Mattias Sörensen, CEO & Founder of YouBed talks to Hotel News Middle East about what the year ahead holds in the beds and bedding industry…

What are the latest trends in your sector?

Guest personalisation is the emerging key success factor within the hospitality business. Hotels that offer an individual guest experience are tomorrow’s winner. This especially applies to the sleep experience and the ability to offer a personalised, comfortable hotel bed. Every hotel is, after all, primarily in the business of selling a good nights’ sleep.

However, a good night’s sleep requires a comfortable bed and this crucial service has up until now been impossible to personalise. You simply don’t know if your guests like firm beds, soft beds or anything in between – and a regular, static bed can only please a selected few.

Now, the groundbreaking, Swedish innovation YouBed opens for a paradigm shift within the hotel industry. A totally new generation of hotels will finally be able to provide each guest with a guaranteed comfortable bed. Being also the very thing that guests value absolutely most from their hotel stay.

What is your best-selling product?

YouBed, the world’s most comfortable hotel bed, is the first and only bed that provides adjustable firmness without interfering with its superior comfort features. The firmness of the mattress is easily adjusted by using a hand control. Providing each guest with a perfect personalization and a sleeping experience completely based on individual needs. The world’s most comfortable hotel bed pleases every single guest, not just a selected few.

What is unique about it?

The YouBed technology opens for a unique paradigm shift within the hotel industry, where a new generation of hotels will be able to provide each guest with a true individualized sleeping experience. The good news is that this is not only possible, but also very easy. Any hotel that install YouBed (if only in part of their rooms) will automatically become a next generation hotel. The competitive advantage starts with the ability to offer rooms with adaptable YouBeds, and then of course grows with the number of rooms.

The distinct difference in service capability, will also give the first YouBed hotels such great advantages that competitors soon will have to follow, to prevent falling behind and loose customers to its neighbouring hotel. The best thing is that this transformation doesn’t have to cost a thing. The proved and documented values related to the adaptable YouBed will by far and immediately cover any investment costs.

This transformation has already started in Europe, where over 150 hotels are experiencing positive reactions from their guests as well as thriving on totally new business opportunities.

Three hotel chains in Europe have launched new room categories and sleep concepts based on the product and several more are planning for similar initiatives. Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, for example, has launched a world unique room category Sleep Individually Different in all their European hotels.

What is the most important feature of the product you provide? 

The most important feature and effects are all the added values that comes with the product. Frequent reports from more than 150 hotels and various external studies shows the many positive effects related to the adaptable YouBed. The results are astonishing, but actually not that surprising – a comfortable, personalized hotel bed is by far the most valuable item in a hotel.

Increased guest satisfaction

A large, external NPS Study proves that the adaptable YouBed has significant positive effect on customer satisfaction (+14%). The guest satisfaction is also often instantly shown in positive guest reviews online, e.g. TripAdvisor and similar.

Increased room rate and willingness to pay

Room rate (ARR) is increased by average 20 USD per sold night when a YouBed is installed in a hotel room (based on monthly reports from 75 hotels).

Increased occupancy by new and more loyal guests

Strong ability to attract new guests that would otherwise chose and be loyal to other hotels.

Stronger competitiveness, brand and communication

The first hotels providing YouBed rooms at its local market will automatically become the best provider of a good night’s sleep.

Higher profit – the bed that pays for itself

More and happier guests that are willing to pay more will of course result in increased earnings. And the most important part – no cost, but a substantial profit will be the immediate effect for hotels installing YouBed. The average ROI appears after only 3-6 months. Financial solutions (e.g. leasing with monthly payments) will secure that no cost or negative cash flow will ever occur, and the monthly payment is covered after only 2-3 sold nights.

What type of hotel operation do you cater for?

YouBed is a unique one-bed-fits-all solution that is suitable for all kind of hotels and room categories. While some hotels choose to install YouBeds in all of their rooms from the start, it is most common to begin with a number of selected rooms. There is a big variation of room types where hotels choose to install YouBeds. Here are some examples:

• Exclusive rooms: YouBed is used for facilitate up sale and better motivate the already higher rooms rate.
• New Sleep concepts: YouBed is used for creating completely new room categories (often sleep concepts)
• Existing categories: YouBed is used for upgrading existing categories (e.g. turn Superior into Superior Sleep).
• Substandard rooms: YouBed is used for compensate for shortcomings and avoid bad will (e.g. rooms waiting for renovation)
• Cabin Rooms: YouBed is used for transforming budget rooms without windows to dark and quiet sleep concept (from Cabin to Sleep Room)

 What sort of maintenance service do you offer your clients?

YouBed is a product of highest quality and durability, allowing a very generous warranty and an extended product responsibility.

Website: youbed.com