Of all the things hotels are doing to help their guests get a good night's sleep, Travelodge UK has come up with one of the more novel. The budget hotel chain is testing a head-to-toe "sleep suit" in five of its British hotels.
The close-fitting pajamas are made of knitted silk and come with optional hood, gloves and socks (to stop heat loss through the extremities, they say). When modeled, the outfits summon nothing so much as Woody Allen 28 years ago, playing a sperm in the movie "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex • But Were Afraid to Ask."
Presumably, if the wearers can stop laughing, they will be able to settle down for a night of blissful shut-eye. And at least for the time being, they can take the suits home at no charge.
The company's Web site, which calls Travelodge a "retailer of sleep," says the suits are "customised therapeutic pj's" that allow the skin to breathe, maintain its moisture balance, regulate body temperature and reduce itching, scratching and body odor.
The chain's "sleep director," Leigh McCarron, was unavailable for comment, but spokeswoman Shakila Ahmed said the product was launched in early February; the hotel asks guests in advance if they'd like to try a suit and gets their sizes.
Only a few sets have been tried, she said, and those drew positive feedback. If they're a hit, she said, the company eventually would like to sell them (she wouldn't venture on a price). But don't look for them in the United States anytime soon. Travelodge UK is a separate company, unrelated to Travelodge in the United States.
The pj's are just one of many tactics hotels are trying to improve the sleep of their clients. Increasingly, guests find welcome packages on their beds containing ear plugs, eyeshades, lavender aroma spritzers for their pillows and/or printed suggestions for optimal shut-eye. The more upscale establishments provide luxury sheets and bedding, and some offer a choice of mattress types.
The Benjamin, a boutique hotel in midtown Manhattan, has had a "sleep concierge" on staff to help guests overcome impediments to a restful night. Its guest rooms begin on the fifth floor to minimize street noise, and its clients may choose from a "pillow menu" with 13 entries, including buckwheat, magnetic, water-filled, "snore-no-more," and a wedge to support a pregnant woman's belly.
These offerings reflect a growing concern over troubled sleep in a stress-filled world where job responsibilities and electronic input have expanded to fill every hour around the clock.
Experts say sleep deprivation can affect memory and disease resistance, not to mention alertness.
Dr. Charles W. Atwood, associate director of the sleep lab at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said that while insomnia isn't necessarily becoming more common, some of the things that contribute to it are increasingly pronounced.
"Stress in the workplace and in life are a factor," he said. "We're in a 24-hour world, and unfortunately there's still this sense that if you're sleeping, you're not being productive. Sleep is seen as something you can sacrifice in order to get ahead."
In reality, Dr. Atwood said, "You're actually less productive because lack of sleep makes you tired and run down. You're more susceptible to colds and viral infections, and there's growing evidence associating sleep deprivation with hormonal changes that contribute to insulin resistance, which is a step on the pathway toward diabetes."
As for the tactics hotels are trying, he said, a dark, quiet room at a comfortable temperature and with a comfortable bed will cover many of the bases. The sleep suit doesn't strike him as anything that would make a big difference.
"It might be comfortable, but mostly it sounds like a good gimmick," he said.
It's not the first time Travelodge UK has captured attention on the sleep front. The chain likes to publicize the results of sleep surveys and then announce what it's doing in response.
When 57 percent of solo travelers surveyed said they felt lonely sleeping away from their partners, the chain started making available the "Cuddillow," a 2 1/2-foot-long pillow with extended arms. (How do you design a pillow case for that?)
The company also began offering guests goldfish for their rooms after 58 percent of respondents said watching fish swim helped them nod off. (The goldfish also are signatures of the Hotel Monaco, the trendy boutique hotels in San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Denver, Salt Lake City, Washington, D.C., and other cities. "Watching fish gracefully swim to and fro actually calms nerves, reduces anxiety and lowers blood pressure," according to a description of the Hotel Monaco's Guppy Love program, which is designed to keep guests company.)
Travelodge UK also commissioned a "neurolinguistic programming therapist" to record a series of "nodcasts" to help people with what it calls "motivational sleeping." Users can listen as they're falling asleep, allegedly to reduce stress or improve their assertiveness, confidence and communication skills.
But nothing caused as big a stir as the hotel's announcement in October 2007, contending that sleepwalking was on the rise throughout the United Kingdom -- and that "an astounding 95 percent" of the chain's sleepwalkers have been naked men.
No report on whether this attracted visitors to Travelodge or repelled them.
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