenario is a realistic proposition. 

We live in the house, greet people in person and are there if they need anything. I always disclaim that if there is anything we can do for them, please let us know. I think this is a good set up.

[Sarah977]

@Christopher-and-Elisa0  I wasn't suggesting you leave an entire cupboard full of bedding for the guest to paw through- I totally understand the laundry issue- where I live, I have limited water supply and have to be conservative with water usage.

I just think it's nice for guests to have a choice between a light blanket and a warm duvet and a top sheet-  just because we find the weather to require a certain kind of bedding, doesn't mean everyone will. If a guest is either too cold or too hot the first night of their stay, sure, they can ask for other or extra bedding for the second night and I'm sure you'd oblige, but they could rate badly because they had a hard time getting a good night's sleep the first night. 

[Christopher-and-Elisa0]

The guests have a choice of light and not so light blankets and bedspreads and the duvets are very light. In hot Australian summer we provide a sheet rather than duvets, however in the slightly cooler months the duvets seem to be the right thing. And as @Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 mention some guests just strip the duvet and just use the cover. Some guests from Europe do that sometimes and they don’t mind. When I offer to give them a sheet instead they say, oh, don’t bother, we’re fine, not a problem. Not to generalise but it seems that on the whole they’re much more generous and laid back about these sort of things.

[Sarah977]

@Christopher-and-Elisa0  @Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 There have been threads on bedding on these forums before. I wouldn't have been aware, had I not read them, that it's customary in Europe not to use top sheets, only heavy or light duvets. It wouldn't ever occur to me, as someone from Canada/US, to remove a duvet cover and use it as a top sheet- that would seem to me, if I were a guest, to be something I shouldn't do. Because the inside of the duvet is supposed to stay clean, so I would think the host would then feel they had to wash the whole duvet, because they wouldn't know if I, as a guest, had used the duvet without the cover.

I guess it's a matter of the bedding styles one is used to. I had a European guest who came to ask me to clarify what she was supposed to sleep on top of and under. I had the bed made with a bottom sheet, a top sheet and a blanket, with the top sheet folded down over the top edge of the blanket. A light bedspread over all. It seemed obvious to me, but certainly wasn't to her 🙂  I thought it was quite cute that she actually asked.

[Christopher-and-Elisa0]

I’m originally from Eastern/Central Europe and I’ve never encountered top sheets before travelling and later moving to this end of the world (NZ and Australia). But of course I wasn’t everywhere : ) I was in several Mediterranean countries like Greece, Italy and Spain years ago but can’t remember what the bedding was like. I could imagine that top sheets are a thing there. 

I personally think that top sheets are fine in summer in warm weather.

But I hate the arrangements of top sheets and blankets and bedspreads. The worst is when you have a top sheet, a blanket on top of it and then another sheet, all somehow folded over and under each other. Why not have a duvet? You can get some very light ones that do exactly the same job as that compilation of various separate items.

And then everything is tucked in so tightly under the mattress that it’s impossible to get into bed without making a complete mess of all those sheets and blankets. It’s not like im a baby that will fall out out of bed. Ugh...!

I like a light duvet that I can wrap around myself like a cocoon. In hot Australian summers I swap it for a sheet. But no tucking in!

Look, it’s all personal preferences, duvets, sheets, mattresses, number of pillows etc.... there will always be someone you won’t satisfy. You just have to chose the way you’ll do things and hope that for the majority it will be ok. If the majority complains, well, then you have to rethink. Out of probably 120 or so bookings so far I’ve had 3 ‘the mattress was too hard/uncomfortable’ and 1 ‘we didn’t like the duvets and would have preferred a top sheet’. Is this a reason to buy a new bed and abandon the duvets? I think not.

[Sarah977]

@Christopher-and-Elisa0  I have never encountered a top sheet, a blanket, and then another top sheet on top of the blanket. That's weird, for sure.

Here's the thing with top sheets- when it's for yourself, i.e. not having to make sure everything is freshly laundered for each guest, the blanket or duvet never comes in contact with your body, therefore doesn't need to be washed but a few times a year. The top sheet is between you and the rest of the covers. So when you change out your bed with clean sheets, you only have a top and bottom sheet to wash. If you use a duvet with no top sheet, then you have to wash the duvet cover every time you change your bed, which is like washing 2 top sheets, as far as the space it takes up in the washer.  Does that make sense, now?

As far as the bedding being all tucked in tight, I personally hate that too. I have to be able to put my feet out 🙂 I've never been able to sleep in a sleeping bag for that reason- it feels so claustrophobic.

[Christopher-and-Elisa0]

Yes, I understand how the top sheets and blankets are used. And yes it’s handy if you only need to wash the sheet. But I find ironing 2 small duvet covers easier than a big flat sheet. No matter what you do that thing will drag on the floor.

Anyway, duvet or sheet - you wouldn’t believe how often I do have to wash blankets and such because people seem to use the bed like a dinner table. The number of times I’ve had something spilled or smeared on the bedding and blankets... Jams, chocolate, ice cream and many other food things that I have never been able to identify. Some of them I also never got out. I’ve had a really nice faux mink spread for the bed. I had to wash it every other time. In the end I have removed it from the room because this thing fluffs up so much in the washing and generates so much foam, my machine just kept overflowing and it was a huge mess every time.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

If not asking you, she could have removed the cover from the Duvet and used that. simple solution for her lack of communication.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Dexter-and-Marilyn0

Well... I agree the mattress has to be clean and not worn out.

At first, we had a new but cheap mattress at our Airbnb. Maybe 3 our of our 300 guests mentioned it so we decided to change it (my daughter sleeps on the exactly the same mattress at home and says it's great, she doesn't want any other) 

Then we bought a more expensive and comfortable mattress (much better then I sleep on) and thought someone will say something nice about it... but nothing. Not even our regular guest who complained about the old mattress didn't mention the new one.

So our reviews are not better, we spent time and money and now we have the heavier mattress to lift while changing the linens - all for nothing.

We also have the cheapest Ikea linens, cotton/poly mixture and never ever anyone of our guests mentioned it. They are easy to wash, dry quickly and doesn't have to be ironed. Great.

After 3 y. of hosting I can say that young guests don't care about mattresses and linens at all and most of our guests are young. Older guests are pickier (bad back etc...)

Maybe 400-500$ is cheap for you, but here it's someone's monthly wage or pension. ABB is our only income, not our hobby and our prices are low so we have to be very careful with investments. Of course, we would not give an old, dirty and worn out mattress to our guests but we have 6 mattresses at our 2 budget-friendly ABBs and they have to be replaced every few years so 200$ per mattress is our max. We just can't compete with beds and mattresses some of our guests have at their luxury homes for their personal use.

PS

if this matter - Zagreb is a transit destination and the average stay is just 1,7 nights. The average nightly price for 2 people/studio apartment in the city center is 35 € .

[Robin4]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

I hear what you are saying Branka and I understand that for each of us we are faced with differing economic circumstances which dictate what we can offer! 

I think the 'Salvation Army' are active right around the world and in each country they have charity centres where they recycle others left overs. Not only do they do that here but they have agreements with certain manufacturers. Here in Mount Barker the local 'Salvo's shop' has an agreement with a major bedding manufacturer and they offer 1st quality brand new matresses at one third of retail cost. A good quality Queen size mattress with topper will typically cost less than $150 AU .......$120 US!

Bargains are to be found you just have to look for them.

We have a rather special bed but, I bought it second hand for less than 15% of it's new retail cost. Admittedly I did have a special mattress made for it that cost us a bit of money but Branka, that money was so well spent.

I understand you are saying, for 35 € a night you are limited in what you can supply......and I agree but, when you shop around it is amazing what you can achieve!!

Cheers......Rob

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

 @Robin4 of course we are looking for sales and will buy some second hand furniture if we can, but the cheapest, thin, basic queen size mattress here costs over 160 US$ on SALE.

Unfortunately, we don't have salvation army shops here. 

[Tim-and-Holly0]

@Dexter-and-Marilyn0:
In my opinion, the reason a guest is a guest is because they need somewhere to sleep. Therefore we start with the mattress in all of our homes. They are either 8" or 10" memory foam mattresses with additional up to 3" foam toppers. While on occassion a guest will mention it in a review, we've had many tell us personally how great they slept. Like you, I've slept on the "guest mattress" before while travelling and it's obvious either the mattress was an after thought or something the host thought they could save money on when setting up their home, and that's a shame.

Mattresses with gel memory foam tend to hold up well. The gel helps to dispurse body heat so the guest does not get as hot. Our oldest mattress is 3 1/2 years and it still feels great without lumps or dips and has been slept on well over a thousand times.  The toppers only last a couple of years but are significantly cheaper than buying a new mattress.

[Sally221]

When we set out on our ABB adventure I knew that  good beds had to be part of the deal.

As a quiet but easily woken sleeper married to a tosser & turner finding out about memory foam was a revelation that might have saved my marriage (kidding, sort of) 

 I prowled craigslist looking for high end beds belonging to University of Ca. visiting academics heading home. It took a bit but we have grand beds and we sometimes give ourselves a treat and stay downstairs, quality control and all that.

I  have some Ikea all coton sheets (being a 100% cotton snob who aspires to real linen, someday)and those sheets are a beast to keep uwrinkled. I dry them one by one and stretch them out carefully before putting them in the dryer and partway thru the process. It's hella tedious and ironing would maybe be less effort. I'm always looking for pretty cotton pillow cases iwith high thread count in fetching patterns.. I want the beds to look appealling and feel wonderful. Our beds  get mentioned from time to time in reviews and it's gratifying., a good night's sleep always makes for a rosier outlook, Sally