Little Considerations Go a Long Way
If you live in a destination location, or in your extended family’s hometown, you may find yourself hosting friends and family throughout the year. Since April is when we think about refreshing the house as part of spring cleaning, it’s the perfect time to be sure you’re prepared to host overnight guests. Here are some suggestions for the little touches that will make them feel as comfortable as they’d be at home, as well as a few special treats they’d expect only during a hotel stay, to ensure a wonderful visit for one and all.
1. Recognize Hygiene is Hospitality
Your guest room may or may not get a lot of use. Either way, you need to go above and beyond where cleanliness is concerned when expecting overnight guests. The best way to do this is with a top-to-bottom checklist. Start by dusting away cobwebs in corners, cleaning the ceiling fan, and vacuuming or washing the drapes and dusting the blinds. Work down from the ceiling, cleaning windows and dusting shelves, tables, photos, and curios as you go. Then vacuum everything, moving out furniture to get to every corner.
Give the guest bathroom a similar deep clean. Real Simple breaks it down into 10 steps from the shower head to the toilet bowl. After the bathroom is clean, we suggest stocking it with some of our luxuriously soft bath towels, one of our Turkish bath rugs, and a comfy robe for each guest. If guests are staying for more than a couple of days, clear some space in drawers so they can unpack and settle in.
2. Take a Good Look at Your Mattress
If you're planning to have guests sleeping on a mattress that’s past its useful life, but you’re not ready to purchase a new mattress for the guest room, consider adding a feather bed on top of the old mattress. Our Essential Feather Bed offers a luxurious layer of extra loft, warmth, and comfort for the sleeper.
Whether it’s the bed in the guest room or the master suite, waterproof mattress pads are a must. Every sleeper drools and perspires, and accidents and spills happen. An unprotected mattress can be ruined easily. To protect your mattresses, we highly recommend the continuous use of waterproof mattress pads, which should be removed and laundered regularly. Our Lily Pads® meet your need for a waterproof, motionless, soundless, and breathable mattress pad.
3. Serve Guests a Selection of Pillows
The fanciest hotels offer their guests our Pillow Butler®, a menu of pillow options. You don’t need to go those lengths but offering your guests a few choices to satisfy their sleep styles and positions would certainly make their visit special. You might want to include the White Goose Down, our softest pillow, perfect for stomach sleepers; our 50/50 White Goose Down and Feather Pillow, a medium-firmness pillow for back sleepers; and our Rhapsody Wrap, a firmer option for side sleepers and those who like to prop up in bed to read or to watch television. For those guests who are not fans of down and feather pillows, we recommend our Aquaplush® Hypoallergenic Down Alternative Pillow.
Ask your guests their sleeping positions upon arrival and provide them with the appropriate pillows. They will certainly appreciate your thoughtfulness.
As with the mattress pad, we highly recommend the consistent use of zippered pillow protectors to protect against sweat and spills and to extend the life of the pillows you love. Removing and laundering pillow protectors is easier than laundering the pillows themselves.
4. Refresh Your Linens
Just because your guest room doesn't get as much use as your master bedroom doesn't mean you should skimp when it comes to the linens. There’s a reason most hotels rely upon white sheets made with 100% cotton, they are easy to clean to clean and appear hygienic.
Give your guests the gift of a silk pillowcase that you mean for them to take with them when they leave for home with our Tiara Silks® Aromatherapy Pillowcases. The pillowcase is made of whisper-soft silk charmeuse in a variety of sizes and jewel colors. It comes with a beautifully packaged organza sachet filled with premium aromatherapeutic lavender potpourri that tucks into a hidden pocket inside the pillowcase.
You might also want to look into purchasing a down comforter to keep visitors cozy and warm without having to crank up the thermostat. Comforters come in a variety of weights. We recommend our Essential White Goose Down, All-Seasons-Weight, Comforter, which is filled with white goose down in a weight that will provide year-round sleep comfort.
5. Set Out a Few of Your Favorite Bed and Bath Amenities
Providing a bed and a bathroom for guests is enough to keep them satisfied, but you can really wow them and show how much you care by going the extra mile when it comes to bed and bath amenities. For example, you can set a couple of pairs of hotel-quality slippers on a turn down mat next to the bed, add a vase of fresh-cut flowers to make them smile, or put out aromatherapy candles to turn your guest room into a relaxing retreat. Add a basket with water bottles, snacks, and a couple of delicious cookies and your guests will think they're in heaven.
As for the bathroom, you've probably already got standard toiletries. Think about adding a special treat for your guests to use and then take home like the Opal Wash Makeup Remover Washcloth. These deliciously soft black makeup towels also eliminate your guests’ worry about leaving makeup on your bath towels.
Now that you've got your guests comfortable, any additional touches go above and beyond what could be expected. For example, you could make an extra house key that allows them to come and go as they please, as well as provide a list of nearby coffee shops, boutiques, and attractions they might want to visit. Consider printing up a card with your WiFi password and leaving it in the guest room.
We wish you and your guests a wonderful visit and a great night’s sleep!
-The Team at down etc
Read more:
10 Elements of a Luxury Hotel Turndown Service to Recreate at Home
Why Do Hotels Use White Bed Sheets?
Flower Power: The Positive Effect of Flowers on Our Emotional Well-Being
Published: April 26, 2024
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