Bedding down for the night

 As guests’ expectations have increased, so too has the quality of beds and bedding in the average hotel room.

If your bed leaves you feeling subhuman until you’ve had a strong cup of coffee, there’s a good chance you need to invest in a new one.

An easy problem to solve if it’s your own bed, but for the thousands of people spending a significant amount of time in hotels, a bad bed can put a serious strain on your day, not to mention your back.

Apart from the obvious physical problems a bad bed can cause, a lack of sleep is also believed to contribute to depression, headaches, daytime tiredness, and lack of concentration — bad news if you are interested in conducting any kind of business after a poor night’s rest in a hotel.

“Lack of good sleep contributes to everything negative — from poor grades to loss of concentration to traffic accidents and so on,” says Poly Products head of marketing and sales Balan Somasundaram.

“Sleep deprivation negatively impacts our memory, learning ability, logical reasoning capacity and the list goes on. All these translate into a poorer quality of our waking life,” he adds.

So for the travelling businessman — and for leisure travellers who value their sleep just as much — the number one requirement in a hotel has to be a decent bed. Forget the luxury swimming pools, kitted out gyms and opulent spas; if a hotel can’t offer its guests a decent night’s sleep, it’s simply not cutting the mustard.

Luckily, this is something hotels are increasingly aware of and, as such, they are investing more time, energy, and of course money, into providing quality beds and bedding for hotel customers.

Trends
The expectations of customers in the Middle East market have made a real difference to the type of bedding hotels invest in, explains M.S Bipin, sales manager for Signoria Hospitality, which is responsible for Tuscany Linen.

“Customers in Dubai particularly, in both the business and leisure segments, obviously expect better quality bed linen,” Bipin explains.
“Also, by providing this quality it will help the hotels to sell their rooms easily, and can be a catalyst in generating regular guests.

“In the current scenario the premium hotel brands are investing in larger mattresses which demands similar bed linen,” he continues.

“Since it is exceeding the existing width fabrics (maximum finished width of 305cm), many of the weavers are going for extra large weaving mills and finishing equipment,” he says — just one of the many changes occurring as a result of hoteliers aiming to provide guests with a much higher standard of bed and related products.

Paying more attention to the needs of the customer is one of the major trends in hotel bedding design at the moment, agrees Mühldorfer GmbH & Co. KG chief executive officer Elisabeth Hintermann.

“The hotels themselves understand that it is a top priority to give their customers the best possible comfort when they are sleeping, because the main reason hotel guests choose a hotel is to have a good night’s rest,” she explains.

“The most important criterion for guests during their stay is the hotel bed, and that’s why the quality of bedding has to be adjusted to the satisfaction of the guest’s need,” Hintermann adds.

And the quality of beds and bedding used in hotels has improved in recent years — with bedding company Restonic even reporting that customers have been referred to them to purchase beds after enjoying such a good night’s sleep in the hotels they supply.

“One of the major changes I have witnessed over the past few years is that the majority of hotels now are purchasing high quality beds,” confirms Restonic general manager Yousif Kooheji.

Customer satisfaction
The trend for hotels to purchase bigger, better, more comfortable beds and luxury bedding to match, is driven by the demands of customers who expect to enjoy a more luxurious sleeping experience than they would do in their own home, explains Hintermann.

“Of course customers expect more from hotel beds,” she says. “When guests choose to stay in a five-star hotel, they expect more luxury than at home, or at the very least the same standard,” asserts Hintermann.

The expectations of guests staying in luxury hotels — or paying extra to stay in luxury suites — are generally higher than guests staying in mid-scale properties. As such, it is the people splashing out on five-star accommodation who are leading hotels to spend more on quality bedding products.

“There is a high demand from five-star premium customers for the 400 thread count bed linen. Among these customers many of them are upgrading from 210 and 300 TC,” says Bipin.

“Also many of our customers are furnishing their upper class rooms with a different quality bed linen, mostly dobby and jacquard patterns. Our production facility supports our customers to allow them to show their creativity and provide beautiful products for their guests.”

For guests not splashing out on a five-star property, there is still light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, as budget brands such as Centro by Rotana use the same bedding as in Rotana’s five-star properties and other mid-scale offerings are increasingly at pains to ensure the absolute minimum they offer their guests is a comfortable bed.

The improvement in the beds and bedding products featured in hotels is good news for everybody — guests can visit hotels in the region safe in the knowledge that they will have a comfortable bed, bedding companies continue to do good business and develop improved products, and hotels are guaranteed that guests will return for the one thing that is really important to them — a good night’s sleep.

10 bedding suppliers you should know
Falcon Coast
Email: enquiries@falconcoast.com
Web: www.falconcoast.com

Mühldorfer GmbH & Co. KG
Email:bett@muehldorfer.com
Web: www.muehldorfer.com

Texlynx
Email: info@texlynx.com
Web: www.texlynx.com

RWN Trading
Email: info@rwntrading.com
Web: www.rwntrading.com

Tuscany Linen
Email: info@tuscanylinen.com
Web: www.tuscanylinen.com

Restonic
Email: info@restonic.com
Web: www.restonic.com

Intercoil
Email: intercoil@emirates.net.ae
Web: www.intercoil.com

Sealy
Email: info@sealyme.com
Web: www.sealyme.com

Duxiana
Web: www.duxiana.com

Urban Beds
Email: sales@restfullnights.com
Web: www.urbanbeds.co.uk