How to Help Guests Sleep on Vacation
One of the reasons people go on vacation is to unplug from their demanding lifestyles. Between work, kids, maintaining a home, etc., responsibilities can take their toll.
This becomes evident when you look at the ongoing sleep epidemic in America, in which 70 percent of adults suffer from at least once a month.
But there is a way for them to catch up on sleep, and that is, you guessed it, going on vacation!
Staying at your property is a way for them to recharge and return home feeling like their best selves, but simply vacationing at your rental does not guarantee this.
You have to create an environment where guests are able to sleep on vacation, and Modern Innkeeper wants to let you know the best way to do this!
Blackout Curtains
People do not sleep with the lights off just because. They do it because in the dark is where the body recognizes it is time to shut off, so the darker you can get your rental’s bedrooms, the better your guests will sleep.
Science Says So
When the human eye detects sunlight, cortisol, a hormone, increases and tells that person it is time to wake up. When the human eye detects the sun is going down, melatonin, a chemical, activates and tells that person it is time to wind down, eventually making them go to sleep.
Melatonin does its job until the sun starts to rise, and then, cortisol takes over.
But it’s vacation, and guests do not want cortisol to take over!
Blackout curtains, some block out 100 percent of sunlight, will keep guests’ melatonin working for as long as they want, and help them catch up on sleep life has been depriving them of.
Types of Blackout Curtains
If messing up your rental’s interior with blackout curtains is a concern, do not worry! Not all blackout curtains are black, so you can choose some that complement your bedrooms’ décor, as opposed to ones that darken it no matter the time of day:
● Sound-reducing blackout curtains
● Energy efficient blackout curtains
● Solid color blackout curtains
● Insulated blackout curtains
● And plenty more!
Find out which type is best for your rental by looking for options here.
4 Other Ways to Help Guests Sleep
Aside from creating total darkness in your vacation property’s bedrooms, there are other ways you can promote quality sleep, some more obvious than others.
Have Comfortable Bedding
Obviously, comfortable bedding is more enticing than uncomfortable bedding, but there is more to it than that.
Especially when you are the host.
When your guests walk in their bedrooms, they are going to judge how the bed looks and determine if they are going to sleep well or not.
Therefore, you need to make sure they experience optimal comfort!
Get matching linens and do not let them sleep on any worn out pillows or raggedy sheets. If you do, you will crush their dreams of having a relaxing vacation.
Here are tips on how to have the perfect bed set.
Eliminate Electronics
You have no say over whether or not guests bring their electronics to bed, but there are ways you can discourage them from doing so, even from afar:
● Do not have a television
● Remove any digital clocks
● Discourage phone and tablet usage by not providing bedside chargers
And if guests are on their phones right before they go to bed, at least you can say you tried!
Set the Right Temperature
This is another thing you cannot fully control once guests are there, but you can have an easy-to-use system guests can man themselves!
From one guest to the next, what the perfect temperature is while sleeping may vary, so to ensure you satisfy all needs, get these five items to make everyone happy.
Paint the Bedrooms
We know the psychology behind colors in hospitality, but did you know they also have the power to impact guests’ sleep?
A study in Britain showed people whose rooms were one of these colors enjoyed the most sleep:
● Blue (calming)
● Yellow (happiness)
● Green (positive for well-being)
And the colors of the people’s bedrooms who slept the least:
● Purple (stimulating)
● Grey (dreariness)
● Brown (loneliness)
If you have wanted to paint your rental’s bedrooms for quite some time but are lacking the necessary motivation, helping your guests sleep on vacation may be what pushes you to do it!
Especially if they are any of the last three colors.
Good Sleep Leads to Happy Guests
Sleep is a crucial, and often overlooked, part of life. It accounts for 33 percent of it and dictates our mood and much more as it relates to our health.
With such a large amount of America struggling with sleep, it is likely some of these people are your guests. Get them back on track by equipping your bedrooms with blackout curtains and other methods that promote a good night’s rest.