While it doesn’t contribute to a first impression, the bed is an extremely important thing to get right in an Airbnb. You want your guests to have a great night’s sleep. We’ve stayed at quite a few beautiful Airbnb’s that leave a bad taste in our mouths after having to sleep on what seems like a rock with hay. Let’s talk about what makes up a good bed for your Airbnb!
First: A Little Social Proof
We don’t want to seem like we are coming out of nowhere with these suggestions! Check out these reviews to show that what we say provides results:
How To Choose The Right Mattress
Everything will go together to make a comfortable bed, but without a good mattress it’s pretty tough. Instead of turning to a post similar to this one (shooting ourselves in the foot?), we relied on Amazon reviews to help us choose the right mattress for us.
Why?
Because even if the writer had 100 Airbnb properties, the amount of people sleeping on their mattresses is still much lower than the amount of people purchasing mattresses in general.
After searching for both a decently priced and heavily reviewed mattress, we landed on the ZINUS 12 Inch Memory Foam Mattress. As of this writing there are over 155,000 ratings with an average of 4.4 out of 5 stars.
While there will always be some guests who will claim that the bed isn’t comfortable, we felt this one gave us the best chance to provide an opportunity for a great night’s sleep. And after a year we are satisfied with the comments guests have made!
If you decide this one isn’t the right one for you, we recommend you still take a look at Amazon reviews. Or reviews wherever you decide to purchase. You could go to a mattress store and try them out yourself, but your opinions and needs may differ from the crowd. In our opinion it’s better to rely on reviews so you get a large sample size before making the purchase.
Protecting Your Investment
No matter what mattress you end up choosing, it’s likely you spent quite a bit of money on it. It’s also not very appealing to have a stained mattress in case something were to spill on it. For that reason, we always recommend using a mattress protector. It will help keep your mattress looking brand new, and you can wash the protector much easier than a whole mattress. Plus if something were to happen to it, it’s much cheaper to replace a $35 mattress protector than a $350 mattress.
Does The Bed Frame Matter?
While we made sure to look at a ton of reviews for our mattress, we more so just picked a bed frame we liked. The one thing we did was make sure it was very supportive though. We went for one with metal slats that would support the mattress while still letting it breathe.
We did end up having one guest make a comment about our frame and how it wasn’t safe. They stubbed their toe in the middle of the night. But we also felt that it would happen with almost any frame so it’s tough to determine if that’s a reason not to use the ones we purchased.
As I mentioned before, the big thing with the bed frame is to make sure it’s sturdy. You also want it to pick the mattress up off the ground a bit. Especially if you plan to host older guests, it may be tough to get in and out of a bed that is too low to the ground. And bonus points if reviews state that the frame doesn’t squeak! We’ve all stayed in a rickety bed that wakes the whole house up every time you roll over. Not exactly a great experience.
Choosing High Quality Linens
You’ve come this far, you might as well complete the set with a nice pair of linens! Scratchy sheets can be uncomfortable to sleep on. For this, we went with the Amazon review route as well for this, and ended up with these SONORO KATE Microfiber sheets. As of writing this, they have a 4.6 star review with over 136,000 reviews total. They are very affordable, and we tested them out and thought they felt great!
Pro tip: purchase multiple sets of your linens, towels, and mattress protectors. This will make cleaning turnovers much quicker!
Comforter Or Quilt?
Speaking from our own experience, we decided on quilts over comforters for one main reason: washability. The quilts we purchased are thin, making them easy to fit in the washer. The material is packed into small squares so it’s not moving all over, and drying is very quick too.
If you have a design choice that involves a comforter then that’s fine, but based on what we’ve experienced we would recommend getting a quilt. Your cleaner will thank you!
Something to also keep in mind is we live in South Florida. So we have about 3 cool days per year. If your Airbnb is further North, you may want to consider alternating between a cool season and warm season quilt to help guests stay comfortable no matter the temperature.
Don’t Forget The Pillows!
Pillows are another thing that make or break a bed, but I also don’t think you need to break the bank to get comfortable ones. I think the important thing we noticed was we provided multiple options for guests. We purchased 2 different styles of pillows. Ones that were more flat and the others more fluffy. We relied on Amazon reviews to purchase those once we narrowed them down.
For reference, the Utopia brand pillows we purchased ($27 for 2) have a 4.5 star rating with nearly 37,000 reviews and the others from Pozino ($19 for 2) have a 4.5 star rating with 13,500 reviews. The Utopia’s were fluffier while the Pozino’s are flatter, making the perfect combination for guests to choose from. We were a bit skeptical about the price but after trying them out they do seem like really great pillows. We felt reviews and having multiple options weighed out more than simply purchasing expensive pillows.
Keeping Guests Cozy With Throw Blankets
We opted for white quilts just to make sure we spotted any stains so we could switch them out. While it made that easier, it left the bed looking pretty bland. The sheets were a light grey, so we chose to have some of the pillowcases be light grey as well for a bit of a two-toned look. That also led us to purchasing throw blankets, which we laid over the quilt and we loved the look.
It also was an added bonus because guests can take the throw blankets anywhere in the house. Getting cozy on the couch or in one of our chairs. These can be a simple way to add some extra warmth, contrast colors with your quilt, and provide a nice little touch that guests love.
You Can’t Win Them All
Always remember that you won’t be able to please everyone. Everyone has different tastes. But showing guests you went the extra mile to help them sleep better goes a long way. Doesn’t have to be perfect. Just provide a great mattress with comfortable sheets, varying pillows, and a sturdy frame and you’ll be set. So keep that in mind as you are putting together your beds for your Airbnb!