Ease of Travel

CNN definitely made this sound a lot worse than it was: Hotels said to change sheets less often makes you think you’re going to have to sleep in the dried sweat of half a dozen previous guests… what it really means is that on extended stays, hotels aren’t going to change your sheets everyday. I would prefer they didn’t change it everyday, think of all the detergent washed down the drain, all the water wasted, and all the fabrics being worn from constant washes. Shareholders and Mother Earth smile at these decisions.

“It’s a growing industry trend,” Steve Samson, an executive with Marriott International (Research), the world’s largest hotel chain, told the paper. Marriott’s more upscale, full-service hotels began switching to every three days earlier this year, the paper reports.

Privately-held Global Hyatt Corp. went from changing each guest’s sheets daily to every four days last year, according to the paper.

Some leading chains, including Holiday Inn, do not have uniform policies on sheet changes across the chain, according to a survey of companies by the paper. Some lodging companies, including Sheraton, Westin and St. Regis, all owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (Research), still make daily sheet changes.