REPORT FROM THE U.S.—Hotels across the United States are allowing guests traveling in groups to cut costs and sleep comfortably in one room by adding bunk beds and loft beds to guestrooms.
While there are some operational challenges that accompany maintaining bunk-bed rooms, properties with the unique sleeping arrangements are seeing guests across multiple demographics embrace the concept, sources said.
Custom bunk and loft beds were designed for the two types of bunk rooms available at Basecamp Hotels properties, according to owner Christian Strobel.
“We have one (room) that we call our explorer club with four regular bunks,” Strobel said. “We custom-designed them to make them a bit stronger and a bit more durable. We also have rooms that we call our loft queen queen* where we basically put a bunk on top of a queen bed. That way it’s a very flexible room because people can have a normal queen bed, (and) if there’s more (guests), they have the extra bunks.”
Strobel said the price of rooms with bunk beds varies from peak season to off season, but that in general, they run about $40 to $50 more than a standard room in rate.
A lot of time is spent getting the “bunk bedding right, so that housekeepers don’t have too hard a time cleaning and turning around the rooms,” Strobel said. He added rooms with bunk beds take almost double the time to clean.
Who’s staying in bunk rooms?
Bunk beds might be more difficult for housekeepers to make, but hoteliers are keeping bunks around because they appeal to groups and families wanting to stay together to cut costs or make the trip more enjoyable.
“The bunk rooms appeal to a wide demographic of travelers, ranging from families to friends coming to Austin to enjoy music festivals,” said David Lang, GM at the South Congress Hotel in Austin, Texas, via email. “The rooms are particularly popular with bachelorette parties and girl getaways, (because everyone is) able to stay in the same room.”
The South Congress Hotel offers queen-sized bunk beds as opposed to twin-sized beds.
Strobel said Basecamp gets “a big mix” of guests who book bunk rooms, but millennial guests dominate the booking trends.
“I would say we get maybe 30%-40% millennial girlfriends or guy friends or (co-ed) trips,” he said. “And then we have families, and every now and then, we’ll get a school group or (sports teams).”
The Kimpton Monaco Baltimore Inner Harbor in Baltimore offers 14 bunk rooms, which include two double beds and a separate room with bunk beds, GM Shahram Khan said via email. Bunk bed nooks are equipped with a TV and an Xbox 360 video game console, he said.
“(Bunk rooms) have become very popular, and it’s a huge benefit for our guests to keep everyone together while still providing privacy,” he said. “It’s also a great option for larger groups like multigenerational family reunions, or a group of people attending the same event, such as a wedding party.”
Khan said the hotel also has hosted bachelorette parties, weekend getaways and “friends who just didn’t want to separate” in the bunk rooms.
Competing with alternative accommodations
Bunk rooms allow guests the ability to stay together in one room, giving hotels the opportunity to compete with Airbnb, vacation rentals and other alternative accommodations, sources said.
“A lot of people do like to rent houses on Airbnb because there are often more bedding options, and so we thought giving (guests) something like that in a hotel where they can still have a communal environment, but not necessarily have to rent two or three hotel rooms,” Strobel said. “We decided to be flexible and give (guests) the benefits of a rental home with the amenities of a hotel.”
Khan said there’s a guarantee of convenience and, “a level of service that comes with booking a hotel that just isn’t there with alternative accommodations.”
“For example, on top of daily housekeeping, a front-desk team is on-site 24/7 to look after things … If you forget anything while at a rental, or if you want wine in the evenings or coffee in the mornings, you’re in charge of going out and getting it, and cleaning up after yourself,” he said. “There’s an ease that comes with booking a group with a hotel when those perks are included.”
Bunk-bed rooms are offered at Pod Hotel properties, and David Bernstein, managing director at Pod Hotels, said guests including millennials and even grandparents traveling with their grandchildren are booking bunk-bed rooms instead of alternative accommodation stays.
“From our experience, travelers are now choosing bunk-bed rooms over alternative accommodations due to the low price and the experience,” Bernstein said.
Lang said South Congress Hotel also offers perks that vacation rentals cannot offer, such as retail boutiques and custom itineraries curated for guests by the property’s concierge team.
*Correction, 14 July 2016: A previous version of this story incorrectly named the type of bunk-bed room with queen beds from Basecamp Hotels.