How Do You Deal With Washing Bedding for Short Term Rentals?

[Joe Splitrock]

For those not familiar, we got our first STR under contract and we are bringing my 12 year old daughter into the process of starting it up and managing it. We have owned long term rentals for many years, but decided to try something new and use it as a teaching experience.

As we mapped out our plan, one issue we see is laundry. Typical bedding will have a sheet set and comforter or blanket. I have heard that some hosts do not wash comforters between stays and instead only wash the sheets. Given that people lay on beds, eat on beds without being under the covers, it seems ideal if everything is washed every time. The issue is comforters can fill an entire washer. It is not practical to wash something that larger regularly. I am going to assume when someone has several beds with comforters, that they are only washing those occasionally. I am not sure we are comfortable with that from a sanitary perspective, but I am interested in what others do and what is most common practice.

There seems to be three options:

1. Just provide some type of blanket that can be washed between stays on each bed.

2. Put a duvet over the comforter and remove/wash it each time.

3. Use a traditional comforter and only wash as needed or every X number of stays.

I am interested to hear what others are doing. Is there a specific brand of blanket that is easy to wash and holds up well? Do you all put mattress protectors under the sheets to prevent stains on the bed?