Economy Contract Beds – Not compromising on quality

It seems that when it comes to the service industry, saving money is always important. Even if you are booked up every single night for 352 days of the year, saving the pennies now certainly saves you the pounds later, but that really doesn’t mean you have to lower your standards to do it.

So in today’s blog Millbrook Contract Beds thought it was about time we revisited the economy contract beds section of our business, so that be you hotelier, healthcare or academic institution you can get all the best tips on finding an economical contract bed without compromising on quality.

We have always supported the idea that if you buy an economical contract bed you should not get lesser quality when it comes to the manufacturing and craftsmanship of your bed.  That’s why we offer superior contract beds at a great price.

Our contract bed range boasts high quality contract beds but at an affordable price.  Of course, we do offer the luxury range, which is perhaps not quite the same price, but none of our more economical options are made with less attention to detail and quality.

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Back to basics – advice from Millbrook Contract Beds on maintaining your beds – part two

Millbrook Contract Beds is getting back to basics!

In the last blog we wanted to go over the essential bed care tips that will help you maintain a better quality of care over your contract beds, whether they have been bought from us here at Millbrook, or from an alternative source. You can read the first part of this blog HERE.

In this follow-up we will continue the countdown of top tips for bed care. The mattress is one of the key factors to consider when it comes to caring for your bed, but we can’t forget about looking after the bed base itself which is the mattress’ support structure. In this second half of our list of tips we give you a little bit of info on both.

So, what happens if you’ve been sleeping in your bed for quite some time now?

Every breath you take – Did you know that your body generates over a pint of moisture during every night you are in bed? Allow your bed to breathe. By the simple act of turning down your sheets and bedding in the morning you give the bed a chance to air out and for the moisture to dissipate.

Protect and preserve – Millbrook advises that you protect your mattress with a suitable natural fibre mattress cover. This is not a technique that everyone likes to employ but it does wonders for your bed’s lifespan. The natural fibre cover helps to protect the surface of your mattress from contact with moisture and even better, it protects it from the risks of staining. Mattress covers are enormously useful in helping your mattress to stay pristine and aesthetically appealing for years to come.

What’s under the bed? – Consider what is under the bed base itself. Make sure you check to see what’s going on underneath every once in a while. Check the wheels (if it has wheels) plus castors. Avoid excessive force when you check these elements of a bed base, but still check to make sure the underneath is just as healthy and well-maintained as the mattress surface itself. Search for tears, rips and degraded materials.

Let’s call it a drawer – Not all contract beds have drawers but some do. These drawers have been designed to accommodate mostly lightweight items. The worst thing you can do is overload the drawers. Excessive weight or bulky items can cause damage to the runners and jam the drawer or simply overload the bed base itself causing other kinds of damage.

Chemical reaction – Millbrook Contract Beds strongly advises against the use of detergents and chemical cleaners on your mattress or any of the contract bed materials. You can easily bleach or disintegrate the fabric causing irreparable harm to your bed.

And those are the top tips to better bed care of your contract beds. This advice applies to individuals as well as businesses that rent rooms such as hoteliers in the hospitality industry, carers in the healthcare profession and landlords/lettings agents who rent out academic residences.

These Back to Basics tips are essential to taking care of your contract beds. Contact Us for more information on this topic. You can also follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook to keep up-to-date with the world of Millbrook Contract Beds.

Hotel or healthcare, there’s a contract bed for you!

When it comes to choosing contract beds, there’s a considerable range of sizes out there to choose from!  As a result, this can make it difficult to decide just which contract bed is right for you and your circumstances.

Therefore, in today’s blog, Millbrook Contract Beds is going to give you a recap on the sizes that we provide, along with some key points about each of the contract bed ranges we offer.

At Millbrook Contract Beds we have the following sizes available for our contract beds:

The Single Contract Bed – 90cm (3’0″) x 190cm (6’3″)

The Double Contract Bed – 135cm (4’6″) x 190cm (6’3″)

The King Size Contract Bed – 150cm (5’0″) x 200cm (6’6″)

The Super King Contract Bed – 180cm (6’0″) x 200cm (6’6″)

And finally…

The Zip & Link Contract Bed 180cm (6’0″) x 200cm (6’6″)

As well as these general sizes which are applicable to our entire range of contract beds, we are also able to create non-standard sizes and can even make heart shaped beds, if you’re looking for something a little bit different for you hotel or guest house.

Having a multitude of sizes is an important factor when manufacturing contract beds as every single hotel room or healthcare establishment is unique.

We have essentially three areas of contract beds that are suitable for different industries.

The International range offers the very best in terms of luxury to your guests and are beautifully manufactured by us in our Southampton based factory. This range is particularly suitable for hoteliers and offers a broad pricing range as well as colour options and of course size!

Whether you require something a little less indulgent for your guests, or you want to give them the best night’s sleep this range is going to be your best option.

Our healthcare range is excellent for mature guests who may need rest and relaxation and therefore every attention to detail in terms of quality and comfort has been thought of by us! We know how important it is to give your guests proper time to recuperate and you will find that our contract beds are focused on doing just that!

For clients that have conferencing facilities and halls for guests to sleep in our Academic collection offers excellent choice.

Offering both practicality and economically viable choices, the Academic range gives exceptional value and will make a great addition to any campus or conferencing residence.

Whatever size of contract bed you require and whatever industry you are working in, the Millbrook range of Contract Beds offer value, British craftsmanship and a luxurious yet financially viable way to give your guests great sleep.

Coupled with our current 10% discount as well, you could save even more if you buy your contract beds online with us now!

From hotels to health spas, buying a contract bed should be easy…

Knowing how best to arrange your refurbishment when  you buy new contract beds can be a massive challenge to hoteliers everywhere.

In fact, for any type of business that uses contract beds on a regular basis, the need to ensure you are organised and that you are doing things at the right time is really important.

Therefore, in today’s blog here at Millbrook Contract Beds we are going to be discussing the key things to do when you are about to replace your own.

Step One – Find the right time. While this may seem really obvious and perhaps not actually that important you may be surprised to discover the amount of people who attempt a refurb right in the middle of a busy period. We’ve all been to or at least seen those horrible holiday destinations where building work is carrying on. This is a distinct example of the reality looking nothing like the brochure. So if you are a hotelier, try and find the calmest day to get a refurb or replacement of your contract beds done.

It doesn’t have to be a complete day out of course and for most hotels in particular there will be the morning and indeed any time before check-in that you can arrange for contract beds to be swapped around.

Step Two – Tell your staff and get them involved. Organisation is everything when it comes to replacing your contract beds. Therefore, more often than not you can be sensible and involve your staff. Perhaps housekeeping can schedule room cleans with new contract beds being delivered, meaning you can get things done superfast.

Step Three- Make sure that once you’ve ordered your new contract beds that you have also looked at removal of the old ones. Again, this may seem like an obvious thing but you may be surprised to find out that many hoteliers don’t always cover this and end up with old contract beds with no where to put them.

Step Four – Once you have your contract beds delivered and installed make a note of when you purchased them and introduce a plan to check them regularly.  Remember that contract bed mattresses need to be turned regularly for even wear and if you are a very busy establishment you may need to change them more regularly.

Buying contract beds should be an easy process and by following our very simple advice it needn’t be stressful at all!

If you need contract beds right now, why not take a look through our contract bed range and take advantage of our current 10% discount?  You can order online, save online and simply wait for delivery!

Easy…

Take advantage of the Christmas period to refresh your contract beds

The approach of the new year means that you can look at your business with a fresh pair of eyes. You can start to consider how you might improve the accommodations and contract beds to attract more prospective tenants or guests. Millbrook Contract Beds believes that the hospitality industry and student accommodation can benefit from getting rid of any bedroom furniture to give a new lease of life to the room. You can take this opportunity to start replacing any contract beds that are near the end of their life; no-one likes sleeping on an old and uncomfortable contract bed! Continue reading »

Finding order in sleep disorders at Millbrook Contract Beds

There have been a lot of articles written in the last few months about sleep disorders. Since we’ve been on Twitter we have made active efforts to research and read as much as we can on the topics of dreams, sleep cycles and sleep disorders. Many of our blogs this year have focused on these aspects from the world of sleep as they’re surpsingly important when considering your contract beds, as a happy sleeper is a happy guest.

Millbrook Contract Beds casts its eye back to the sleep disorders that are plaguing people across the UK.

How do you know if you suffer from a sleep disorder?

If you find that you have trouble falling asleep – especially if you are exhausted – but you just can’t manage yourself into nodding off, or if you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night on a regular basis, it’s possible you suffer from a sleep disorder of some kind.

The trouble is sleep disorders aren’t just about disrupting your sleep patterns or making you feel fatigued they also have a deteriorating effect on your psychological state of mind, your general productivity and your overall health.

What are the most common sleep disorders?

Insomnia is the most well-known of all sleep disorders and is one of the most common. We have been through the specific causes and effects of this sleep disorder in previous blogs so we’ll keep in brief here. The problems of insomnia involve difficulty in initiating sleep and sustaining sleep. It’s a prevalent sleep disorder, particularly in the western world. The afflictions of insomnia will affect your concentration and mood.

Sleep Apnea is a condition that involves problems when breathing during sleep. It’s consequences can lead to extreme fatigue during the daytime.

Narcolepsy has often been the target of jokes, unfairly. It is a very problematic condition that makes the sufferer drift into sleep during their waking hours. Temporary paralysis is another common symptom. In a way narcolepsy is where unpredictable attacks of sleep take over at any given time. This makes it hard to live a daily life whether it be holding down a job or driving a car.

Sleep walking is what happens when a person tries to perform tasks (sometimes obscure ones) while they are asleep. There are many stories of people who have slept walk and committed all sorts of strange and dangerous tasks from sleep driving to sleep cooking. The sleep walker has no memory of the events when they awake.

Delayed sleep phase disorder is where the person takes a long of time to fall asleep but then consequently finds it hard to wake up on the scheduled time in morning. This is something that many people experience in small doses every now and then but people who suffer from this on a daily/nightly basis find it difficult to set a morning schedule or regular routine.

These are only a handful of the more common sleep disorders and most of them are responsible for many difficulties and ongoing depressions, anxieties and problems. Most of them can be treated and conditions improved but it depends on the person and their root cause of the disorder.

For more information on these sleep disorders please look back at the other Millbrook Contract Beds blogs or contact your local healthcare professional for advice.

Have you checked your contract beds lately?

Today’s blog is inspired by something the Sleep Council actually has on their website.  It’s a really great little tool called the bed MOT.  It works by the user ticking yes or no to a list of questions (not many only seven or so).

Essentially it’s a great way for an individual to assess whether it’s time to replace their bed or if there’s a few more years left in it yet.  You tick the relevant answer and then get your results!

Obviously this tool is more geared towards individuals but being the kind of company that likes to think about how people sleep in general, we thought it would be a good idea to write a blog designed especially for contract bed owners.

Continue reading »

Millbrook Contract Beds gives you more for your money

In recent weeks we’ve been featuring our products within a range of scenarios to give you an idea of what your next contract bed or contract beds might cost.  The results have been really good with the affordability of a contract bed from us being obvious.

So in today’s blog we thought we would give you even more reason to buy your next contract beds from us here at Millbrook.

If you’ve been following us on Twitter you may already know that we are running a very special promotion at the moment with a 10% discount on all purchases made through the website.

Obviously buying direct from us as a top manufacturer of contract beds saves you money anyway, but now with our new discount your budget goes much further!

So whether you’re a large hotel looking to refurbish or you’re a smaller establishment looking for a cost effective way of improving your guest experience you can now save even more of your budget by buying from us.

Equally, if you are an academic or conference based business, you can make your money go further with our discount as it applies to all beds across the range Millbrook Contract Bed range.

There is a simple code to use on checkout which is at the bottom of this blog and should you need some help or have any questions, we are ready and waiting to take your call.  Alternatively, for the really busy folks you can utilise our live chat service if it’s easier.

Buying from Millbrook Contract Beds is an experience designed to make you feel secure.  We have extensive experience in making high quality contract beds, retaining a real pride and of course professional approach to British craftsmanship.

So if you want something a little better than the ‘average’ and you want to get the very best value from your purchase, choose a Millbrook Contract Bed and you won’t go wrong.

Some of our clients have been buying from us for years – not only because of the service but also the way in which we work with you to deliver exactly what you need when you need it.

To take advantage of our offer all you have to do is go to the buy now page, choose your bed (or see our previous blogs for some inspiration) and go to the checkout, putting in the following code:

mcb10%oct12

Your discount will be automatically applied and you’re done!

Buying from Millbrook Contract Beds is all about the experience and quality – which we offer you in abundance!

Please note the offer is available throughout October.

What makes a good contract bed?

Here at Millbrook Contract Beds, we take manufacturing them very seriously.  Over the years we have operated, we have been asked many times – what makes a good contract bed? So in today’s blog we’re giving you our definitive guide to everything ‘contract bed’ so you know exactly what to look for if you’re thinking of purchasing.

A contract bed is for the long-term

A good contract bed is something that you should see as an investment for your business – whether you run a hotel, a healthcare business or an academic institution.  After, sleep is one of the single most important things to us whenever we are away from home.

Our philosophy in both design and manufacturing terms is one that is completely uncompromising and yours should be too!  Our beds are special and hopefully you feel that way about your guests, whoever they are.

A contract bed should be…

Comfortable – Dirt cheap may seem like a good idea, but if you consider the potential complaints and hassle trying to resolve unhappy guests, is it not a better investment to pay a little more and know you won’t have to waste valuable resources resolving issues?

A contract bed should be…

Made with care – All the beds and mattresses at Millbrook take every single thing you could imagine into care, which includes both support and comfort for the sleeper.  They are also designed to last as the hand crafted element means quality is never compromised.

A contract bed should provide…

The most comfortable sleep your guest has ever had.  This may seem like a stretch but as a top five in Which’s bed research, we know that it’s achievable and the long-term benefits to your business.

A contract bed should provide…

A great night’s sleep!  Millbrook Contract Beds achieves this by understanding that every sleeper is an individual and therefore, the design and manufacture must take this into consideration.  Remember, we’ve been doing this for over 60 years now so in truth there’ s not really a lot we don’t know about contract beds!

A great contract bed should…

Bare the hallmark of a master in bed manufacturing.  In today’s disposable world, there are so many things that are mass produced.  They are easy to replace and have no longevity.  However, as an investment your contract bed should not be something you need to replace in five minutes. It should last on average at least 7 to 10 years (if regularly maintained and looked after).

The best contract beds…

Should give you a number of options to choose from. Whether that’s pocket sprung beds or divan sets it doesn’t matter.  Choice is the single most important thing to our many customers and we enjoy offering variety and solutions for every pocket.

So if you’re now looking at buying a contract bed – why not try Millbrook Contract Beds and see why we’re a favourable supplier to a number of industries!

Studies in sleep – conclusions drawn from blogs this week

Now that we have introduced you to the common sleep factor problems students encounter and the potential solutions to them Millbrook Contract Beds would like to lend itself to recommendations on how student residences and students houses can help in their ongoing battle with optimising sleep – our answer is academic contract beds.

Of course, sometimes its not up to the individual student and mostly down to landlords and residential lettings in terms of bed quality but as a student you have a right to demand a decent bed. Just because they’ve given you some dust-mite ridden ten year old mattress and cheap wooden slat base doesn’t mean you can’t demand better.

Our recommendations are that you select genuine academic contract beds intended for the very purpose of making your sleeping life easier and effortless. Millbrook specialise in contract beds that are handmade to create the ultimate in luxury sleep. Our 60 years experience has given us the blueprint from which to base our incomparable designs. When it comes to the comfort needs of the academic industry we offer our Academic Collection.

The Campus

The Campus is a smart design that features open coil springs and a standard comfort level. This tends to be the most popular bed for halls of residences, student accommodations and hostels. The mattress has a fresh design in an easy to clean stitchbond cover. The bed frame is available with fixed or detached legs. It’s worth investing in a durable bed for student housing because you want the beds to last beyond just one student stay.

The Conference

Meet the bed that is ideal for space-saving! The Conference has an open coil mattress on a metal skid leg base. With a wipe clean breathable mattress cover that can be leaned time and time again. The fabric which we use dissipates body heat too. No night sweats here! It contains high levels of woollen felt to ensure comfort levels are maintained.

The Residence

Sometimes all you need for those short-term student stays are beds that are reliable and efficient. The Residence has a PVC mattress cover and is highly practical and durable in many types of locations. It’s a hard wearing and comfortable design. It’s also ideal for wipe clean hygiene purposes.

This collection combines practicality, comfort and economy to create an ideal sleep scenario for younger persons who need to get a good night’s sleep.

We can only offer the most comfortable option for students to help them get the best sleep possible, but it is up to the individuals to make sure they regulate their sleep environments to make them fit for a peaceful night ahead.

Get rid of the distractions in the room, set yourself regular sleep hours and avoid all the pitfalls of sleep affecting behaviour.

This Millbrook Contract Beds signing off for the weekend. Good sleeping to everybody!