Why are most hotel bed sheets white?

 Ever wondered why bed sheets are white in most hotels? We almost never buy white bed linen for home but it charms us at hotels, right? Talking about this on our visit to Tree House Jaipur, Abhinav and I have been curious to find out. The black and white of it seems obvious: white stands for cleanliness. But is there more to it? We asked people from hospitality industry & here’s what we got:

1. White is bright: Change your bedroom linen to white and notice the difference. White makes everything in the room look more bright. Designs and patterns become more visible against white than any other colour. “White as a colour enhances both natural and artificial light in a room. Since different colours are incorporated in the curtains and upholstery, beds with white linens are placed in the centre of the room to break the colour scheme,” avers Shilpa Kosambia– Executive Housekeeper, Sofitel Mumbai BKC.

2. The Colour Psychology: According to colour psychology, white stands for purity and perfection. Imagine a clean room but with red or blue bed linen. Can you be sure of its cleanliness? Abhinav and I will certainly be suspicious (well, we are paranoiacs anyway!). Other colours can mask dirt, white is pure. There you go. “White symbolizes purity. It is clean and untouched. Also, the sight of a clean bed, to a tired traveller, adds  to the visual appeal,” says Aashu Bhatnagar, Senior Director of Sales at Nidra Hospitality. Agrees kosambia, “White symbolizes purity and also marks new beginnings, hence is the ideal choice of colour for most hotel beds..

3. Maintenance: Geetha Sudesh, Director of Service, Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre and Courtyard by Marriott Hyderabad explains this point in detail. She says, “The quality of linen we use for hotels and the multi-prong step that we use for maintenance is the reason for the crisp white bed sheets at hotels. We use standard 300 thread count bed sheet, a cotton and polyester blend (50:50). The reason hotels use a blend of cotton and polyester is because it combines the best of both fabrics: while cotton is a water-loving fabric and absorbs up to a third of a gallon of water per pound when wet while Polyester is called ‘scavenger fabric’ as it easily picks up and holds on to dyes and soils. The strict process that we as hotels adopt, help maintain our linen in top condition.

4. Replacement: Other colour shades may vary but white is the easiest colour to replace. Well, black too but then black linen wouldn’t be so appeasing, right?

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