Creating a Fantastic Bedroom Experience for Your Guests

It’s more than just a place to sleep!

I find that one of the most under-invested pieces of many peoples’ vacation rental are the bedroom spaces. While many owners do a great job when it comes to building out their public spaces, like the living room, I notice that sometimes the bedrooms – especially the second or third bedrooms – end up being neglected. 

So, what does it take to create a fantastic bedroom at your vacation rentals? Let’s dive a bit deeper into what you should think about when it comes to creating a fantastic bedroom experience for your guests and ensure your guests are happy every stay.

Bed

Your bed is, of course, the cornerstone of your bedroom. Everything in your bedroom revolves around it. This is where you should, and will, be spending the bulk of your money in the bedroom. Let’s break down the pieces of your bed. It’s more complex than you think.

Mattress

When it comes time to consider which mattress you want to go with, there are a few things you want to think about to ensure you are getting the best value for the cash that you spend. Do not cheap out on your mattress. If you spend only a few hundred dollars, you’ll probably be replacing it sooner than you’d like. 

I would recommend a hotel-quality bed. Most hotel beds are either hybrid or innerspring mattresses and are usually medium firm. You should expect to spend between $1k-$2k per mattress. 

As for the size of your mattress, I recommend the biggest size bed that reasonably fits in the bedroom. If you have enough room for a king bed, don’t cheap out on a queen – get a king! Your guests will appreciate the extra space on the bed and will thank you for it when it comes to reviews. 

Pillows & Duvet

Picking the right pillows and duvet, after the mattress, is the most important decision when it comes to ensuring the bed is comfortable. My number one recommendation here is to avoid feather bedding. Some people are allergic to feathers, and by ensuring you are buying bedding made of synthetic material, you will prevent potential complaints from your guests.

When it comes to choosing the right pillows for your unit, don’t go with the cheapest option from Wal-Mart. I really like gel pillows because they form well to most guest’s preferences, last for years, and don’t become lumpy/thin over time. I also recommend having 2 or 3 extra pillows in your closet. The preferred number of pillows preferred by your guests will vary. To take it to the next level, having different types of pillows in the closet is a nice touch to ensure your guests have a comfortable stay (but you’ll still want to avoid feather bedding). When it comes to your bed presentation, I recommend: 2 pillows on a twin bed, 4 pillows on a double/full and queen bed, and 5 pillows on a king bed. I find that these numbers make the beds look more complete and provide an overall better appearance. 

Bed Linen

Linens are a consumable item that you should expect to change semi-regularly. Wear and tear here is part of doing business. Over time, your guests will make the sheets dirty or they will naturally degrade. Therefore, it’s smart to have extra sheets on hand for when that moment happens. I recommend having 3 PAR (per available room) stock for your beds. By “3 PAR stock,” a hotel term, I mean having three sets of sheets per bed. So, if you have a two-bedroom house with 2 king beds, you should have 6 fitted sheets, 6 flat sheets, 6 toppers, and three pillowcases per pillow. This helps ensure that you have enough sheets to put through laundry while also having clean sheets for the beds. 

But what about duvet covers vs flat sheets & toppers? I always recommend going with the triple-sheet method rather than buying a duvet cover. Replacing the duvet cover after every stay becomes time consuming, and it takes time to ensure it’s a ‘perfect fit’. On the other hand, by triple sheeting the bed, you can much more easily replace the linens on a stay-by-stay basis. Triple sheeting means covering the duvet with the flat sheet on the bottom and another on top of the duvet and folding the ends over to keep the duvet fully enclosed. This is an extremely common practice in hotels, and it’s a real time saver once you learn how to do this method properly.

I don’t think you need to go all-in and get the most expensive bed sheets you can find, as they will deteriorate in quality over time no matter what you get, but don’t cheap out either. Low-quality linen is uncomfortable, can feel like paper, and falls in quality even quicker than mid-range, hotel-quality linen. 

Other Important Considerations

Nightstands

This is another spot where some homeowners forget about functionality of the bedroom. Having at least one nightstand (preferably two) besides to each bed is a common-sense solution that you absolutely can’t forget about. cheap out or forget to put these in the bedroom. It helps fill the space and gives your guests somewhere to put their cell phone, wallet, keys, and other items.

When it comes to the nightstand, you also be looking at putting at least a lamp on the space, preferably with charging ports for your guest’s mobile phones. Alarm clocks are starting to fall by the wayside these days, but it’s not a bad idea either. 

Let’s be honest, most people these days prefer to have their phone with them next to them overnight. It allows them to browse before they go to sleep or first thing in the morning without having to get out of bed. Having lamps – or even an alarm clock – with a USB outlet is really useful and prevents your guest from having to reach behind your nightstand to find an outlet to charge their phone. 

Televisions

TVs in the bedroom is one of the most asked questions when it comes to filling out the bedroom space. My recommendation? Yes, put a TV in the space!

While not for everyone, some people prefer to fall asleep with the television on. It doesn’t hurt to have television in the rooms to cater to those guests. My recommendation would be to have something that wall-mounts nicely, is flatscreen, and at least 40″. I recommend a wall-mounted television versus something that sits atop a dresser because wall mounts are sturdier, and the TV is less likely to fall and break than if it’s loose with a basic stand on a dresser. If your television is not straight ahead to the bed, and instead on a side wall, I also recommend mounting the TV on a swivel mount so that the guest could move the television to a more comfortable position.

When it comes to streaming apps, it is a bit more ambiguous. If you offer some sort of basic cable service, I don’t think you necessarily need to have something like Netflix, although it is a nice added touch. However, if you don’t have basic cable, I recommend an app like Amazon Prime or Netflix to ensure your guests have something to watch on the TV. I don’t think it’s appropriate – especially because it’s quite low-cost – to require your guests to log in on their own Netflix account if you don’t have any sort of television viewing in your unit.

Curtains

I feel like curtains are one of the spots where we often forget about the guest’s needs. I have stayed in many vacation rentals that just have a basic set of blinds, and at 7 in the morning, the room is so bright with the sunrise coming in that you can barely sleep. Buying black-out curtains are a cheap solution that show that you have really thought about the guest’s experience and are a great addition to your bedroom.

Putting it all Together

There are so many pieces of the bedroom that we can expand upon. Adding things like wall art, a nice rug around the mattress, a fancy bedframe, and extra places to store clothing are all great pieces that will give your room a more complete feel. 

Alternatively, adding a desk and chair is a great way to add extra utility to the room in a more private setting than doing the same thing in the living room.

Don’t just put a mattress with some basic bedding and call it a day. Putting some real thought into the space will show your guest that you’ve really considered the guest’s needs, rather than cutting corners and saving cost. Your overall guest satisfaction score will improve, your booking rate will be higher, and you’ll be a much happier owner by taking time to really consider this space’s options.