14 pillows per room ???

[Xema]

I spent the weekend in Columbus, OH. I was staying in the Hyatt Regency hotel, downtown. (A trifle pricey, but reasonably nice if you're willing to discount air conditioning that refused to lower the temperature below 77 degrees, a phone that refused duty, and the absence of wireless internet access.)

My question relates to pillows. There were seven for each bed, making 14 per room (not counting those on couches and sofas). I was told this hotel has 631 rooms, so thats around 8800 total. Given spares (presumbaly held in a giant spare pillow room somewhere in the basement), that's well over 9000 pillows in this hotel.

My question is: why? 9000 pillows cost real money, so presumably the hotel wouldn't have them without some good reason. But does anyone actually use anything like seven pillows? How is possible to use more than, say, two? Who walks into a room and is happy to see 14 pillows? (On me this has about the same effect as seeing 19 towels in the bathroom.)

I'm clearly ignorant of some important social trend here - can someone fight this ignorance?

[LiveOnAPlane]

Originally Posted by Xema

I...I'm clearly ignorant of some important social trend here - can someone fight this ignorance?

No, you're not.

No one uses all those pillows, etc. It's an image thing.

[Smeghead]

You obviously haven't met my wife.

[MissGypsy]

Originally Posted by Smeghead

You obviously haven't met my wife.

Or me. I have 10 pillows, of varying sizes, on my bed. Some are great for lounging, some are good for sleeping, some are good for cuddling, and some are just decorative. Yes, my husband gets annoyed.

[Xema]

Originally Posted by Smeghead

You obviously haven't met my wife.

You are right. Perhaps you can describe her reaction to a plethora of pillows?

I assumed that the targets of these pillow wars were predominately female - it passes human belief that hotels are piling on the pillows to impress men. But I'm still puzzled as to how any human can find a use for seven pillows. What happens in the female brain that converts this into a good experience?

[Chief Pedant]

"Those aren't pillows!..."

Anyway, yeah; I think it's an image thing. I travel for a living, normally staying in the range of Marriott hotels. Even the lower end has four pillows/bed (queen or king).

[Indistinguishable]

Many years ago, when I worked in the hotel industry, I did in fact learn the rule underlying and explaining this. I can't remember exactly how it went, but I do remember the mnemonic "14 k of g in a f p d".

[Xema]

Originally Posted by MissGypsy

I have 10 pillows, of varying sizes, on my bed. Some are great for lounging, some are good for sleeping, some are good for cuddling, and some are just decorative.

Okay, now we have some useful data.

Do you truly spend significant time lounging and cuddling on your bed? Are the normal two pillows simply inadequate for these purposes? Can a pillow not be both decorative and functional? Is it not a nuisance to have to cast out as many as 9 pillows in order to use your bed for sleeping (assuming it gets put to this purpose)?

[Xema]

Originally Posted by Indistinguishable

I do remember the mnemonic "14 k of g in a f p d".

14 kinds of "GodWhatTheHeck" in a florid pillow display?

[Hedda Rosa]

I have 9 pillows on my bed; 2 decorative, the rest we use while sleeping.

1 thin pillow between my knees.
1 thicker pillow supporting my back.
1 thicker pillow to snuggle/supporting my front.
1 pillow under my head.
1 ready to go over my head to block out the morning light.
1 under my husband's head.
1 supporting my husband's back.
2 decorative pillows go on the floor overnight.

Basically I make myself a fabulous, cozy nest to sleep in. Husband has less of a nest requirement. He also is a very restless sleeper and without the pillows, I end up being kicked in the night, which I hate.

Walking into a hotel room and seeing 7 per bed would make think "Great - I don't need to call down for more pillows."

[Smeghead]

Originally Posted by Xema

You are right. Perhaps you can describe her reaction to a plethora of pillows?

Not really. I think even if we were to show up in a room with fourteen pillows, she'd still want her own from home. She's weird.

[jacquilynne]

I routinely use all the pillows on a hotel bed, and since I often stay in double rooms alone, some from the other bed, too.

At home, I have 5 pillows on my bed, but they're 5 carefully selected pillows. I need more in hotels to get the same effect. They are 1 thin, soft pillow under my waist propping my body up so my arm doesn't get munched underneath me (I can't sleep on my back, must sleep on my side), one large hard pillow and one soft pillow under my head to raise it up. One large hard pillow that I hug to support my upper arm and keep my chin up. One body pillow that variably keeps my knees and ankles apart depending on which hurts in any given night.

The real reason you're seeing so many pillows in hotels, though, is to create the image of luxury. Business class hotels compete significantly on the quality of their beds--you may have seen the ads for the Westin Heavenly Bed, or other TV ads for various chains particular style of bedding. They're deliberately trying to escape the stereotype of crappy hotel pillows and worn out beds, and the mass of pillows is part of creating that image of hominess and excess.

[SnakesCatLady]

I sleep with a pillow under my head, one between my knees, one to hug, and one behind my back so I can hug it when I turn over. I also like to have an extra or two so when they get too warm I can swap them out for a cooler one.

Mr. SCL usually uses two if he can get them.

14 pillows? I'd be in heaven.

[BaneSidhe]

I have 5---one's a body pillow, 2 smaller pillows under a king-size pillow, and a plushy one for between my knees. I'd like to get one of those full-body pillows I've seen that have pockets to put hot packs in for when I get to hurting so bad I can't sleep.

[pilot141]

I'd agree that it is competition to make you feel more at home (or at least in a friend's guest room). Lots of pillows on the bed and the outward-bowed shower curtain rod are the two trends I've seen lately.

[SailedTheOceanBlue]

Originally Posted by Xema

There were seven for each bed, making 14 per room (not counting those on couches and sofas). I was told this hotel has 631 rooms, so thats around 8800 total. Given spares (presumbaly held in a giant spare pillow room somewhere in the basement), that's well over 9000 pillows in this hotel.

Not all rooms will have two beds, though it is still a whole bunch pf pillows. I agree with jacquilynne , it is all about creating an image of luxury. Your local Holiday Inn isn't going to have a full compliment of down pillows, they have one, waiting in the closet for the guest who has an allergy to fiberfill. (I wonder how much pillows cost in bulk.)

I personally have 10 pillows on my bed: four decorative, four for my husband and two for me.

[missred]

Sounds like I'd feel right at home. I have seven pillows on my bed: two thin and one fluffy down for my head, one thin and one big one for under my knees and two for my bedmate.

[Sage Rat]

Just for the sake of all the people who are saying "Bring it on!", I'll note that decorative pillows like you would see in a fancy hotel generally have beads and tough fabrics and whatnot sowed into them. They're not made to be used as a pillow, nor would they be comfortable to use for it.

[bouv]

I too use all the pillows provided at hotels, but only because I like to make myself a little fort.

[Pasta]

I happen to be posting this from a hotel room. When I walked in, I saw five regular (i.e., plain white, non-decorative, meant for sleeping) pillows and immediately thought, "Sweet." But now that I've been here for a few days, I really wish I had three more. They're down pillows, so they squish under pressure. So:

- Sleeping: two for my knees, two for my head (I'm a side sleeper)

- Sitting up watching TV: all of 'em, to make a way to lean against the wooden headboard

- Sitting up working on my laptop: I need more! All of 'em to sit up against, one to prop up my knees a bit, and one under the laptop (to get the keyboard angle right).

An eighth one would go behind me also, since five midsize down pillows just can't quite make a full bed-chair.

So, yeah: I just don't see seven as crazy. Incidentally, this is a run-of-the-mill hotel, nothing fancy.

[choie]

I wonder if some of it also has to do with allowing sleepers to adjust their comfort level in a bed that might otherwise be too hard/soft/otherwise 'foreign'. I've found hotel beds to be really hard, and since I'm not one of those "gimme a wooden board and a sheet and I'm happy" type of gals, I like having extra pillows around to cushion the blow, so to speak. One beneath my neck/head, one under my knees, one to hug, etc. So having the pillows could avoid my having a lousy night's sleep, OR annoying the desk clerk in looking for softer mattresses. (I'd never choose the latter option, personally. But I bet some people would.)

Plus the luxury thing, of course. I mean ... pillows! They're awesome!

[slaphead]

I don't normally pay a huge amount of attention, but generally I find that there will be at least one skinny and one big fluffy pillow, and often a whole lot more in different materials and thicknesses. I was under the impression that hotels were giving the guest a selection to let them choose their preferred pillow style in order to save housekeeping having to run back and forth with pillows all night long.

[jjimm]

There's some ad in London about some luxury business hotel that implies it has a pillow library, with your own personalised pillow in it if you're a regular. I suspect it's hyperbole, but maybe they keep your pillow preference in their database and put your fave pillow type/s in your room before you arrive.

[asterion]

I probably shouldn't really post in this thread (being a guy and all) but I only have three pillows. One quite firm, one less firm, and one of those tall things with arms that I use in place of a headboard. And I don't really care where my head is or what's under it.

Seriously, what the heck do people need all those pillows for?

[jacquilynne]

Originally Posted by jjimm

There's some ad in London about some luxury business hotel that implies it has a pillow library, with your own personalised pillow in it if you're a regular. I suspect it's hyperbole, but maybe they keep your pillow preference in their database and put your fave pillow type/s in your room before you arrive.

The guest guide at W hotels indicate that they'll do this, as well. You can call down and request a body pillow or any of several other types of pillows, and then the next time you stay there, they should have it in your room waiting for you.

I haven't tried it--or rather, I did call and request a body pillow, but haven't since been back because their customer service was so ridiculously terrible when the door lock on my room wasn't working.

[Xema]

Well, I now see that some people can actually find uses for vast numbers of pillows. Consider my ignorance fought.

It strikes me that it might be a questionable strategy to develop a dependence on many pillows. What then happens when you find yourself required to sleep in a bed that has no more than three or four?

[nivlac]

In a double queen room, I routinely toss all but two pillows onto the unused bed. So out of 14 to 16 pillows, I only use 2. I've always wondered if housekeeping actually changes the pillow cases for the dozen or more unused ones. OK, let's not include the 6 or so decorative pillows. That still leaves 6 or so unused pillows with clean pillow cases. What a waste of time and energy to remove. replace, and launder these clean pillows. I assume that's what happens since I don't see how housekeeping can assume that any of the unused pillows are clean.

[Kevbo]

I love my sister, but is she ever in the more pillows == better camp.

The worst thing is that she stores stuff in her guest bedroom....so that the closet is full, and the only available horizontal surfaces are the bed and the floor.

This means I need to place the 12 or so redudant pillows, the bedspread, and the comforter (which cover the blanket and the sheet) onto the floor in order to sleep in the bed. THEN she gets annoyed with me for putting her stuff on the floor.

As I said, I love my sister.

[Zeriel]

You people are all crazy. I have one memory foam pillow. I take it with me on trips and throw the hotel pillows on the floor with the comforter.

[stolichnaya]

Seriously. Do any of you ever go camping? My favorite so far is the alert-5 hugging pillow pre-staged to the rear in case of a mid-sleep position reversal.

I guess that I must be particular about something that would make you all nuts, but still. Ten pillows?

[cowgirl]

I once wondered about the purpose of all those pillows, so I tried it myself. I think I had a maximum of four at one time. No matter how comfortably I arranged those blasted pillows before I went to sleep, I ended up chucking all but one on the floor by morning. In my dreams I thought I was being smothered. I felt like my bed was all cluttered and I had to fight for flat space. I'd get cramps if I tried to prop up body parts with them, and the bedding would get all tangled up.

I now have only two pillows on my bed. (Not including the dog, who should count as a pillow, but who won't permit me to chuck him on the floor in my sleep.) If I don't have an overnight guest, the one "spare" that I keep there is used to prop up my book while I'm reading on my side, and it usually finds its way into the crack between the bed and the wall sometime during the night.

[jjimm]

Originally Posted by Zeriel

You people are all crazy. I have one memory foam pillow. I take it with me on trips and throw the hotel pillows on the floor with the comforter.

I find that slightly odd, too. I use whatever I'm given, or a rolled-up t-shirt if nothing else is forthcoming. (Thinks: perhaps this is why American tourists have such big suitcases...)

When I was at college I used to make a very comfy pillow out of my shoes too - but it took vast quantities of marijuana and alcohol to achieve the effect.

[Anne Neville]

I'm obviously staying in the wrong hotels. When Mr. Neville and I stay in a hotel, we usually get a room with one king bed, and there are three pillows. Since we both like to sleep on two pillows, the first thing we do in a hotel room is look for an extra pillow, and call down to the desk if there isn't one.

[SnakesCatLady]

Originally Posted by stolichnaya

Seriously. Do any of you ever go camping? My favorite so far is the alert-5 hugging pillow pre-staged to the rear in case of a mid-sleep position reversal.

I guess that I must be particular about something that would make you all nuts, but still. Ten pillows?

Camping? No, not since I turned 40. My idea of camping is no room service.

I can do without that many pillows - if I am staying at a friend or relative's house I don't demand they supply me with a metric buttload of pillows. But hey - it's my house, it's my bed, and I can sleep however I want without bothering anyone. I do the laundry.

When I go on hockey road trips, I take a pillow. So do most of my traveling companions.

[Swallowed My Cellphone]

Originally Posted by asterion

Seriously, what the heck do people need all those pillows for?

I have five pillows on my bed. As I'm getting older, I'm finding they come in handy when I hurt myself doing sporty stuff.

For example, when I was mountain biking and I ended up at the bottom of the hill, while my bike was still up at the top, I used one for my head, two under my knees, and two on either side of me to prevent me from rolling over and making my back scream.

[Zeriel]

I don't ALWAYS carry it, mind you, but if I don't get a pretty firm pillow I get insanely painful neck cramps. Granted, I also only pack one pair of pants for a week long trip, so MY suitcase isn't all that huge--I only ever use the "fits under an airplane seat" size and even that's too big.

[gigi]

I appreciate three or four pillows in a hotel because I lounge on them to watch TV. At home, two pillows under my head is sufficient.

I think it was a Comfort Inn where I stayed last, and they had decorative pillows, including bolster-style, in addition to utilitarian ones. They just get tossed onto the extra bed.

[MissGypsy]

Originally Posted by Xema

Okay, now we have some useful data.

Do you truly spend significant time lounging and cuddling on your bed? Are the normal two pillows simply inadequate for these purposes? Can a pillow not be both decorative and functional? Is it not a nuisance to have to cast out as many as 9 pillows in order to use your bed for sleeping (assuming it gets put to this purpose)?

Well, yes, we try to spend as much lounging and cuddling time on the bed as possible. The fringed pillows tend to tickle my nose when I sleep, so those are removed. The round pillow isn't comfortable for anyone but the toddler, so we remove that, also, to discourage him from climbing into bed with us.

My husband finds it a slight nuisance, but he also enjoys finding the bed made everyday. He can just deal with the superfluous pillows, or make the bed himself.