Hi Lee,

Many thanks for your question about mattresses for short term rental rooms or Air B&B. It's a really good question which we get asked a lot!

If you're looking for a mattress for a rental room you're going to need a bed that can accommodate a variety of bodyweight, sleeping positions and sleeper types. This may sound really tricky to meet all these requirements but it is possible with some careful planning.

Mattress in rental rooms or guest houses do suffer from more, shall we say, abuse that a regular mattress. Suitcases on beds, people sitting on them for extended periods of time or people treating them more carelessly all need to be taken into account. This is why we always recommend a pocket sprung mattress with perimeter edge support. This helps keep the mattress in working order for longer.

Cheaper entry-level foam beds such as memory foam are really not suitable for rentals, they tend to settle far faster (as they are always one-sided) and people putting excess stress on them can really damage and shorten their life span.

Spring tension for rental mattresses
You're going to need a pocket spring tension that fits the majority of sleepers. So we always recommend a 1.4 medium gauge pocket spring that accommodates 9-16 stone sleepers perfectly. As I said above, having a firmer row of pocket springs known as edge support is also really important to provide edge of the mattress support and give it a longer shelf life.

Mattress Upholstery fort Rentalm Room Beds

The key part of mattresses for rental rooms is suitable upholstery that is both comfortable and robust. You need fibres that will manage with a variety of bodyweight, so usually, we recommend a firmer feel mattress in the upholstery layer. This firmer feel is not provided by the spring unit, but by the mattress comfort layers.

Polyester and reflex foam layers provide the most resilience and lifespan. When used in a 2 sided mattress this provides the most flexibility as the mattress can be turned and rotated to help even out settlement from differently weighted sleepers.

Mattress Sizes for rented rooms:

For most rental rooms a double-sized mattress is sufficient for short term lets. We find this is the most popular size.

However, if you do choose a larger size such as a kingsize or super kingsize, you may want to consider a zip and link mattress. This is because they offer more central support with larger mattresses, in particular ones that are going to be used again by a large number of different sleepers. It also makes turning and rotating them far easier than a one-piece, Lastly, you can split a super king zip and link into two singles if the occupancy of the rented room changes, giving you more options.

Mattress Recommendation for a rented room:

The best mattress in terms of value and robustness for a rented room or AIr B&B is our Origins Pocket Reflex mattress. Hand made here in the UK this medium tension pocket sprung mattress offers a firmer feel in the upholstery layer. An excellent ‘all-rounder’ with layers of soft foam and polyester over pocket springs, which provide comfort, durability and a supportive firmer feel.   It contains 1020GSM of firmer feel fibres and 1000 1.4 gauge pocket springs.

Origins Reflex Mattress

1: 750GSM VERY SOFT POLYESTER

2: ONE INCH REFLEX FOAM LAYER

3: 270GSM POLYESTER

4: ONE INCH REFLEX FOAM LAYER

5: 1000 SPUN BOND POCKET SPRINGS (MED OR FIRM TENSION)

TOTAL: 1020GSM

DEPTH: 33-35CM

How often to replace rented room mattresses?

Given the additional usage and mixed bodyweights, we recommend changing your rental mattress every 3-5 years depending on its condition. It does depend somewhat on the frequency of use. Hotel beds need to be changed once a year given the heavy abuse they suffer along with weekend bounce! ;-)

Always use mattress protectors to avoid stains from bodily fluids or spill, this will help keep the mattress looking newer for longer. Also turning and rotating monthly is essential.

We hope that helps and gives you further mattress buying guidance. If you're ready to place an order you can do this through our website or if you prefer over the phone with us. If you have any more mattress related questions please get back in touch on info@localhost or 0161 437 4419.

Sleep well.
John & Ryan