When comparing the elements of a guestroom that have the most to do with a quality sleep experience, the pillow has to rank right up there with the mattress and the room’s ability to block noise. Unfortunately, many hoteliers forget about the pillow’s importance. We all have our own pillow stories from our travels but I can’t tell you how many times I have stayed in properties that offer the steam-rolled variety—as flat as a pancake and way past their end of life. It is ridiculous when you have to stack two pillows on top of one another to elevate your head off the mattress.
Believe it or not, the pillow has quite an environmental story to tell. For a recent article I spoke with a general manager at a hotel about water conservation and he happened to mention that his guestroom beds each included seven pillows. That probably does not surprise many of you. High-end hotels do that often, I suppose. Maybe they are expecting a septuplets convention? It does not take a genius to figure out that maybe offering seven pillows is not the most environmentally responsible thing to do. Think about the water, the energy, the chemicals, and the labor that goes into keeping those pillows and their covers clean. (Believe it or not, the hotel mentioned above is in a drought-stricken area.)
In addition to the direct environmental impact from their cleaning, pillows can be interesting environments in and of themselves—especially in areas where humidity levels surpass 65 percent. According to Tom Pickles, director of operations at Cheektowaga, N.Y.-based Pure Solutions N.A., which offers pillow encasements as part of an Allergy Friendly Room program, it is the 65 percent and above environment that makes dust mites happy campers. They “drink” by absorbing moisture into their little bodies and thrive on the skin cells deposited on pillows. Not cleaned properly, pillows can also be breeding grounds for bacteria and fungi.
Some Travelers Bring Their Own
According to a recent TripAdvisor survey of more than 2,500 travelers from around the world, 27 percent of Americans either bring their own disinfectant and cleaning supplies, shower shoes, pillows, towels or linens when going on a trip. Yes, pillows. With pillow hygiene and environmental responsibility such a concern these days, what are you doing to keep your pillows fluffy and clean with as little impact as possible on the environment and the guest experience? I would like to know.
John Harris and Patrick Harris, president and vice president of Harris Pillow Supply, Inc., Beaufort, S.C., spoke with me last week about the types of pillows commonly used in hotels. Many properties, particularly on the low end of the market scale, tend to use pillows with continuous filament polyester fibers. These pillows last six months to a year, increasing the volume of waste sent to the landfill. Those pillows with cluster fibers last longer, up to three to five years. Pillows with synthetic filling are washable but John Harris explained that a typical washing will not kill bacteria. The temperature would need to reach steam level—in other words, a boiling temperature.
“Most hotels will only wash their pillows when they are dirty,” John Harris says.
Hotels in mid to upper tiers often choose pillows with different percentages of goose down and goose feathers. Patrick Harris says washing these, especially with detergent, can be a mistake because once the feathers loose their natural oils, they turn to dust. That would not be a good thing for allergy-sensitive guests.
Machine Extends Pillow Life
To help extend the life span of pillows and to reduce their waste, Harris Pillow Supply developed the Pillow-Vac, a machine that incorporates an ozone-emitting germicidal light to help one clean, fluff, sanitize and deodorize pillows. One simply empties the pillow’s contents into a tumble chamber where it is sanitized and re-fluffed.
In a way, pillow encasements also help extend the life of a pillow. Those pillows that stay clean because of a protective barrier last longer.
As with bed spreads, pillows will always be one of those guestroom items that I would rather not think about when I travel. The more our industry can do to ensure travelers about their cleanliness, while simultaneously demonstrating environmental responsibility, the better.
As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
