In American, and European hotels, mattress toppers have been popular for many years. It is only now, in Australia, that the accommodation industry is starting to understand the importance and benefits of mattress toppers. A mattress topper provides a softer style of sleeping experience. 

According to Wikipedia, “mattress toppers are designed to lie atop an existing  mattress. ...their function is to provide a layer of comfort and warmth between the user and the mattress. They are of particular benefit when the existing mattress is worn or uncomfortable. Toppers quite often have a contoured profile to facilitate airflow…this combined with its greater density are properties that give them their characteristic ‘weightlessness’ sensation.”

There are many benefits to using mattress topper technology. First, it is highly economical compared to buying a new mattress. It provides a longer life expectancy to an existing mattress and can solve the problem of bed joints where a hotel uses two single beds as a king bed.  The mattress topper can easily be fitted over the two single beds that fully converts your guests experience to a full-on king bed sleeping experience.

In an ever changing market one of the main objectives for any establishment is the comfort of the bedding, improving the sleeping experience for the guest thus improving the likelihood of repeat business. Mattress toppers are the most economic way of converting your existing beds to that higher quality experience. Not only does this provide for repeat business but it also produces and environment conducive to word of mouth recommendations to new clients.

Have you ever stayed in a hotel where your overall experience was let down by an uncomfortable nights sleep? I must admit I have on a number of occasions. This is unfortunate for some properties given the expense they go to in other areas, particularly when the solution is simple and not expensive.

Mattress toppers are a great way to introduce variety to your bedding as they come in many different, styles, fillings and weights, each of which contribute to the overall comfort and feel of your existing bedding.

Regardless of the type of topper chosen there are a number of factors that as a buyer you should be aware.  It is important that the outer shell be made of down-proof fabric so the fibres do not migrate through the fabric during use.  It is recommended that the topper wall or gusset be a minimum of 5cm as this is considered the industry standard. Lesser standards are considered to be more mattress pads.

Mattress pads also tend to be box stitched/sewn through design (with no baffle) and normally come with a smaller sized gusset of between a 2-4cm walls. Some manufacturers have cleverly marketed this products as a topper, however as stated above these are considered to be more a mattress pad. Nonetheless, many properties at the lower end of the market can use these products to improve the quality of their bedding.

Mattress toppers come in a number of fillings. The filling will form a substantial component of the price you will pay in the market. At the lower cost end of the market, while retaining quality, polyester fibre balls are used to substitute for the feel of feather and down.  Where properties choose to use a mixture of washed duck feather and washed duck down. The percentage of down will determine the level of softness. Generally the more down used the greater the softness and the greater the price.

At the high end of the market goose feather and down and latex/memory foam are used, however the added cost for these fillings is considerably higher.

Toppers are simply applied to your current mattress by way of fitted skirt, elastic corner strapping or just loose on top.

So what determines cost?

The cost of each topper will depend on two factors: filling type and weight.

As stated above micro fibre balls are the most economical fill component followed by feather/down and finally memory/latex.

The second component of the cost factor is weight. This can be measured in either kilograms or grams per square meter. Generally, the greater the weight or the higher the GSM, the higher the cost. Each fill component will have maximum weights designed for that style of topper. Generally your supplier will be able to provide this information.  If they can’t then perhaps you should consider your supply source.

The final component in considering a topper is its construction. Most common toppers are one part, one layer. This means that it is all one filling in the one layer of shell. The less common construction is a one part two layer. This is essential for the construction of feather and down toppers as it is desirable to keep the fillings separated. The down forms the softer component of the topper while the feathers support the down, thus the guest sleeps on the down surface that is always on top of the feather support layer.

There are different ways to manufacture a mattress topper.  The vast majority of true mattress topper construction is the baffle box construction. Other forms are single shell or the channelled type but these are not recommended due to problems associated with filling movement.  The baffle box construction includes vertical walls of fabric between the top and bottom of the topper, which allows the fillings to reach the fullest height, while preventing the filling from shifting between channels giving a more even softer sleeping experience.

So if you’re in the accommodation business and seeking to improve your bedding appearance without a huge outlay in costs, then why not look at mattress toppers? Your guest will be overwhelmed by the comfort and style it can bring to bed and their sleeping experience.  It helps achieve the wow factor, something that every hotelier is looking for.