Three years after Westin Hotels & Resorts first made its sexy boast of being the "best in bed," hotel operators are still finding out that when it comes to guests' needs, sleep comes out on top.

The latest piece of evidence to that effect comes from a Holiday Inn survey of guest preferences last month. Not surprisingly, "a good night's sleep" was the most important issue for the 450 key consumers across major markets in the Asia-Pacific region including Shanghai, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur.

More than 70 percent of business and leisure travelers polled rated sleep as an "extremely important" part of their hotel stay. And a choice of pillows was one of the most important considerations for sleep comfort, followed by blackout curtains, choice of blanket or duvet and adjustable lighting. Overall room comfort and bathroom comfort were also cited in the survey.

"Consumers have told us that they want to be able to tailor their sleep experience to suit their individual needs," says Richard Hartman, managing director of Six Continents Hotels Asia Pacific, adding that Holiday Inn will be focusing on those key areas over the next year.

Such findings should come as no surprise to Westin, which commissioned a similar survey in developing its successful Heavenly Bed product, which it launched in 1999. The study, Sleeping on the Road, asked 600 business executives in the U.S. about their sleep patterns at home and in hotels.

The results were startling for an industry whose most basic function is to provide a place to rest for weary travelers. According to the survey, a majority (51 percent) of travelers slept fewer hours at hotels, and half said the quality of sleep they get on the road was worse than at home. Almost a third (31 percent) said poor sleep has affected their work performance during business trips. On average, a traveler takes 24 minutes to fall asleep in a hotel, compared to 15 minutes at home.

One the main reasons, Westin found out, was the bed. A very high 82 percent of business travelers disliked something about the bed, either with the mattress or the pillows.

10 Layers of Comfort

Shane Cunning, general manager of The Westin Philippine Plaza, believes the bed really makes a difference for guests. "Especially for the people who are road warriors, this is something that's extremely important for them," says Cunning, who is launching the Heavenly Bed this month at the property on Manila Bay. "Pillows are personal things and most hotels offer a choice. But a lot of people want the same thing in a bed."

The all-white Heavenly Bed features "10 layers of comfort" starting with a custom-designed pillowtop mattress set by Simmons that has 900 individual coils. It is dressed with three sheets ranging in thread count from 180 to 250, a down blanket, a comforter and a crisp duvet. The bed comes with five pillows including two king-sized goosedown and goosefeather pillows.

It took Westin a year to develop the Heavenly Bed, which was first rolled out in 83 hotels in North America with an investment of US$30 million. In one exercise, an entire hotel ballroom was filled with 35 beds from various hotels including Ritz-Carlton, Peninsula and Hyatt and compared. Hotel executives also tested several pillows trying on a new pillow each week.

Since its high-profile launch, Westin executives have slept much better. Guest satisfaction scores increased 12 percent immediately after the introduction of the Heavenly Beds. They are now being introduced in Westin properties around the world, and all new Westin properties - such as The Westin Shanghai, which opens next month - will immediately offer the Heavenly Bed.

Heaven at Home

Even some homes have them now. Due to the bed's popularity, guests have offered to buy similar sleep sets for their own bedrooms. The hotel has opened its own hotline and Web site for customers interested in ordering the Heavenly Bed and other related items such as bed trays. Westin has also developed a product catalogue, which is placed inside the guest rooms and mailed to Westin customers.

And Westin isn't the only one selling beds. Four Seasons has offered its mattress, sheets, pillows, duvets and comforters since 1996, while Ritz-Carlton entered the retail business with its Comfort Essentials Collection in 1999.

Ritz-Carlton says the decision to upgrade the company's beds was based on their observation that guests are now buying more luxurious beddings for their own homes. The luxury hotel group says it never planned to go into retail "but more and more customers started to ask if they could purchase our items." Its Comfort Essentials Collection, created for the hotel by the Pacific Coast Feather Company, features 300 thread-count striped Egyptian cotton sheets by Frette, lightweight down blanket, and specially designed Sealy mattress.

Obviously a good's night sleep comes at a price. But Cunnings reports that several guests have indicated that they were willing to pay a premium for the comfort of a good bed. And for those who want to sleep in one at home, a queen-sized Heavenly Bed goes for US$2,300 and comes with a 10-inch pillow-top mattress, a comforter, three sheets, and five pillows.