Recent years have seen nothing short of an exponential increase in the number of self-catering properties here in the UK, as the friendly customer service team at Out of Eden will tell you. This has inspired us to write a series of blogs aimed at helping our self catering customers, particularly those in the fledging days of their holiday letting business, to become a popular choice for oversees travellers and UK staycationers. 

What are holidaymakers looking for?

A recent study by OnePoll, commissioned by 5* Hotel BLVD in Blackpool, found that UK holidaymakers have a preference for luxury when planning a break.

"The results... showed the importance of luxury accommodation as part of staycation planning, with 42% of people opting for higher standards of accommodation as their main motivation when booking a holiday."

 – AMANDA THOMPSON OBE, CEO, BLVD 

Luxury can be achieved with simple considerations that help your business to run smoothly. Let’s start by breaking down those considerations, beginning with our first blog in the series: Bedding Advice.

‘A great night's sleep’

When it comes to those all-important reviews, a great night's sleep is usually top of the list. The quality of a guests sleep can greatly helped, or hindered, by bedding. 

How much bedding will you need?

Our starting-out advice is to have a minimum of two items of each piece of bedding, per bed. This sensible approach will greatly reduce the pressure of time sensitivity at same day guest changeovers. Once you are up and running,  you'll find additional spare bedding helpful for fast accident recovery and seamless changeovers.

One pillow or two? Or four? Or more?  

Another very good question and some of this comes down to personal taste, some down to aesthetics, and some down to budget. 

In our own homes, most of us prefer to have two pillows per person on our beds, even though we might actually revert to just sleeping with one.

We all know that having four pillows (or more) on a double bed looks more attractive than just two, but if that’s two poor quality pillows instead of a single really good pillow then the illusion quickly loses its gloss. This doesn’t mean it has to be a natural fill pillow with duck or goose feather and down as there are plenty of synthetic fill pillows that will provide a comfortable sleep and which have the added advantage of being easier and more forgiving when it comes to washing.

Pillow size and shape

There is also a trend for less conventional style pillows – square, long and thin, even circular – which, while they look great in the homestyle magazines, are not the most practical for self-catering properties. These invariably need corresponding pillowcases, which can be hard to replace and will all need washing on changeover days. This then adds to the housekeeping time, which nobody ever needs!

Our advice is to stick with the Standard and/or King Size pillows, something which will help keep things simple for everyone!

The Duvet Dilemma: Which tog should you choose?

Many of us have the same duvet on our beds at home all year round, whilst others prefer to change between spring/summer and autumn/winter for obvious reasons. 

Overall, as an owner of a holiday let, you have enough to deal with without trying to second-guess the weather and change duvets accordingly, so we’d suggest investing in good quality 10.5 tog duvets as a starting point. If 10.5 tog sounds too much for the warmer months, then there’s the 4.5 tog option, but you may wish to also provide additional throws or blankets in case of a cold snap.

 4.5 tog for summer

10.5 tog for every season

13.5 tog for winter

What is an all seasons duvet?

As the name suggests, the versatile all-seasons duvets provides year-round flexibility when it comes to bedding. An all-seasons duvet is essentially a 3-in-one duvet. It consists of two mixed tog duvets that fasten securely together to create a third big tog duvet.

Choosing bed linen for your holiday let

Patterns vs Plain Bed Linen

Patterned bedding is a quick and effective way to add appeal to a bedroom and it and can instantly transform the look and feel of the space.

Plain bedding is more versatile. It easily lends itself to accent colours and finishing touches such as cushions and runners, something which patterned bedding may ‘fight’ against.  

The timeless look of plain white or cream bedding is hard to beat and can work effortlessly with such a wide range of interiors from very traditional and boutique to uber-modern. You can guarantee it will still look fresh in years to come, whereas patterned bedding may need a re-think every couple of years.

Are flat sheets useful?

If the summer weather is un-typically British and we get a heatwave, guests may not want a duvet at all and having a spare cool cotton flat sheet available may just be the right alternative. 

Flat sheets may have fallen a little out of fashion over recent years with the rise in popularity of fitted sheets, but you can use a good quality flat sheet to add an extra layer of luxurious comfort between the guest and the duvet. 

Why are protectors important in a holiday let?  

Accidents happen, and they always will. When furnishing your holiday cottage, you’ll know that mattresses are a significant outlay and definitely something you won’t want to be replacing on a regular basis. 

Mattress protectors aren’t the most glamorous item of bedding you’ll ever buy, but they perform their duty well and might well just save you some serious money. The same applies to pillow protectors – sorry to have to remind you, but it’s a well-known fact that our heads sweat during the night and a pillow protector adds that extra barrier to stop moisture penetrating into your pillows.

What price do you pay for high quality? Probably less than you think.

If you’ve browsed the bedding pages here on our website then you’ll already be aware of the huge range of options at your disposal when it comes to duvets and pillows, bedding sets, duvet covers, sheets and pillow cases. You might not be aware of the following features that make our bedding great for guests and great for your business, too:

• Designed for hospitality

All of our bedding products are chosen or specifically made for their suitability to withstand the demands of hospitality. They also comply with fire and safety regulations so are suitable for use in hotels, guest houses, B&Bs and, of course, self-catering properties.

• Handmade in the UK

Our duvets and pillows are made by hand in Scotland, exclusively for Out of Eden. You can find out more about how they are made here. 

• Hypo-allergenic

All of our pillows and duvets are hypo-allergenic, including our natural fill down and feather products which are Nomite Certified, making them suitable for allergy sufferers.

• Independently tested

Our plain bedlinen ranges have all undergone independent testing at the Laundry Technology Centre in Leeds to determine their anticipated performance and lifespan.

Like the building itself, buying quality bedding for your self-catering property or holiday let should be seen as an investment, one which will invariably help contribute to a great guest experience and lead to positive reviews, word of mouth recommendations and, we're sure, repeat bookings.