10 Tips to Make a Hotel Bed Firmer and More Comfortable

There is a general misconception that only a soft bed is the most comfortable bed, however, that is not entirely true. The firmness of the bed contributes to the comfort you experience while you sleep. A common complaint amongst hotel guests is that their beds are too soft and uncomfortable. There are ways to make a hotel bed firmer if you find that it is too soft to offer you the level of support and comfort you require.

To make a hotel bed firmer, consider bringing a roll-up travel mattress topper or mattress pad. Lay the firm mattress topper or mattress pad over the bed and sleep on it. If you don’t have enough space for a mattress topper, get some firm travel pillows. Even if your body doesn’t lie on a soft surface, a firm pillow can make a big difference.

Making a bed comfortable is imperative when providing your guests with an overall superior hotel experience. While five-star hotels usually have cloud beds that almost everyone loves sleeping in, frequent travelers cannot always find or afford to stay in luxurious hotels. Moreover, the softer beds can be problematic for people who have specific health problems. Mayo Clinic has concluded that issues like chronic pain, back pain, or even mental health issues can disrupt sleep. So, it is imperative to make those nights in hotel rooms as comfortable as possible. You can temporarily improvise ways to improve the bed’s comfort in hotels to ensure that you have a restful night’s sleep.

To make a hotel bed firmed bring a mattress pad or mattress topper.

Whether you are traveling for work or pleasure, there is nothing worse than sleeping in an uncomfortable hotel bed. The mattress is either too lumpy, too hard, or too bouncy. The firmness of a bed primarily functions to provide comfort while you sleep. The most common complaint heard from hotel guests is that their beds are uncomfortable. A quality bed will be in between the threshold of being too soft or too firm. If you find that your hotel bed is too firm and you want to make it softer then read our article about how to make a hotel mattress softer.

Tips to make a hotel bed firmer include bringing travel mattress pads, roll-up travel mattress toppers, travel pillows, sleeping bags, etc. You can also bring some plywood blocks in your travel bag so that you can place them under the soft, sinking mattress. If all other options are exhausted, you can always ask for a room change.

Below are 10 tips to make a hotel bed firmer and some recommended products.

Product Type	Product	Suitable For Air Travel	Suitable For Car Travel	Price
Gusseted Down-alternative Mattress Pad	Amazon Basics Down-Alternative Mattress Pad	No	Yes	$60
Extra Thick Mattress Roll-up Topper	Sopat Extra Thick Mattress Topper	No	Yes	$75
Memory Foam Travel Pillow	Dot & Dot Travel Pillows	Yes	Yes	$25
Brushed Microfiber Bed Sheets	Basic Choice Bed Sheets	Yes	Yes	$25
Adjustable Bed Sheet Suspenders	Foloda Sheet Suspenders	Yes	Yes	$10
Lightweight Sleeping Bag	Tuphen Sleeping Bag	Yes	Yes	$26
Birch Plywood Sheets	Woodpeckers Plywood	No	Yes	$35
Roll-up Memory Foam Floor Mattress	Hazli Roll-up Floor Mattress	No	Yes	$130

Tip 1. Use Travel Mattress Pads

There can be times where the bed that the hotel provides is not up to your desired firmness. Quality or maintenance issues may be the reasons why your bed feels uncomfortable. Health or physical issues may also impede you from getting restful sleep. According to this article from AmeriSleep, a mattress pad’s primary function is to bring comfort, support, and cushioning to your bed.

Traveling with a travel mattress pad can help accentuate the comfort of a hotel bed because you can choose the firmness of the mattress pad. Buy a mattress pad made of materials like wool or latex from a place that allows you to test and return the mattress pad if it isn’t firm enough. Many mattress topper manufacturers and distributors have a sleep trial where you can try out the mattress topper and return it within a specific period if the topper doesn’t suit your needs—be sure to check the trial policy of the mattress topper you choose.

Read our ultimate mattress topper guide where we discuss the various mattress toppers available and how to choose the right one for your needs. You can head to Amazon to order the Amazon Basics down-alternative mattress pad to add that extra firmness to a hotel bed.

Use a mattress pad with corner straps to make a hotel bed feel firmer.

Tip 2. Use a Roll-Up Mattress Topper

It can seem like quite a task to transport a mattress topper during your travels. That’s why roll-up mattress toppers are a perfect option if you are looking to transport something light and compact. Roll-up mattress toppers can be easily compressed into a more manageable size so that they can fit in your car or bus without occupying too much space. Moreover, if you have any health issues like neck pain or backache, you can bring a medical grade firm mattress topper with you. Read our article on how to choose a mattress topper to alleviate neck pain for more information about the benefits of toppers.

The Essential Medical Supply mattress topper from Amazon is made from firm medical grade foam and is ideal for travel because it can be folded and placed inside its packaging.

Image of a mattress topper that can be placed on a hotel bed to make it less soft.

Tip 3. Carry Firm Travel Pillows

One of the common complaints at hospitals is that their pillows are too soft. If you are short of space and can’t carry your mattress toppers or mattress pads around, bring firm travel pillows along. This article from Neck Solutions recommends using travel pillows during your trips because they keep you from developing neck pain while you sleep by maintaining proper neck posture, and supporting your head.

These pillows support the natural curve of the spine. There are a variety of travel pillows to choose from. Dot & Dot travel pillows from Amazon is a great product because it provides personalized support and pain relief. If you want to find out more about different pillows for relieving neck pain then read our article on 11 Ways to use a tempurpedic pillow.

Tip 4. Bring Your Own Sheets

Bedsheets play a vital role in making a bed feel comfortable, inviting, and firm. There is a big difference in firmness between sheets that are taut vs. relaxed. Some hotels fail to invest in quality bedsheets in order to cut costs. You can bring your own sheets during your travels so that they instantly improve the quality of the bed. High quality bed sheets help with comfort and breathable protection. Sheets that are taut, such as fitted sheets, can help maintain and enhance the firmness of your hotel bed. Bedsheets are easy to travel with since they are easy to fold and pack and take up very little space.

These Basic Choice bed sheets from Amazon are a good choice because they are wrinkle and stain resistant, and are made from brushed microfibers to ensure that the fabric is high quality, long-lasting, and soft.

Use a sleeping bag that has built in mattress pads for a simple, transportable, solution.

Tip 5. Use Sheet Suspenders

When sheets bunch up, they make your bed feel softer in those areas. So, another important thing to pack for hotel bed comfort is sheet suspenders. They are small in size and can be easily packed in your travel bag. They secure the bedsheet to the corners of the bed or mattress, so they don’t move or bunch up in one place while you sleep.

Using a sheet suspender can help enhance your rest and improve comfort. They can play a big role in keeping your hotel bed firm too because they prevent the layers of bedding from shifting around during the night. Read our article on how to hold down a mattress topper where we discuss the use of sheet suspenders and other methods to secure sheets on a bed. The affordable Foloda sheet suspenders are available on Amazon and are easy to install on a hotel bed.

Tip 6. Bring Your Sleeping Bags

You wouldn’t expect sleeping bags to make a bed firmer, but they can! Some sleeping bags like these ones from River country products come with a sleeping pad that fits inside. These ones give the mattress a firmer feeling (due to the benefits of a sleeping pad) and improve your sleeping conditions because they keep you warm. Additionally, you can use sleeping bags to sleep on the floor or to protect yourself while sleeping directly on the mattress since hotel rooms are used by many different people.

If you want to learn more about making your bed comfortable when camping then read our article about how to choose a mattress topper for camping for more tips.

Tip 7. Carry Plywood Blocks

People generally keep plywood blocks under their mattresses so that the mattress can stay firm and intact for a longer time. If a hotel bed can’t be modified to your liking you can carry a few small plywood blocks around in your travel bag. If you are carrying a mattress pad, topper, or protector, you can place the blocks under them. This can offer you the desired comfort you wish to have. Placing plywood blocks underneath a mattress pad can help increase the hygiene aspect of sleeping in hotel beds too.

Woodpeckers from Amazon, offer plywood blocks that are robust and durable, and can be easily transported in a car. This plywood option for making a hotel bed firmer is similar to using a bunkie board. To find out more about bunkie boards read our article that explains what a bunkie board is and how to use one. However, plywood boards and bunkie boards are not practical solutions for someone who is flying between cities.

Tip 8. Sleep On the Floor

Another great effortless tip to make a hotel bed firmer is to sleep on the floor. It can be an optimal choice if you want to have a firm surface under your body while you sleep. As far as cleanliness is concerned, you can place your travel mattress pad on the floor while you rest so that the pad can offer a barrier between you and the floor.

The Hazli roll-up floor mattress from Amazon has an anti-slip bottom and removable cotton cover that is machine washable.

Tip 9. Rotate the Mattress

Another thing that you can consider is rotating the mattress. Sometimes, hotels don’t rotate the mattress often enough, so the mattress filling settles unevenly and tends to sag in certain sections. Flipping the mattress allows you to sleep on the firmer, unused side. You can turn the mattress of your hotel bed to mimic the firmness of a new mattress. That section of the mattress would have been seldom used and would consequently be firmer.

Tip 10. Change Your Room

If all the tips presented above do not work for you due to any reason, you can ask for a room change. If the room you receive is not up to your standards or expectations, you can ask the management to move you to a room with a better and firmer bed. It is essential to sleep in a bed that offers you the optimum comfort and relief.

Reasons That a Hotel Bed May Be Soft

Hotels buy beds that are easy to standardize and order in bulk. They try to provide a minimum of comfort in order to stay within their allotted budget and supply an industry standard bed to their guests.

Reasons that a hotel bed may be soft can include poor maintenance, over usage, or poor mattress quality. To avoid hotels with soft beds, you can critically analyze the hotels before making a booking by checking reviews or speaking to other people that may have stayed at the hotel.

1. Poor Maintenance

Maintenance is a critical factor in sustaining the comfort of any bed, especially a hotel bed. It is essential to conduct a hygiene check to maintain the comfort of any bed. Regularly spraying beds to keep bugs away, fitting a mattress protector, mattress toppers, and using good bed sheets are all factors that contribute to the hygiene of a bed.

Unfortunately, some hotels prefer to compromise on these things rather than properly maintain their beds. This can result in a mattress softening over time since beds need to be maintained to keep their firmness. Inadequate maintenance of a hotel bed results in a mattress that is too soft and uncomfortable. To learn more about proper bed hygiene read our article on how to make your bed smell good.

2. Long Term Usage

Another reason for a soft hotel bed can be long term usage. It is important to note that every product has its salvage value—the point where a product should be discarded or else it can become harmful. When the mattress reaches its salvage value, it needs to be replaced. Read our mattress topper hack to learn some useful tips to rejuvenate a slightly worn out mattress if you feel like the mattress needs a little refresh.

However, owners tend to ignore this fact and keep on allocating the rooms to guests even though they are equipped with beds that are well beyond their viable lifespan. When the mattress becomes too soft, the springs irritate the sleeper and impede breathability, comfort, and protection during sleep. A mattress should be changed when worn out and sagging.

3. Bad Quality

Some hotels prioritize saving on costs over quality. In the long run, this could turn out to be more costly than anticipated. A cheap mattress that is not built with quality materials and is not tested for sustainability will not be comfortable. It might be firm and comfortable during its initial use, but it eventually loses its firmness. Low quality mattresses lose their comfort and support faster. A common misconception is people thinking that quality checking your product can be overlooked when buying in bulk.

The owners should be very particular when it comes to the quality of mattresses. Moreover, using high-quality bed sheets can also protect the mattress and enhance its firmness and comfort. It is important to give your customers the desired comfort they are looking for. A high-quality mattress will last longer because it is durable, and can sustain regular usage more efficiently and effectively than a sub-standard mattress.

A mattress topper is a great way to add a high quality layer to an average mattress. If you want to learn more about the benefits of mattress toppers than read our complete guide to mattress toppers where we discuss the various types of topper and their unique advantages.