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[00:00:00] Sarah: Hello, listeners. Welcome back for another great episode. My name is Sarah Karakaian.

[00:00:03] Annette: I am Annette Grant. And together we’re–

[00:00:05] Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting.

[00:00:06] Sarah: And this is the–

[00:00:07] Both Annette & Sarah: Hosting Hotline.

[00:00:08] Sarah: I am so excited to talk about today’s question. Before we do, if you don’t know what the hosting hotline is, it is where you can call in. Go to hostinghotline.com. You can record your question, and then we will answer it here on the podcast. If we don’t have the answer to your question, we will leverage our network of experts and get the right answer for you.

[00:00:28] So what are you waiting for? Go to hostinghotline.com right now. Ask the hosting question, and help all the other hosts that tune into our podcast every week. Learn about your challenge. It’ll help them when that challenge comes our way because it will.

[00:00:43] Annette: What are you waiting for? Give us a call. Agents are standing by.

[00:00:48] Questions: Hey, Annette and Sarah. We are about ready to launch our first short-term rental on the beach. Thank you so much for the wisdom that we’ve garnered from this podcast over the last couple of months. I’ve been vetting out cleaning companies and have been a little surprised about standard practice of washing that top layer, whether it be a quilt or duvet.

[00:01:07] It seems like most of the cleaners that I am vetting don’t wash that regularly, which to be honest, gave me the heebie-jeebies. I thought that needs to be turned over between each guest. So wanted to get your wisdom. Is that standard practice in the industry or I need to be washing those myself or finding someone who would wash those between each turnover for me? Also, any other wisdom that you have with bedding, number of layers, quilts versus duvets, really providing a high quality, comfortable, luxury experience for the guests, what needs to be on that bed. Thanks so much.

[00:01:40] Annette: Heebie-jeebies.

[00:01:42] Sarah: You gave me a heebie-jeebies too, girl. I feel you. Here’s the thing I will tell you. This is a highly debated topic, so this is our opinion.

[00:01:50] Annette: Naked bodies touch those areas, right?

[00:01:54] Sarah: You are not wrong in that hotels do not wash that top layer between every single guest. They do not. And I know that because I’ve worked in them, and it blows my mind. Does that mean we don’t have to because they don’t? I don’t think so. I think it’s gross because people will put their luggage on the top of the bed when they arrive.

[00:02:15] They will do what humans do on the top of the bed during their stay. We don’t know what happens to the top layer of our beds, and so it’s my responsibility as a host to make sure that that property is as clean and sanitized and as ready. Our mission our whole team lives by is that every guest feels like they’re the first guest to enter that property.

[00:02:37] So all of our soaps are full to the top. All of our pillows are fluffy. They’ve never been squished by someone else. That is what we want to present to all of our guests. And for us from day one, it has always been that entire bed is laundered.

[00:02:49] Annette: Here’s what we want to say about you finding it challenging to hire right now. The one way that you can help hire your team is, I heard you say you might come in and do that. I don’t think you coming in and doing the top layer is going to be a good use of your time or a sustainable to scale or just sustainable period. One thing is you could absolutely, though, when you’re talking to those teams, make sure they understand you’re going to be equipping them with multiples.

[00:03:16] So it’s like, hey, we understand that a lot of time it comes down to time constraints of washing and drying laundry. Any of us who’ve turned over a property and have had to wait around for the dryer, we know that that’s painful.

[00:03:29] So if you can talk to them about that of like, hey, I’ll have multiples here. You’re not going to have to wait around for the quilt or the duvets, because that’s also a debate as how long those things take to dry. And so I think offering that to who you hire, that will make them feel a lot more comforted, if your demands are higher, but you’re also meeting them with you will have multiples.

[00:03:50] You will never have to turn the same duvet or the same quilt and put that right back on the bed because time will just become a challenge there. So I think that’s what you can offer to them. And I love that you’re asking the question ahead of time. I would just say, since you haven’t launched yet, waiting to find the exact person that’s going to meet your standards there is worth it.

[00:04:10] And finding that cleaner, if it goes above and beyond, you find the perfect company, just like what can we do to make this work? If that is above and beyond, is it extra compensation? Again, this is your business, so they need to be up to your standards also. And then let’s talk about the high-quality bedding. How many quilts, duvets. People run hot. People run cold.

[00:04:30] Sarah: I want to offer to offer this to you is well is you don’t have to have a duvet. I know you’re on a beach. I don’t know where on a beach you are, if you’re up North, if you’re more south. I do know that a lot of the people in our mastermind prefer to have quilts, and there are quilts made specifically for hospitality that they don’t wear and tear easy, and they launder and dry very fast.

[00:04:56] We prefer standard textile through HostGPO. That is the bedding that we use, and I can challenge you to take what those cleaners are saying and say, how can we meet in the middle? Whether it’s, can I pay you more to do this thing? Or if I got a quilt or a blanket that fits into a washer easy, it quickly dries, I’ll have extra so you don’t have to wait for it.

[00:05:18] Can you meet me in the middle? Because this is something I’m not willing to compromise on. And I would be surprised if they wouldn’t meet you in the middle, especially in today’s marketplace. I do know that there are a lot of cleaning companies that are looking for long-lasting relationships.

[00:05:35] So while they have their own business and their own standards, just like the rest of us are willing to accommodate our guests, I think you’re going to find a cleaning company that is going to see where you’re at and be able to meet you somewhere in the middle.

[00:05:47] Annette: Also, quilts are easier than having to stuff a duvet.

[00:05:50] Sarah: Yes, they are.

[00:05:51] Annette: I’m team quilt on that part because me and a duvet, we get in matches together.

[00:05:55] Sarah: I love the way a duvet looks. The bed looks fluffier, and it looks cloud-like, and I’m obsessed with that. But let’s move on to, you said, bedding. Here’s what we do. We have a very comfortable mattress. It starts with that mattress. Actually it starts with a bed frame and making sure if you got a bed frame off of Wayfair or Amazon, and they are put together with screws that use a hex key, an Allen wrench to put them together, just know that they are going to unscrew very quickly.

[00:06:26] So I would check how tight that bed is every quarter, because you’re not going to know this, and your guests may not tell you, but they will be annoyed when they toss and turn at night and your bed makes noise. And I think if you have anyone handy in your family or on your team that can secure that bed frame so that you don’t have that problem and it’s actually fastened with actual fasteners that aren’t going to loosen quickly, I would invest in that.

[00:06:50] So the bed frame is really great. And I also consider this with the bed frame, how high it is off the ground can be helpful for people with mobility challenges, and makes it easier for your cleaners to clean underneath. So how high that bed is. I know there are people who’d have those bed frames where you can’t actually clean underneath it at all.

[00:07:08] It goes right to the floor. And if you choose that option, some people like that because it helps with the cleaning. So just both those schools of thoughts. I like the ones that are higher up because it helps people with mobility issues. They can leverage themselves or their chair and get into the bed.

[00:07:21] Okay, you’ve got a great bed frame. Now the mattress is very comfortable. I have started using the Helix Hospitality Mattress through HostGPO. It’s awesome from price point and comfortability. It’s amazing. After that, make sure you encase your mattress in a mattress protector. I like standard textiles mattress protector because, here’s the cool part.

[00:07:42] A lot of those mattress protectors you get off of Amazon, you have to hoist that thing over your thick mattress. It takes an army of people to do it, and it’s tight. Hopefully it’s tightly fit around it. And you want to pick one that doesn’t make noise, but if you ever want to wash it, you have to unzip it and take that whole thing off.

[00:08:03] It’s like putting on a pair of your favorite skinny jeans if you still wear skinny jeans. I hear they’re not in style anymore. That’s what it feels like. You got to shim it off the mattress. It’s not fun. Standard Textile has thought about us hosts and hospitality, and the mattress protector, just the top comes off when you want to wash it. You zip off the entire top, and the bottom stays on.

[00:08:24] Annette: So much easier.

[00:08:26] Sarah: Your pillows.

[00:08:28] Annette: Protect your pillows.

[00:08:29] Sarah: Protect your pillows. When you select your pillows– we like to do this. We like to do too firm and too soft if you have a full queen or king bed. Two for each guest. In this way, they can customize their comfort. There are people who like to put a pillow between their knees, and they like to have a firmer pillow on their head. Some guests will bring their own pillow.

[00:08:46] Annette: Also, why you need to use pillow protector. Did you hear what she just said? They put the pillow between their private areas. Yeah.

[00:08:54] Sarah: I said between their knees.

[00:08:56] Annette: Yeah, yeah.

[00:08:57] Sarah: We’re going to move on from that visual. Make sure you do protect your pillows with a pillow protector. And then this is the highly– and I know I’m going to get some of you so upset right now. I do not subscribe to the–

[00:09:10] Annette: Triple-sheeted bed.

[00:09:12] Sarah: I like a fitted sheet. I’m just going to say it. I’m a fitted sheet type of lady. I like the way it fits better. I don’t think it’s a challenge for us to have it in our inventory. This is my opinion. You can take it or leave it. And so what that means is you could just have flat sheets and wrap the flat sheet around your mattress.

[00:09:26] And so all you need are flat sheets and your quilt or your duvet cover. It’s less inventory. It’s less different things. I don’t mind it. So I have a fitted sheet. I also have a flat sheet. And then I, like I said, I like the duvet because they look like clouds.

[00:09:39] Annette: But then you like a quilt on the end of the bed too?

[00:09:40] Sarah: I do. I have a quilt on the end of the bed at the foot of the bed because guests like to take it off the bed and go into– and we have throw blankets. There’s something about a big blanket and taking it to the living room sofa, or they run cold.

[00:09:53] Annette: We just did this. Sarah and I rented an Airbnb. I thought it had two beds. It didn’t, and I wanted two. I was going to toss and turn, so I slept on the couch, but I used– because there was no additional bedding. There was no extra bedding, but that quilt on the bottom of the bed was perfect because it was large enough for me to lay it on the couch and then me use it as a cover. So it was great for two people sleeping.

[00:10:12] And also just having more options is great. Some people sleep hot. Some people sleep cold. Having those options, you’re not going to go wrong with having the duvet and the quilt, for sure.

[00:10:22] Sarah: And then we also subscribe to white bedding. I always have. I think I always will. I know there’s a lot of debate around that. It’s like, well, we’re not hotels. We get to have a little bit more fun with our bedding. And listen, if you’ve got a whole vibe going with different colored bedding or a whole situation with your aesthetics that you’re trying to achieve, I am not telling you to not do that.

[00:10:42] For us, and our guests have let us know that it is like transparency having white bedding. There’s no way we can hide anything.

[00:10:49] Annette: I want to go wash all my sheets now. These are great questions because at the end of the day, let’s all remember this is what the guest is staying. They’re paying for an overnight stay. You’re never going to regret splurging on these items and thinking it through and choosing the best items. So great question.

[00:11:04]  Sarah: Yeah. And I really don’t even think you have to splurge. Again, if you get your bedding, I know so many of you do on Amazon or those marketplaces, they’re not necessarily built for hospitality use. So they might be cheaper upfront, but trust me, from experience, you’re going to go through them more often. So if you invest in a more hospitality grade, they clean up easier. So if they stain, it’s easy to get the stain out, and they dry so fast, and they still feel great year after year. With that, I am Sarah Karakaian.

[00:11:33] Annette: I am Annette Grant. And together we are–

[00:11:35] Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting.

[00:11:35] Sarah: Talk to you next time.