New holiday let, too much choice of bedding

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Karen&John
Posts: 59
Joined: Sun Aug 13, 2017 6:50 pm
Location: Norfolk

New holiday let, too much choice of bedding

Post by Karen&John »

First post, so sorry if this has been covered many times before.

We have beds and most furniture as the cottage was let by the previous owner.
We have to buy all the bedding, 1 double and 4 singles (2 of the singles are zipped).
What should we spend on the bedding?
Some of John Lewis prices make my eyes water, is dunhelm too cheap?
We are aiming to be a very good 4 star family let in north Norfolk.
Any advice appreciated.
Many thanks,
Karen & John
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Cymraes
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Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2015 3:31 pm
Location: North Wales

Post by Cymraes »

Bedding will get stained and ruined so so you'll need to expect to have to replace it. If you have matching twins one stained cover may require both sets of bedding to be replaced. With children this seems to happen with monotonous regularity

My duvets are the cheap hypoallergenic ones from Asda and replaced when they get stained. I now hire in my linen. As I have to pay for laundering it's cost neutral for me and any stains are not my problem! I used Dunelm quality when I was using my own and easily got my 4* rating
kg1
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Post by kg1 »

I go mid-range from M&S, they have 20% off about 3 times a year if you have an account online.

It's a fine line to balance, bedding does get stained - tea, coffee & unmentionables! If you have any single beds my tip would be to buy several sets all the same, then if one gets damaged you won't have to throw it's pair away.

I also buy hypo allergenic ones, from wherever I see them. I have had guests who are allergic to feathers etc. who have checked on the bedding before booking.They are replaced each year or earlier if grubby or stained, no point cleaning them, the cost is about the same.
zebedee
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Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: yorkshire dales

Post by zebedee »

Another vote for quality Dunelm bedding ( we are a high scoring 4*).
Be careful, though, not to get anything too cheap in the way of duvet covers and sheets as they will quickly bobble and need to be disposed of.
Also, look carefully at the length of time any patterned / textured duvet covers (Dunelm do some lovely ones) will take to dry and ease of ironing. It is not always easy to tell when duvet covers are in packaging.
Plain untextured colours will show any creases more easily than patterned or textured material.
This is particularly important during winter months, and if your cleaner is managing your laundry as well. You will want your bedding to make a great first impression on guests.

If you are new to this, letting to families or not, don’t forget your mattress covers. You can get waterproof mattress protectors (essential on all the beds) which feel and sound like cotton. I then put on top of this another mattress cover that can be removed for washing. I would not want a guest to ever see any stains underneath a sheet.

You can get the mattress protectors at reasonable cost from Dunelm, and many on the forum use Out of Eden protectors and linen. It might be worth your while looking at the Out of Eden site anyway as they supply so many things you may find helpful including toiletries etc etc.
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greenbarn
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Location: The Westmorland Dales, Cumbria

Post by greenbarn »

Look at the dedicated suppliers to the industry, Richard Haworth and Out of Eden. Their start point is whether something is good quality and suitable for commercial use. Both will usually send samples, both are generally better priced than most stores and have a good delivery service.
loveka
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Joined: Fri Aug 19, 2016 10:32 am

Post by loveka »

Out of Eden is brilliant. Also Soak and Sleep.

Fabulous quality, and much cheaper than John Lewis etc.
ianh100
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Location: Sherborne Dorset

Post by ianh100 »

We currently use M&S and look out for the times they have a discount, also look at things like Quidco or other cash back as you can sometimes add that as well.

A lesson we learnt with places like M&S is that ranges change so difficult to replace items and we like all of the beds to be the same. It is a much bigger expense than we first expected as we provide extra pull out beds. We have ended up with about 4 complete sets, with a total of 9 beds the costs really stack up.
Giraffe
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Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2016 10:10 am
Location: Cornwall, England

Post by Giraffe »

I am an off site owner so I have to rely on the cleaners who are employed by the housekeeper. I have 4 sets of linen per bed - 1 on, 1 off, 1 spare, 1 emergency. I do a twice annual stock take. Sheets and pillowcases go missing. I sometimes find other houses' linen on my beds, sometimes poly/cotton which is unacceptable in my book. The housekeeper can never explain it.

So it's annual replacement scenario. I find TK Max has excellent hotel quality cotton linen, but thanks to those who have suggested other sources. Out of Eden looks good.

If you will be doing your own changeovers then you will be in control. Good luck with your venture.
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akwe-xavante
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Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2015 3:19 pm
Location: East Yorkshire

Post by akwe-xavante »

Out of Eden

Buy STD white or Ivory then when something needs replacing you don't have to replace a whole set but just the items your missing or goten sploit etc They'll always match what you have already got. Well perhaps a slight shade darker but close enough nobody notices and after a few washes they then look identical in colour shade.
Karen&John
Posts: 59
Joined: Sun Aug 13, 2017 6:50 pm
Location: Norfolk

Post by Karen&John »

Many thanks Guys & Girls for all the above suggestions.
Looks like Out of Eden will be our supplier.

Had a visit from a local Holiday Letting agent last week.
She certainly pulled no punches in telling us everything that needs doing/updating.
She obviously knows her stuff and on reflection we agree with most of her comments, but it was quite a blow.

Off to see a local accountant tomorrow for some initial advice on setting up the business, trying to start off right.
Best,
J & K
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