Four Season Hotels and Resorts on Monday introduced The Four Seasons Bed – a customizable hotel bed offering guests the opportunity to effectively choose their own bed and amenities to personalize their sleep experience.
A mattress system developed by Four Seasons in partnership with leading bed manufacturer gives guests a choice of three different levels of firmness, along with a variety of pillows and bedside amenities.
Features of the new Four Seasons bed include:
- A system of mattress toppers engineered specifically for Four Seasons that offers guests three choices to customize their bed: Signature, Signature Firm, and Signature Plush.
- A topper that can be switched in minutes; those returning to a Four Seasons location will find their favorite topper already in place when they arrive.
- Gel Touch Foam Center technology that absorbs extra heat, ensuring maximum comfort throughout the sleep.
The Four Seasons bed is already in place in several locations in the U.S., and will replace beds at all Four Seasons locations over the next few years as part of the normal course of upgrade. The bed will also be available for purchase along with a full array of pillows and bed linens through local Four Seasons locations as they are installed in each hotel and resort.
In celebration of World Sleep Day on March 14, Four Seasons will host Twitter chats (#inbedwithFS)Thursday, March 13 at 9 p.m. EDT and on Friday, March 14 from 3 p.m. EDT. Participants will include a Dream Team of Four Seasons sleep experts as well as Dr. Carol Ash, director of sleep medicine for Meridian Health, and dream guru Kelly Sullivan Walden.
In advance of the announcement, Four Seasons conducted research in late 2013 among travellers from the U.S., Great Britain, Russia and China who stayed in any hotel. Highlights include:
- 92% of respondents expressed distinct preferences on the firmness of a bed. Only 7% of respondents had no opinion on the firmness of the mattress, with 50% saying they like medium, followed by 28% preferring firm and 14% soft.
- 30% said they have requested a room change or taken other action – a handful even opting to sleep on the floor or in the bathtub – when their hotel bed didn’t suit their needs. In general, travellers under 35 are the most likely to speak up, indicating an increasing demand for customization in the future.
- From a list of a dozen nighttime amenities, the favorites were bath salts and oils (23%), room scents (22%) and herbal tea (21%); desired bedside conveniences ranged from electrical outlets for personal devices and smart phones (56%) to a master switch for the window blinds (13%). Younger travellers were most likely to want an iPod dock.
- The one thing just about everybody has in common: 72% said they like to sleep on the same side of the bed they are used to at home.