Would you want a "Pillow Light" experience?

At my listing I have four beds - king, queen, and two twins. The king bed I make up with the best bedding - it gets a real duvet with cover, nice cotton sheets, five assorted firmness standard pillows, two sham pillows, a couple of throw pillows. I even lay an extra blanket across the end of the bed. Most of my guests have been women, or the reservation was placed by a woman, and I think the picture of a plush, premium bed attracts them to my listing.

On my own bed at home I do not have throw pillows, etc. because I think they are an annoyance. I know some guests might feel the same way. Would it be worth it to offer a “Pillow Light” experience in my listing description? Something like “If you hate throw pillows, let me know when you place your reservation and I will remove all extra pillows from the beds so you don’t have to worry about them!” Or should I just not worry about it? Most guests just pull them off and place them in the closet or in a chair.

I started hosting with throw pillows. Some people remove them, but just as many people obviously slept with them. Drool, etc. Gross.

As a guest I’d prefer the “pillow light” experience as a default. If the throw pillow cover wasn’t laundered between guests, I don’t want it touching my clean sheets.

…grabs popcorn…waiting for the great throw pillow throw-down to ensue.

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I chose the throw pillows based on the fact that they have removable covers - I do not wash them after every guest, but I do wash them if I think the guest slept with them or if they have any sign of a hair or spot on them. All of my other linens/blankets are washed after every single stay.

Uh-oh… I hope I haven’t chosen a controversial topic!

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I always remove throw pillows from a bed, which I actually think is less hassle/less annoying than going through requesting a “pillow light” setup.

When I saw your subject line I thought this thread was going to be about light-up pillows! :face_with_hand_over_mouth::crazy_face:

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I would also use “pillow light” as the default (or maybe the only approach). I find dressy pillows and throw pillows to be very annoying. And I’m always suspicious that they aren’t clean.

We stayed at a lovely Airbnb where the bed must have had 10 or 12 pillows on it, in addition to the actual sleeping pillows. And there was nowhere in the room to put them except on the floor.

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I would not offer it. If people don’t want pillows, they can toss them on the floor.

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I have on throw pillow that I only periodically place on the bed. 99 % of the Airbnb’s I’ve been in have no where to place them but the floor. Some of them the pillows are flat out in the way on the floor and there’s literally no where else to place them in the room. I’m not a fan but I’m not going to give a bad review or refuse to book it.

For some hosts the aesthetics of the listing are more important than the guest’s comfort and convenience. I can accept that…their house their rules and a lid for every pot.

I’d choose few or no decorative pillows.

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We have one soft pillow, one firmer in a sham, and a bed reading pillow. Most times the sham pillow gets put on the floor along with the reading pillow – for sleeping. But the reading pillows get a LOT of use…

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I added this wording to my listing a couple months ago: “You won’t be restricted by excessive amounts of decorative pillows, furniture covered with fragile knick-knacks, or closets full of somebody else’s stuff.”

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I think this too but if you feel like the people booking your place like them and they have a place to put them when they go to bed, it’s probably no harm. I think offering to remove them for some is a bit cumbersome and wouldn’t offer it, personally. There’s enough important information that needs to go between you and your guests that this pillow thing will just muck things up.

I’ve seen your listing and the rooms are spacious so they aren’t hurting anything it sounds like. If your bedrooms were small I’d say to avoid any unnecessary clutter (like throw pillows). As a guest, I’d rather just have a generous amount of sleeping pillows.

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That’s a great thing to say, @Brian_R170. The pillow-full Airbnb where we stayed had a huge bedroom with probably four chests of drawers, a desk, a vanity table, a trunk at the foot of the bed, and two nightstands. And there was barely an inch to put anything. We had to move stuff off the nightstands to find a spot for our phones! It was pillow, knickknack, and stuffed animal “heaven" in there. There was also nowhere to open a suitcase.

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I personally want pillows that allow me to prop myself up in bed and read or watch TV. This whole topic seems like a non-issue to be. Have them, don’t have them. Whatever.

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Seems like the consensus is to leave things as they are, and not to offer the “pillow light” experience. There is plenty of room in the closets to set extra pillows if people don’t want them. I only have the three throw pillows on the king bed anyway, the rest are real pillows.

Thank you all for your input! I value all of the different opinions.

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This is a sign of a host who has never stayed in their own place. Or possibly never travelled anywhere! It’s always a good idea to stay in your rental for at least one night to see what is missing or what needs improving.

The big thing for me is having an easily accessible electrical output to charge your phone, plug in laptop, hairdryer, whatever. So often they are hidden behind bedside drawers etc.

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Thanks! I’ve got to add that to my description! I do have 4 pillows on each queen bed, but NO throw pillows, and the B&B closets are in the hall, not in the rooms.

I am down to 4 throw pillows in the entire cabin and I am considering halving that. One small one on the bed and 3 in the living room, two of which are looking a bit tired and I do not want to replace them. I am working my way to 0. As mentioned on this and other threads people sleep with them and snot on them and god knows what else. If they need a pillow on the couch grab one off a bed.

RR

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I’ve just come back from staying in apartment in Portugal, with copious cushions on beds, as well as pillows.

Mr J had too much ale/wine one night and I was eventually reduced to sleeping in the twin bedded room, rather than endure the grunting/snoring cycle. Unfortunately I had earlier swapped pillows, as the ones on the double were way too hard, but those on the twin beds were perfect. Hey ho, I forgot to take one with me, couldn’t sleep with the hard one, so grabbed a cushion instead. It stank; probably hadn’t been washed all season.

I have decorative cushions that match my bedding and/or curtains. I wash the covers with the bedding after each guest.

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…with the results of your inquiry on the scammer?

Well, I suppose the overall result was that his listing was removed from the platform. I didn’t stay there, for obvious reasons, but in a HomeAway apartment. Apart from stinky bed cushions, it was very nice.

Btw, does anyone know how long before HA refund the security deposit. I received a 5* review but it is now 6 days since we checked out, and no refund…

The Scammer’s apartment was empty for the whole time we were there. What an idiot.

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