A Total Newbie

Adrian2250
Level 2
England, United Kingdom

A Total Newbie

Hi - I have never done airbnb before so am looking for advice before I furnish. I am letting a double bedroom with a private bathroom. The question is about the size and type of bed. The room is a bit of a funny shape (14 foot by 12 foot narrowing to 7 feet) and so am thinking of getting a standard double metal bed frame with a good quality mattress - rather than a king size bed with soft headboard (worried about them staining) and a hanging rail rather than a wardrobe. Do people get complaints about standard doubles being too small or lack of a comfy headboard? Thanks.

5 Replies 5
Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

I use a standard double with a wooden frame. Get the best mattress you can afford. I use Eve. @Adrian2250 

 

Americans tend to be more fussy and prefer Kings and Queen beds. Here in Europe a double is fairly standard.

 

why not do a search on shared homes in Brighton and see how they have set up their rooms. 

Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@Adrian2250 I think more and more people, even in the UK, appreciate a decent sized bed. For me a double is unacceptable, a Queen just about ok and a King preferable. Anything beyond a King is a pain with respect to fitting duvet covers etc.

I should add that we don't have soft headboards and have had no complaints. 4 pillows per bed seem to make people happy. I certainly would prefer a solid headboard to one that is stained in any way.

@Adrian2250  First off - it's nice that you've already set up a listing in anticipation of the room being complete, but I'd recommend keeping your calendar blocked and unbookable until it's ready. Any guest who books with you now might arrive with inaccurate expectations, having not had the chance to see the room and its dimensions.

 

Regarding bed size:  in an Entire Home listing, bigger is often better - even if the bed cuts into the bedroom space, people have the whole rest of the house to sprawl out in.  I don't find that this is the case for a Private Room listing. While some of your guests might choose to hang out in the common areas, many will prefer to keep to themselves in the bedroom, so you don't want the bed to make the rest of the room look cramped. The room has more value if there's plenty of space for guests to store their stuff, a desk/chair suitable for work, and enough floor space that people don't feel hemmed in. I would choose a bed frame that doesn't extend much beyond the mattress and ideally a raised one in which you can incorporate a built-in under-bed storage unit. 

 

Not once has anyone mentioned a soft headboard as a thing they expected - good pillows are the key there. And bear in mind, only budget travelers choose rooms in shared homes - we care more about location and amenities than furniture design and fancy headboards.

Beth80
Level 10
State of Roraima, Brazil

I only have double beds with wood frames. 4 pillows and good mattresses.  I agree with Andrew that in that Private room spaces are more about extra storage and work space than the size of the bed itself. Like in Europe double beds are the norm here in Brasil but queens are becoming more common.  Personally I don't like anything bigger than a queen. 

Adrian2250
Level 2
England, United Kingdom

Thanks for the friendly advice folk. Will go for a standard double which will give more room and make the room feel more spacious.