Hotels Diversifying Beds and Pillows
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Major hotels are upgrading and diversifying beds and pillows to meet the growing demands of sophisticated guests.
Hotels are all about beds. Their main function is to provide guests with comfortable rooms for sleep.
``Someone asked me, `What do you think is the most important thing in this hotel?' It's the bed. I never leave the bed after entering the room,'' a hotel promoter said. ``We find many guests using only the bathtubs and beds. They are too tired to search for anything else,'' she added.
Therefore, hotels are striving to equip themselves with the best beds and pillows to attract more guests. The Korea Times looked into some of the best.
Beds Become Identity
Beds in the Westin Chosun and the JW Marriott have their own names.
Westin Chosun features one called the ``Heavenly Bed.'' The Westin has invested $30 million in their beds after a survey showed 63 percent of 600 businessmen named beds as the most important factor in selecting a hotel to stay at.
The Westin joined hands with Simmons to install beds with 900 coils and pocketed springs so that their guests can feel support in whichever pose they sleep in. The bed also has 10 spreadsheets― a mattress pad, three cotton sheets, three goose feather pads and others― for a bouncy, cozy feeling.
The hotel also provides "Heavenly Cribs," which support babies with four mattress- and bumper-pads― all 100 percent cotton.
The JW Marriott, meanwhile, provides Revive Beddings with pusher mattresses, soft sheets and several pillows. The 300-thread-count cotton white top and fitted bottom sheets, thick mattresses and two-to-four inch mattress topper are featured in the 628,000 beds of 2,400 Marriott Hotels and Resorts worldwide.
The hotel has teamed up with Sealy for the ergonomic bedding, and hotel promoter Kim Ha-yeon said that the king-size beds provide comfort to guests even in the lowest priced rooms.
Sheet Makeups
The Park Hyatt Seoul, one of the most expensive hotels in the city, ordered Ace Beds from Korea to create the best sleeping experience for Korean and foreigners. ``Our beds are a little larger than others,'' hotel promoter Lim Soo-yeon said.
The hotel also uses Egyptian cotton with 300-thread-count linens.
Nearly all hotels have an extra pad between the mattress and the sheet. ``It gives comfort and sense of security when a guest is on the bed,'' Renaissance Seoul Hotel personnel Eric Kim said.
The Grand InterContinental adds about 10 centimeters of length to the mattress for the convenience of tall guests.
Pillows
The Westin Chosun provides tailor-made pillows for guests of different backgrounds. The hotel has taken note of the favorite types of pillows used by different nationalities. Hotel staff delivers the pillows upon requests.
The Coex InterContinental keeps a variety of pillows for customers seeking something a little different. Some pillows have floral scents, giving an aromatherapy effect. Their jade pillows have three round jades at the supporting end to help blood circulation and metabolism, according to Kim Hyun-sook of the hotel. ``We have more than 10 types of pillows and guests, especially women, love the options. They bring in several pillows and compare them for long time,'' she said.
These days, hotels have turned their bed accommodations into more profitable business. The Westin, Marriott, Sheraton, Ritz Carlton, Hyatt and several others all sell bedding items online. ``They are not the cheapest, but we are receiving positive responses,'' JW Marriott's Kim said.