Holiday Inn Express Enters the Bedding Competition—Vacation Rental Owners Must Take Note
Much has been written in the travel and tourism press about the bedding wars, a trend started by Westin with its introduction of its “heavenly beds� in 1999. All the major chains of full service hotels have been forced to enter the competition. Now, the limited service hotels have entered the competition. Holiday Inn Express takes on bedding with the introduction of the Simply Smart(TM) bedding collection. The program is a $53 million investment that is being rolled out to the more than 1,400 North American properties beginning this month
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Holiday Inn Express describes its new bedding as follows: “The essence of Simply Smart bedding is triple sheeting, which creates a softer feeling, more inviting bed for guests. Simply Smart is comprised of a decorative top sheet, a medium-weight duvet blanket and soft 200 thread-count sheets. The duvet blanket is sandwiched between two top sheets for added plushness. In addition, because having the right type of pillow can mean the difference between a good night's rest and a night of tossing and turning, the cozy, new sheets are complemented by four pillows, available in two comfort levels: "Soft" and "Firm."
As we have often written, the full service hotels tend to set standards that eventually have to be met by the rest of the accommodations industry. When budget or limited service motels meet a certain standard for their bedding, vacation rentals owners should reevaluate their own bedding. Guests in luxury vacation rentals will expect at least as good bedding as they can bet in a Holiday Inn Express.
