Perfect sleep is hotels' priority

At a time when getting a good night’s sleep seems to be the greatest luxury for travellers, hotels across the world are making sure they provide the right combination of bed, pillows and aroma to induce the perfect sleep for their customers.

A study conducted by Hotels.com on the sleeping patterns of travellers across the world has shown that Indians are concerned over the quality of the mattress in their rooms more than tourists of many other nationalities. A majority of Indian travellers (75 per cent) say the quality of sleep in a hotel is always dependent on the hotel bed. Almost 62 per cent of the respondents feel the mattress is either too hard or too soft, and 25 per cent say dirty sheets affect the quality of their sleep.

Alison Couper, global communications director, Hotels.com, said, “When it comes to getting a good night’s sleep at a hotel, it is clear that it is not one-size-fits-all.”

The study even went on to explore the sleeping styles of people of different nationalities. “One in three Asian travellers, particularly those from Hong Kong, China and Korea, lay like a starfish. Almost one in four Europeans, on the other hand, prefer to sleep like a log. For Indian travellers, the most popular position to fall asleep is a tie between ‘folded on your side’ and ‘on your back with your legs crossed,” the study said.

According to the study, in order to get sound sleep, over half the travellers surveyed chose to watch TV, while over a third prefer a spot of reading before lights out. British and Irish travellers bucked the trend, with one in four British and one in three Irish travellers preferring a night cap to help them doze off at night. One in 10 (12 per cent) Australian travellers admitted to taking a sleeping tablet to guarantee a good night’s sleep.