I really appreciate HomeExchange and am glad it exists! One area that could be improved is encouraging hosts to include details about the type of mattresses in their homes.
For example, it would be helpful if listings specified things like:
“Spring mattress”
“Full memory foam”
“Hybrid: half memory foam, half regular foam”
“Firmness: soft, medium, or hard”
Mattresses play a crucial role in ensuring a good night’s sleep—and, ultimately, a good trip.
I’ve stayed in homes where the mattress was extremely hard and had no springs. It was so uncomfortable that it caused back pain, and I ended up having to buy an inflatable mattress just to get some rest. On another occasion, the mattress was too soft, which also led to back pain and discomfort.
Since mattress quality isn’t something you can assess from photos, HomeExchange should encourage hosts to include this information in their listings.
Advice for hosts: After sleeping on hundreds of different mattresses, I’ve found that a medium-firm spring mattress—neither too soft nor too hard—is usually the most comfortable for most guests.
Hello. As we often talk on Facebook, the site can’t categorize everything and communication is the key. If this important for you, you need to Ask the host. Personnaly I don’t even know what kind of mastress I sleep on, and I could not answer questions about this ! Same for my pillows or the coffee machine I have, I don’t drink coffee so I don’t know a lot on it
Welcome to the Forum and thank you for this suggestion. It is a subject that does crop up from time to time. I will of course pass this idea onto the team. I would certainly recommend communication with your host prior to finalising an exchange if you have issues with your back and it is of great importance. Of course a good nights sleep is important to everyone, however what one person thinks is comfortable can often be another persons nightmare mattress
