Bed and its Types

Beds, mattresses and bedding are an essential part of hotel accommodation.  The bed is a piece of furniture primarily used as a place to sleep & relax.

Earlier beds were piles of straw & other natural material. An important change was raising them off the ground to avoid dirt & pests.

Parts of a bed

• Frame – on which the mattress rests. Sometimes has raised edges so that the mattress fits in and is held in place. Frames are of two types
  • • Platform/box frame – usually made from wood. Support the mattress on a platform or box. Platform frames are raised off the floor by legs but box frames lie tight to the floor.
    • Metal frame – consist of four lengths of angle iron with metal legs attached to each corner .The metal legs have castor wheels/furniture glides attached to them
• Base – may be made of open/coiled springs or wood strips that provide additional support & suspension to the mattress. Springs are added to the base to increase the life of a bed. Wire springs and coils are attached together and covered with padding. There are four types of springs
  • • Box spring – made of heavy gauge steel. They are mounted on a wood frame and covered with a pad. They act as shock absorbers, cushioning the weight and movement of the sleeper
    • Metal coil spring – Springs are attached in two layers. The bottom layer of springs is tightly coiled for support and the top springs are loosely coiled for flexibility.
    • Flat bed spring – there are strips of metal attached lengthwise to a frame and small coils with hooks at both ends. Flat bed springs are normally found on rollaway beds.
    • Stretched spring – highly coiled springs attached on one side to the frame and resilient thick metal wires on the other. The wires crisscross each other and cover the middle of the frame, with the springs lying on the sides.
• Mattress – lies on top of the springs and provides extra padding.

• Headboard – made of painted/ varnished wood or upholstered. In hotels, they are usually mounted on the walls behind the beds and not on the frames. They are usually made to match the other items of furniture in the room and the theme. They protect the wall from greasy stains that can develop on the walls due to guests head.
• Footboard – lower in height than a headboard and is made of wood or metal. They are usually the same material as headboards.

Tips on buying beds:

• Comfort
• Quality
• Frame
• Special Need

Types of Beds

1. Platform Bed: Platform bed is a simple wooden or metal platform on which a mattress is placed. Because there is no box spring, it is usually very low set. 
2. Box bed is a bed having the form of a large box with wooden roof, sides, and ends, opening in front with two sliding panels or shutters; often used in cottages in Scotland
3. ZED BED –  Zed bed gets its name from their three-part folded frame resembling the letter Z. It is a bed whose frame folds order to be more easily stored and moved. Sometimes also referred to as camp beds.
4. A roll-away bed (or “cot“) is similar to a zed bed but has castor wheels /rollers. They can also be folded in half and easily stored.
5. Murphy Bed/ SICO Bed/ Wall cupboard bed –  Space saving bed. These beds come in handy when rooms are let more than once in 24 hours, for meetings by day and a bedroom at night. This way the staff need not undertake the task of converting the room from one purpose to the other. Bed folds during the day & unfolds when needed.
   There are two main styles of Murphy Beds.
   • The original panel where the whole bed simple folds down from the wall in one go.
   • The Bifold or closet style where doors are first opened & bed folded out from within.
6. BABY COT/ CRIB – is a small bed with metallic raised frames on all sides to protect small children/ infants from falling off. These are available as guest loan item and are usually collapsible to save storage space.
7. Sofa Bed Popular form of space bed. It is a multifunctional piece of furniture that can be used as a seat during the day & bed at night.
8. Trundle Bed: Space saving bed on wheels or casters that slides underneath another bed when not use. When needed it can be slide out & dressed. Does not have a box spring. It can be stored beneath a twin bed also sometimes referred to as a “sleepover bed”.
9. Hammock: it is a piece of suspended fabric. Hammock is a temporary, portable sling made from either rope or fabric. The two ends of the bed are tied to fixed points – usually.
10. Air Bed: Uses an air-inflated mattress
11. Canopy Bed: Also known as four-poster beds in U.K. Name refers to any bed which is covered by a cloth Canopy. They have a canopy frame above them from which fabric will drape which is usually rectangular.
12. Futon Bed: Is a traditional Japanese bed. It refers to a thin mattress laid on for sleeping & then rolled up.  In west refers to a particular style of sofa bed usually consists of wood or metal frame & a thin mattress with a cover. Used as a bed at night or as a Sofa.
13. Bunker bed – Two or more beds one on top of each other
14. Loft Bed/ Chest bed/cabin bed  A space-saving bed. The basic form is just a raised bed. Space underneath is left empty & can be used to store. This is similar to a bunk bed, except there isn’t a lower bunk. This leaves space underneath for storage, other furniture, etc.
15. Adjustable bed is a bed that can be adjusted to a number of different positions
16. Bassinet is a bed specifically for newborn infants.
17. Sleigh Bed: Sleigh bed refers to the aesthetic design of the bed. It has a headboard that is larger than footboard. Both head & Footboard are curved with top rolling slightly outward. Most commonly found in wood.
18. A vibrating bed is typically a coin-operated novelty found in a vintage motel. For a fee, the mattress vibrates for duration of time. Alternatively it is a modern bed which vibrates by use of an off-centre motor. It is controlled by electronics for varying time and amplitude settings and is used therapeutically to ease back pains.
19. Water Bed: Uses Water filled mattress.

Care and cleaning of beds

To clean open-spring beds

• Dust and brush the open springs periodically and wipe with an oily rag.
• Use an underlay cloth made of felt on bed base.
• Check for loose headboards and footboards regularly.
• Remove the dust from the base of the bed using a soft brush or a vacuum cleaner with an upholstery attachment.
• Remove any stains, dirt, or grease marks from the headboard, footboard, base, and legs of the bed as well.
• Periodically polish the wood or metal areas, excepting the springs.
• Remove dust/dirt from the castor wheels, applying a little oil when they seem to squeak or feel stiff.