3 Likes
They do look really nice, your rooms are beautiful! But I’m not going to sit in this room and stare at the pillows. The space on each side of the bed is limited. Where am I putting the pillows when I get in the bed? Under the bed? Do you wash those covers after each guest?
Most people put them in the huge walk in closet. 
plenty of room in there with shelving. I wash them about every 5 guests or so. Much more than hotels do. I also wash shams and bedspreads and blankets between each guest. I would never lay my head on decorative pillows! they are just that… decorative!
2 Likes
Oh, I get it. And I’d be fine, looks like a place I’d be giving 5 stars to. But I can also imagine the pillows getting thrown on the floor, kicked under the bed, whatever …then the pillows placed on the nicely laundered linens.
I used to have a decorative pillow and it’s shown in pictures but it didn’t take me long to realize it was just costing me money and not adding anything at all to the guest experience. As a guest I prefer not to have to move those pillows, especially not for a one night stay (which is what I have most the time).
3 Likes
Yes, they do look nice @strprowannabe. I like the blue ones particularly and they also look useful as well, as @Chris said, for reading in bed etc.
The property owner ( the one mentioned in my opening post) has since brought over some nice larger satiny red cushions. Red is my favourite colour and… dammit… I have to say they do look good on the bed.
But I still hate the teeny little fat ones!!
2 Likes
Sorry but I really think they should be washed after absolutely every guest, even if it’s a one-nighter. As we’ve mentioned above, they can be used for many things other than decorating the bed.
We also shouldn’t base our standards on what hotels do or what we do ourselves. I’m sure that no one here does any of the things that hosts report about their guests 
1 Like
My bedrooms are done up exactly the same way, with the throw blanket at the foot and a single colored pillow on top of the shams - it would look unfinished, otherwise.
2 Likes
I have to disagree. There’s being clean and then there’s just obsessive. Nobody is going to die because they slept on a bed that had unwashed decorative cushions. Germs are everywhere. Actually, they’re mostly found on washing utensils. It’s more hygienic to provide new/sanitised kitchen cloths and scrubbers than bother about cushion covers.
Oh dear… I feel that Monty Python sketch coming on again…
3 Likes
We’ll have agree to disagree,
I’m not germ-phobic at all (blimey, you should see my house!) but I’ve no way of knowing whether guests have taken a nap on the bed (complete with cushions) and drooled or simply thrown them on the floor.
Also it depends on the hosting style - because I host mostly couples I’m concerned about what else might be on there. 
I’ve been known to be a bit of a clean freak and definitely understand the concerns.
For me its a push pull between what ABNB+ requested -> decorative pillows on sofa, bed, and chairs. As shown in the attached picture, I’m guilty of having 5 decorative pillows (total) in my guest house, not counting the sofa & chair cushions / bolsters.
Sofa cushions / bolsters / pillows are not shampooed between guests. I do however do a thorough vacuuming / inspection of them the upholstered chairs and throw pillows then do spot cleaning as needed.
“Sparkling clean” and “Stylish Space” are right up there in my progress reviews, so the decorative pillows are not freaking out my guests, and possibly contributing to my “stylish space”.
But while this has been eye opening good debate, I still question where is the line drawn with Form vs Funtion (as per Mies Van der Rohe)
PS. I’m not looking to start the debate on ABNB+ … there are many topics on that.
2 Likes
I love the presentation of different perspectives here. When I arrived on the forum I was in the “I don’t wash everything every time camp.” Then arguments were made that I found persuasive so I changed what I was using (no more US style comforter) and doing. And if I had multi-day stays I probably would wash everything every time but it’s not practical or cost effective to do it with my rental.
I drew my line at “if it looks clean the guest will perceive it as clean. If it doesn’t look clean, they might not.” My place is “sparkling clean” and yet if a little line of ants appears I’ll be knocked down a star. I go over all linens with a lint roller because if they find a hair on those freshly laundered linens it doesn’t matter how clean that hair is…they might mark me down.
4 Likes
But they might have done that on the sofa and used the sofa cushions for all kinds of activities, as you said earlier! Do you wash all the sofa cushions after each guest and sanitise the sofa?
And what about curtains?? Remember that joke…
https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1hl2g9/a_frenchman_an_italian_and_an_englishman_are_in_a/
3 Likes
I do the same. It’s particularly important in an old house like mine where some areas are a bit shabby. I’m really scrupulous about cleaning anything the guest might touch or use. Light switches, faucets, kettle handle, fridge door etc etc. Not just for them but for my family too - who knows what germs some people bring in.
1 Like
Yes. (Easy because the sofas are leather) 
“Window treatments”, every time. (Easy because we have no curtains, just blinds. Shower curtain though).
Mine is “anything that can shine, will shine”.
2 Likes
Damn you and your lack of soft furnishings!!
4 Likes
I seriously stayed in a traditional B and B in Italy with about 30 dolls like that in my room! They told me it was the best room in the place. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep much lol
1 Like
That’s hilarious. I mean, it doesn’t even look good!
1 Like
That looks to me like it was slept in and then the guest tossed them all back up onto the bed.
1 Like
Doesn’t look like my kind of listing. What is that crap on the dresser that renders it completely useless? All those pillows might come in handy if I’m piling additional guests in on the floor though.
1 Like