Holiday Inn gets staff to act as human bed warmers
2010-01-22
News that the Holiday Inn will begin to offer a free five-minute human bed warming service raises poignant questions about how to reward employees who act as hot water bottles.
No doubt the move, designed to help customers beat the big freeze, has bought a new meaning to the phrase ‘make your bed and lie in it’ for chamber maids working for the hotel operator. Perhaps the main perk of the job for a human bed warmer is being able to take frequent power naps at work.
Dressed in white all-in-one sleeper suits, the bed warmers are designed to work like human electric blankets, bringing the bed temperature up before guests climb in.
Holiday Inn even looked into the science behind their new service by teaming up with sleep psychologist Dr Chris Idzikowski, director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre.
He said: "There's plenty of scientific evidence to show that sleep starts at the beginning of the night when body temperature starts to drop. The decline occurs partly because the blood vessels of the hands, face and feet open up and release heat.
"A warm bed – approximately 20 to 24 degrees celsius – is a good way to start this process whereas a cold bed would inhibit sleep. Holiday Inn's new bed warmers service should help people achieve a good night's sleep especially as it's taking much longer for them to warm up when they come in from the snow.
Jane Bednall, spokesperson for Holiday Inn said: "People want to leave the cold outside and climb into a warm bed. The new Holiday Inn bed warmers service is a bit like having a giant hot water bottle in your bed, warming it up before guests climb in to give them a great night's sleep away from the cold. And of course they jump out before you jump in!"
The complimentary five minute bed warming service is currently on trial at hotels in London's Kensington, Kingston South and Manchester.
- Author:
- Nicola Sullivan
- Publisher:
- Employee Benefits
- Date:
- 2010-01-22
Comments (2)
I find the idea ridiculus and offensive for both - the employee and the hotel guests. As a hotel guest i would never like anyone to go into my bed before I do this and a bed wormed up by a stranger is disgusting to me. As a reasonable employer I also wouldn't ask a member of my team to be used as a hot water bottle, not to mention the risk of all sorts of claims comming from the fact that staff are put at a very vulnerable position by just being in a guest's bed. And i do not understand what the fuss with cold beds is? Everyone has always warmed up their own beds and if it takes the extra 5 minutes then so be it! If Holiday Inn is so concerned about the temperature of the bed, why don't they invest in some sort of heating system reather than this?
“designed to help customers beat the big freeze”? – more like designed to get free publicity