The robes are only the beginning. Savvy travelers often bring home a hotel’s down pillows, silky 600-thread-count sheets, scented candles and—most prized of all—the plush pillow-top or high-density foam mattress that creates a cocoon for sleep. Buying hotel furnishings is smart business for hotels and smart shopping for consumers: where else can you sleep on a mattress, test pillows and experience bedding overnight before you decide to buy?
Westin Hotels & Resorts introduced the Heavenly Bed in 1999 and has since turned it into a major retail success. The Heavenly line has generated more than $135 million in sales. “To date, Westin has sold over 100,000 Heavenly Beds and 175,000 Heavenly Pillows, with sales skyrocketing in the U.S., Europe and Asia,” says Brian Povinelli, global brand leader for Westin.
Marriott THANN beauty products © Marriott International
Marriott began selling hotel products to the public in 2005. Michael Weiss, director of online retail at Marriott, notes that growth was gradual at first but has accelerated recently: “For seven of those 10 years, the business grew, but gradually. You couldn’t call it a trend. But in the past three years we’ve seen hyper growth. The business has doubled.” Today Marriott sells more than 30,000 pillows annually through ShopMarriott.com.
Hilton has seen similar increases. “Over the past few years we’ve seen a steady increase in guest interest to purchase hotel furnishings,” says Cindy Patton, senior director of product development at Hilton Worldwide. She credits the rise to an expanded brand footprint and a stronger economy that lets people travel more often. Patton points to the popularity of the all-white hotel bed as a distinct design trend inspired by hotels: the crisp, clean look now appears in retail collections informed by hotel aesthetics.
Hotel-sold items aren’t limited to luxury properties. Brands from Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, Sofitel, JW Marriott, Westin, W and Waldorf Astoria to Four Seasons sell products to guests, as do Marriott, Hilton, Renaissance and Kimpton. Even midscale brands such as Hampton and Courtyard offer guest-facing retail, making hotel merchandise accessible to budget-minded travelers as well.
The most sought-after items are mattresses and pillows. “I buy W pillows and the St. Regis bed,” says Stacy Shoemaker Rauen, executive editor of Hospitality Design magazine. “When you buy from a hotel, you have something proven, something that’s the best. Someone else has done the research, done the work, so you get the cream of the crop.” Hotels invest heavily in research and product testing to ensure mattresses are durable, safe, washable and comfortable. Guests can sleep on these products in a real setting—something retail showrooms rarely provide.
Pillow prices generally start around $40, depending on fill and size. Hotel mattress pricing varies by brand and configuration: a full Westin Heavenly Bed with box spring is roughly $1,800, while a California king with box spring is about $2,400. St. Regis pillow-top mattresses run higher, and Marriott’s popular foam bed—sold with box spring—ranges from about $1,500 for a twin to $2,250 for a California king. Four Seasons revamped its beds in 2014, adding Gel-Touch foam, pocketed coils and three topper options; a twin retails near $1,650 and a king about $2,250. To buy Four Seasons mattresses, customers should contact their nearest hotel.
Bedding purchases aren’t limited to mattresses. Guests can recreate a hotel sleep experience by buying bed skirts, mattress toppers, sheets, pillowcases, bolster pillows, duvets and duvet covers. Creating a “total bed” ensemble can add $1,000 to $2,000 on top of the mattress and box spring cost.
Price-conscious shoppers may find similar bedding at retail outlets during sales, but some hotel mattresses are custom-made and available only through hotel channels. “The Heavenly Bed is manufactured by Simmons exclusively for Westin,” Povinelli explains. “Each bed sold is made exclusively for the Westin Store and is not available for purchase in Simmons retail outlets. Our custom bed is composed of 10 layers including a 13-inch, no-flip pillow-top mattress and individually pocketed coils, whereas the standard box spring unit is 8.75 inches.”
Hotels also offer bathroom fixtures you can actually test—unlike most retail stores where fixtures are seldom hooked to working plumbing. If you loved a Marriott shower, you can identify whether it was the Rainfall showerhead with 72 spray nozzles or the Raindance model with 86 nozzles, then buy the exact fixture through ShopMarriott.com.
Marriott slippers © Marriott International
There’s also a psychological reason people purchase hotel items: memory and experience. “People buy products from hotels because they savored something. They had a memorable experience and they want to take that home,” says Sophie Donelson, editor in chief of House Beautiful. Some brands sell signature items such as DoubleTree’s cookie tins or Waldorf Astoria chefs’ hats and aprons—tangible reminders of a positive stay.
Upscale hotels let guests sample an elevated lifestyle. “What I love about hotels is that they make that experience of living well possible,” Donelson says. Guests can try faucets, beds and lobby chairs in real use—24-hour access to living well that often feels out of reach at home.
Hotels increasingly favor residential-style décor, boosting demand for home furnishings. Marriott, for example, features more guestrooms with wood floors and platform beds for a modern, residential feel. “We are seeing a lot of hotels having a classic residential feel, only better than you can have at home,” Rauen observes. That aspirational design—perfect linens, well-chosen fixtures and thoughtful layouts—encourages guests to recreate the look at home.
Aloft chairs © Aloft
Some hotel retail lines extend beyond bedding and bath. Aloft partnered with Design Within Reach to furnish several properties, featuring a mix of custom and in-stock modern pieces. Though some custom Aloft items are no longer available, many signature designs remain sold through Design Within Reach. Other hotels sell distinctive items such as wobble chess sets, decorative vases, handblown glasses, hula hoops, bicycles and balance ball chairs. Marriott has explored adding headboards, side tables, lamps and lobby artwork to its online offerings. Hotels with on-site salons and spas often sell branded hair and skincare products directly to guests.
Next time you love a hotel room, take note of the elements that made your stay special. Many hotels now make it easy to buy those exact items—so you can bring the comfort, style and small luxuries of a memorable stay into your own home.