Which duvets for holiday rental?

[ThisIsNotARealAvo]

We have a holiday home that we are about to start letting. I want to make the beds as comfortable as possible. At home we have a memory foam mattress topper so I will be getting those for the beds, but what is better in terms of duvets. I think down feels more luxurious and 'squishy' but they are hardly cruelty free and people can have allergies. The synthetic ones feel a bit stiff but are maybe better for this.

I know you can't please everyone anyway as we all have different preferences for hard/soft mattresses, duvet tog and number of pillows etc, but I want it to feel amazing if possible when people get in.

I've got really nice cotton bedding which I think feels lovely, just not sure which duvets to put in them.

If you have a rental property, how do you choose duvets, and if you use holiday rentals what kind of bed do you like?

I would go for synthetic. Easier to clean, cheaper, non-allergenic.
Plus, I hate memory foam toppers and would avoid any property with them.

I’d struggle with a down one due to asthma. Could you not have down but keep one spare synthetic one in a cupboard for people who need them?

Coverless duvet where everything can be slung in the washing machine, probably not the most luxurious but definitely the cleanest

If you've got great high thread count bed linen the duvet can be synthetic. I'd get no more than a mid tog one, and provide extra if someone gets chilly. I use my 9 tog one year round, though in high summer just the duvet cover with no duvet!

We have these "Soft As Down Microfibre Duvet | Soak&Sleep" www.soakandsleep.com/supremely-soft-as-down-duvet.html

They are very down like - even make a similar sound - but all the advantages of synthetic. I have washed and tumble dried the single ones at home many times (thanks to DS weeing on them!!) and they've maintained their shape/filling really well. Soak and sleep often have offers on too so you can probably get a good deal.

I buy the soft as down microfibre duvets 10.5 from soak and sleep for my holiday let. Bedspread folded over into a stripe at the bottom I buy these from Dawsons linens they have great sales so I picked up this seasons bedspreads for less than 20 quid each ( reduced from 150) handy as you need to swap them over for covid.

Mattresses are orthopaedic with a sheepskin topper then a quilted mattress protector.

Four pillows per bed (all double/ king) oxford pillow cases (faff to iron but look high end)

Everything apart from bedspreads comes from soak and sleep including mattresses.

I'd go for a low to medium tog rating, with extra blankets available. It's miserable having to sleep in a hot room (heating or summer weather) under a 13.5 tog duvet. I'd go for a quality synthetic over down for ease of cleaning and allergies.

Agree that a quality ‘feels like down’ synthetic one is good. Feels luxurious and avoids allergy issues and is washable.

Decent quality mattresses which are regularly rotated and turned and covered with decent, thick mattress covers might be better than toppers. However, you can overthink some of these things. Ensuring quality is key, but in reality you won’t list the brands or the duvet fillings or topper material in the cottage description in all liklihood.

When I pay lots for a high end cottage, I expect quality bed linen and mattresses, but I wouldn’t expect a very specific type of duvet or bed linen. People’s absolute preferences vary a lot, so you’ll never meet what everyone would choose, so just need to have a sense of what good quality is and also think about the issues of laundering, allergies and replacement.

With everything, keep several spares because people can wreck a duvet cover or duvet or even a mattress unfortunately. You need to expect a reasonably hight turnover and short life for some of these things even though they are expensive. Same goes for towels.

Whichever you choose, please have 2 of different togs available.

I’ve had it with only winter-tog duvets in summer holiday rentals.

Best IMO would be the all-seasons - two which can button together, which is what we have for all beds at home.

I stayed in an AirBNB once that had a memory foam mattress topper and while it was comfy it was far too warm.

Thanks this is really helpful! I will have a look at all the am suggestions.

I'd go with synthetic mid tog. White duvet covers and sheets so you know they are clean. I overheat and struggle to sleep on a bed with a topper.

Yes, my problem with memory toppers is they are far, far too hot.

Foam mattresses and toppers are best avoided. Lots of people hate them.

Agree that an all seasons duvet where the 2 parts button together seems best option.

In your holiday home file that you leave for customers, you can identify which tog duvet is put in the cover in which months and where the other part is if both aren’t is use and the guest wishes to use it.

Lots of holiday home owners like to use the same white bedding on all beds and then have different colour bed spreads to fold at the end of the bed.

The thing I really dislike in holiday homes is only enough cutlery sets for the no of people staying. You need at least double, because people can easily use 3 or 4 knives buttering toast before barely being up. The same goes for glasses and mugs. Make sure there are lots and at least enough for a full dishwasher. No-one wants to constantly wash up to get a clean cup.

@Teeshirt

Yes, my problem with memory toppers is they are far, far too hot.

Same for me.

As an allergy sufferer, please, no down or feather duvets or pillows!

Interesting that people aren't keen on the memory foam toppers. I couldn't be without mine but it seems lots of people don't mind. We have got good mattresses so a nice quilted protector should be enough.

Thanks for all the tips about duvets, I think we will go for medium tog with extra blankets and see in the winter if we need some winter weight ones. We have bookings starting in May so they shouldn't need winter duvets for a while hopefully.

Also take the point about dishes etc, I have made sure we have 16 of everything (house sleeps up to 8) but more cutlery and mugs will be useful.

Thanks again everyone b

If you go for white towels, it’s a good idea to supply dark (navy/black) face washers as otherwise you’ll be constantly dealing with foundation stains.

@Porridgeislife I have white flannels for my make up removal
and foundation comes off no problem with biological washing powder and a 60 degree wash and if necessary you can bleach them.

We stay in good quality holiday cottages and I much prefer white linen as you know it's clean.

We use these for our guest beds (two different thicknesses for each depending on season). They wash and dry really quickly and no messing about with covers.

We have these - www.marksandspencer.com/simply-soft-bounceback-10-5-tog-duvet/p/hbp60466172 - and I really like them but I have Soak & Sleep 'Soft as Down' pillows and they're fab so I expect the duvets are too.

@rosesarered321 how would you not be able to tell if a flannel was clean? Surely it’s quite obvious?

[quote Porridgeislife]@rosesarered321 how would you not be able to tell if a flannel was clean? Surely it’s quite obvious?[/quote]
I wouldn't like to use a dark coloured flannel where I couldn't see if grime from makeup had washed out. I know if it's been through the wash then it should be clean but I'd prefer a white one to be sure.