Choosing a pillow type
The pillow your customers sleep on can be just as important as their mattress, so why buy basic pillows without doing the research? The pillows in your rooms will be used for approximately 2400 hours a year, so choosing the right one is extremely important. For your customer, you should take into account:
- The pillow filling
- The shape of the pillow
- The size of the pillow
- Any problems you may have that will be worsened by the wrong pillow
The Introduction of the pillow menu
Premium hotels usually supply a pillow menu to customers. This menu is effectively a list of the types of pillow available and the various benefits of using them.
Different sleeping positions benefit from different pillow types. Having multiple pillow types in your hotel ensures that your customers will always enjoy a restful sleep. By catering for every sleep position, you are actively ensuring the comfort of every customer.
Pillow Types
Pillows support your customer’s head and neck whilst they sleep. If they have a pillow that doesn't benefit their natural sleep position they will likely wake up with neck or shoulder pain, dampening their time at your establishment.
Feather Hotel Pillows
Feather pillows offer the standard amount of comfort and support to your customers. There are a wide range of bird feather types available, and offer the most choice for customers looking to switch up their sleep.
The firmness of a feather pillow is determined by the amount of filling. The more feathers, the firmer and taller the pillow will be. It is important to offer a choice of feather pillows to your customers with varying firmness.
Feather pillows offer a long product life, meaning a long time before they will need to be replaced. The drawback is that feather pillows need to be professionally cleaned, which can make them expensive to buy and maintain.
Microfibre Hotel Pillows
Microfibre hotel pillows are an affordable alternative to feather pillows. The material is lightweight and easy to take care of which makes them a valuable asset to hotels. Microfibre hotel pillows are also hypoallergenic, meaning they will not antagonise customers who may be allergic to feathers.
Microfibre pillows can be machine washed reducing spend on cleaning bills. The drawback is that machine washing reducing product lifespan, meaning microfibre pillows need to be replaced more frequently than other pillow types.
Memory Foam Hotel Pillows
Memory foam is a pressure sensitive material that moulds to your customer’s head but will retain its shape when not in use. These pillow types are best for customers who require extra head and neck support whilst they sleep.
This is because memory foam pillows tend to be firmer than other pillow types. Customers who do not require this kind of support may find firm pillows uncomfortable, so it is important to only supply them when needed.
Customer Sleep Positions
Pillows are designed to support your customer’s head and neck whilst they sleep. It is important to take into account the different positions that people sleep in, and how a pillow can benefit them. Not every pillow suits every sleep position, so you should always try to understand how to benefit each sleep position.
The most important factor to sleep positions is how a pillow caters to a neutral alignment. This is when your head is not too far back or forward and sits squarely on your shoulders.
Pillows For Back Sleepers
If your customers are back sleepers, they are likely to benefit from a thinner pillow. Back sleepers need a pillow that does not push their head too far forward or they will likely suffer from neck pain in the morning.
Back sleepers also benefit from a pillow that is thicker at the bottom than in the middle. This helps cradle their head when they sleep, ensuring a restful sleep.
Pillows For Front Sleepers
Customers who naturally sleep on their front put a lot of pressure on their lower back, so they need a pillow that is as thin as possible. This is to prevent their head from being too far back which can lead to serious neck soreness in the morning.
Pillows For Side Sleepers
Customers who naturally sleep on their side benefit from a slightly firmer pillow when they sleep. This ensures they have proper support for their neck, as well as promoting the neutral neck and spine position.
Side sleepers tend to prefer pillows that are thicker around the edges than the middle. This is because it helps to cradle their head, bridging the gap between their shoulder and their ear.
Hotel Pillow Care
The pillows at your establishment will be consistently slept on, 365 days a year. On average that is over 2400 hours of consistent use. If not properly looked after, that much wear and tear will quickly cause your pillows to become dirty and uncomfortable.
In the hospitality sector, cleanliness is of paramount importance. Customers will sweat in the night or leave dead skin cells on your pillows ready for the next person to sleep on them. You should thoroughly clean your pillows as instructed on the pillow tags to protect them as much as possible. Different pillows have different cleaning regimes, so always check the instructions before machine or hand washing your pillows.
On average, pillows should be changed every 18 months. Through consistent use, pillows will accumulate dead skin cells and general dust which can be an allergy trigger for customers. It is extremely important that your customers do not suffer from allergic reactions to your pillows.
The Right Hotel Pillows For your Customers
Having the right pillows available for your customers is extremely important. It aids restful sleep, as well as improving customer satisfaction.
Hypnos understand sleep. 80% of people said that their sleep has improved with a Hypnos, which in turn improved their view of where they were staying. For more information on how Hypnos can improve the quality of your customer's sleep, please request a quote.