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?
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.
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?
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).
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”.
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)?
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.