Uncomfortable furniture within your hospitality design is unacceptable. Whether it’s an awkwardly designed hospitality chair or a mattress that’s far too soft, your hotel guests will notice.
Sure, they may not notice right away. But after a sleepless night or Netflix binge that later requires a visit to the chiropractor, they’ll likely painfully shuffle their way to the exit (and a potentially to an unpleasant online review).
But here’s the problem: Comfort isn’t one size fits all. Every human body is different - across a broad spectrum of various heights, weights, ages, fitness levels, and sensitivities. So how do you make your hospitality furniture as comfortable and stylish as possible for the masses?
Well, despite the range of preferences for hospitality chairs, beds, and sofas, there are some universal rules to abide by to make the best custom hotel furniture choices to please your guests.
You’d think, after all these years, someone would’ve designed hospitality chairs and sofas that provide the ultimate amount of comfort. While there are many companies who lay claim to creating “the ultimate ergonomic chair,” the truth behind that claim is subjective.
So, in the absence of “the ultimate,” let’s focus on “the comfortably functional.”
Poor sitting posture plagues many Americans with back pain from the lumbar region (lower back) up through the neck. In fact, 31 million Americans suffer from chronic back pain because of it.
Most folks prefer the initial comfort of a chair they sink into. The plush softness at first feels like sitting on a cloud. Over time, however, that creates stress on the spinal cord and its vast network of nerves and blood vessels.
A proper hospitality chair should promote good posture with enough firmness to support the spinal column and muscles at rest.
Truly ergonomic hospitality chairs and sofas pay mind to the role legs and feet play in proper posture and circulation. Furniture should be designed so a person sitting fully erect has feet flat on the floor and knees at a 90- to 110-degree angle. The physical seat portion should allow space between its edge and the back of the knee to prevent pressure on blood vessels there.
Sitting and reading will create different stressors on the body’s spine and core than those watching television or playing video games. Your hospitality chairs and sofas should comfortably accommodate a range of different seated activities.
This is where guest comfort becomes critical (and harder to satisfy). After all, the average guest books a stay with the intention of spending a quarter to a third of the time sleeping.
But people are incredibly picky about their sleeping preferences. You may have designed a wonderful hotel casegoods furniture bed frame, but there’s no magic mattress to place inside it that suits everyone.
SleepLikeTheDead.com surveyed thousands of mattress owners to ask their satisfaction with their current mattress material. Here are some of the satisfaction results:
Indeed, guest comfort goes beyond the ideal choice of pillows, sheets, and comforters.
The body has main contact points with the mattress at the head, shoulders, hips, knees, and feet. The rest of the body requires full support for the proper alignment of the skeletomuscular system at rest.
For instance, side sleepers must have enough support to avoid lateral curvature of the spinal column. Likewise, back and belly sleepers must have enough support to avoid vertical curvature.
Which brings us to the next critical juncture.
Firm provides support. Soft enhances relaxation. Your choice of mattress must balance the two.
That’s things like foam-density ratings come into play (the recommended rating for beds, sofas, and chairs is 2.4) and hand-tied coil springs (now becoming a relic in antique furniture).
You’ve heard the rumor that many restaurant and hospitality decision makers purposefully choose uncomfortable furniture to prompt guests to leave more quickly. Your goal is, in fact, the opposite. You want them to:
Your hospitality chairs, beds, and sofas play a crucial role in their decision.
(Related reading: Hotel Design Trends: The Future of Casegoods Furniture)