Guestroom Beds
Good beds and mattress are actually an investment in comfort and health in hotel industry. Various types of beds and mattress are generally used in hotels including conventional guestrooms beds, and extra beds i.e. cribs, sofa beds, Murphy or sico beds, and rollaway beds.
Parts of Guestroom Beds
Most beds consist of the following parts. These parts are as follows:
(i) A Frame, on which the springs and mattresses rest is usually a rectangular metal or wooden framework.
(ii) A Base, which may be made of open coiled springs, wire mesh or laminated wooden strips which provide flexibility and support.
(iii) A Mattress, which lies on top of the springs and provides extra padding.
(iv) A Headboard, which are not part of the bed. They are typically mounted on the wall behind the beds and not on the frame.
(v) A Foot board, usually made of wood or metal and lower in height than the headboard.
Types of Bed Frame
Bed frame are of two types. These are as follows:
- Platform Frames: Platform frames, also known as Box Frame, are usually made from wood. It provide the bed springs and mattress with a platform or box on which to rest.
- Metal Frames: Metal Frames consists of four lengths of angle iron with a metal leg attached to each corner. The metal legs may have castor wheels or furniture glides attached to them.
Types of Bed Base
In bed base, it is made of coiled springs or wooden strips that provide additional support and suspension to the mattress. Springs are added to the base to increase the life of the bed. Wire springs and coils are attached together and covered with padding.
Bed Base are basically of four types. These are as follows:
- Box Springs: The coil for box springs are made of heavy gauge steel. These are mounted on a wooden frame and covered with a pad. It acts as a shock absorbers, provide cushioning and movement of the sleeper.
- Meta-Coiled Spring: Metal-coiled spring are basically arranged in two layers. Bottom spring are tightly coiled which provide good support, whereas top spring are loosely coiled for flexibility.
- Flat Bed Spring: The metal strips that are attached lengthwise to the frame using helical hooks are called flat bed springs. These hooks are small coils with hooks at both ends. Flat bed spring are most frequently found on rollaway beds.
- Stretched Springs: Stretched springs are made out of flexible, thick metal wires on one side and a strongly coiled spring that is fastened to the frame on the other. The springs are on the sides, and the wire criss-cross to cover the center of the frame.
Headboard
- The headboard’s primary purpose is to shield the wall from oily stains left by guests heads.
- The height of the headboard must be between 30 – 45 centimeters above the mattress’s top.
- It can be constructed from a variety of materials and styles. Headboards should be simple to maintain and clean.
Mattress
A mattress is a large, rectangular, cushioned pad designed to support the body during sleep or rest, typically placed on top of a bed frame. It is usually made with materials such as foam, latex, innerspring coils, or a combination of these, and is often covered with fabric.
Mattress are of the following types. These are as follows:
1. Interior Spring Mattress
An inner layer of springs sits between layers of cushioning and insulation in interior spring mattresses. These are of three types. These are:
- Open Spring Mattress: This kind of mattress have hourglass (i.e. sandglass, sand timer, or sand clock shaped) wire coils placed between wire frames.
- Pocketed Spring Mattress: This kind of mattress are having cylindrical springs enclosed in a fabric or foam packed.
- Continuous Spring Mattress: The wire used to make the springs is connected and twisted into a mesh-like design. Because it fits to the curve of the body, it is perfect for double beds. For this reason, they are also known as posture spring mattresses.
2. Latex or Foam Rubber Mattress
- This kind of mattress are made from synthetic rubber that is whipped into foam with a chemical setting agent while in a semi-liquid state and poured into heated molds.
- In the molds, the foam gets shaped, set and vulcanized (i.e. harden by treating it with sulphur at a high temperature.) without losing any of its tiny air cells.
- A good foam mattress may be about 10cm deep and have a layers of foam, with the firmest layer at the bottom & the softest at the top.
- These mattress are extremely flexible and they regain their original shape rapidly after being lie down.
- They are not prone to attack by moths and other pests.
- The latex ones are more durable than the synthetic form mattress.
3. Solid Stuffed Mattress
- This kind of mattress are made by filling a fabric with padding.
- The padding may be in the foam of animal hair, cotton, wool, kapok (kind of cotton), etc.
- All stuffed mattress are prone to attack moths and other pests.
- They are penetrable and require frequent turning when in use.
- They require frequent remaking as they tend to loose easily.
4. Plastic Mattress
- These are made from polyethylene and vinyl foam.
- They are non-absorbent and resistant to attack by moths and other pests.
- For use in hotels, they should be treated with a fire resistant finish since they produce toxic fumes on catching fire.
5. Water Mattress
- This kind of mattress resembles interior-sprung mattress in appearance.
- These cells are covered with vinyl-covered urethane foam and the perimeter of the mattress has a row of inner spring coils that are meant to provide support to a person sitting on the edge of the bed.