Best mattress for an Airbnb or vacation rental: a host’s buying guide

Hi, we’re John and Mimi. A mattress in a short-term rental works harder than the one in a spare room: a different guest every few nights, a quick turnover between bookings, and every review depends a little on how people slept. Here’s how we’d choose a mattress for an Airbnb, VRBO or other vacation rental, how to keep it clean between guests, what to know about the warranty, and every middle-of-the-road mattress we sell at today’s prices.

The short answer

• Pick a feel in the middle. You can’t know who’s booking, so medium to medium firm suits the widest range of guests.
• Pick a cover you can wash. Most of our mattresses have a zip-off, machine-washable cover, which makes a spill between bookings a lot less stressful.
• Put a waterproof protector on every bed, and buy a spare. Liquid damage isn’t covered by the mattress warranty. Check the fit: two of our protectors fit mattresses up to 11", the Premium Bamboo fits up to 16".
• Read the warranty note below before you buy. Our warranty page lists commercial use among the things the mattress warranty doesn’t cover, so text John first if the bed is going into a rental.
• Ship it straight to the property. We ship free by FedEx anywhere in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.
• Today: 13 medium and medium firm mattresses in stock, queens from $399. Furnishing several units? Text John.

What a rental mattress needs that a guest bed doesn’t

A guest room bed sits empty most of the year; our guest room mattress guide covers that job. A rental bed is in use most nights, by people you’ve never met, and you usually have a few hours between check-out and check-in. That changes the checklist:

• A feel most people are happy on, not your personal favorite.
• Easy cleanup: a removable, washable cover plus a waterproof protector, with spares ready so a bed is never stripped and waiting on the dryer.
• A size that fits the room and the listing. If you advertise a queen bed, it should be a queen.
• A budget that works across every bed in the property, not just the main bedroom.
• Delivery that doesn’t need you there to sign, since you may be miles away (details below).

What size mattress for each room?

Every measurement is in our mattress size chart. Measure the room and the bed frame before you order; king and California king frames don’t swap (king vs cal king).

Which feel suits the most guests?

Medium to medium firm. Side sleepers usually want a little more cushion and stomach sleepers a little more support, so the middle of the scale is the safest bet when every booking brings someone new. Our two flippable iSwitch models are another option: one side medium firm, the other medium soft, per their listings. The whole scale is explained in our mattress firmness guide, and the best medium firm mattress guide goes deeper on that feel.

All foam or hybrid? Both work. Our hybrids add pocketed coils under the foam; see memory foam vs hybrid. If guests sit on the edge of the bed to put on shoes, look for an edge support system in the listing (the table below shows which ones list it).

Every medium and medium firm mattress, by budget

Sorted by today’s queen price. A dash means that size isn’t available right now. Feel is our own scale; cover and edge support are from each product listing.

Budget tiers (queen, today)

• Under $500: 10" Rose Medium ($399), 10" Gel Comfort Reactive ($399)
• $500 to $799: 12" Copper Gel ($519), 10" EcoCore Origin ($599), 12" Ananda Pearl & Gel ($689), 10" EcoCore Hybrid Premium ($699), 10" ActiveAlign Copper ($739), 12" iSwitch Flippable ($769)
• $800 and up: 12" ActiveAlign Copper Zoned ($819), 10" Allureluxe Hybrid ($889), 12" BioPosture iSwitch ($909), 12" Sofinity Hybrid Essentials ($989), 12" Sofinity Hybrid Signature ($989)

Our best affordable mattress guide sorts every mattress we sell by price, and how much does a mattress cost shows today’s price ranges by size.

Protectors and bedding for quick turnovers

Our mattress listings say a waterproof protector is recommended and that liquid spills don’t qualify for warranty claims, so in a rental we’d treat a protector as part of the mattress. Two per bed means one can be in the wash while the other is on the bed.

• Match the protector to the thickness. A 10" mattress takes any of the three. For a 12" mattress (7 of the models in the table above), the Premium Bamboo is the one listed to fit. More in do you need a mattress protector.
• A whole bed in one box: our Essentials Bedding Bundle includes pillows, pillowcases, a flat sheet, a fitted sheet and a mattress protector (full and larger sizes get 2 pillows). Its protector lists a 16" pocket depth and its fitted sheet a 16" skirt; queen $95, king $99 today. The listing says to machine wash cold on a gentle cycle and tumble dry low.
• Nicer sheets: our bamboo and cotton sheet set (queen $89 today) comes in grey, light grey, ivory and white.
• Pillow protectors too: the Bamboo Viscose Pillow Protector is zippered and washable, per its listing.

Pillows by the case

Several of our pillows also come in multi-pillow cases, handy when you’re dressing more than one bed. These cases cost less per pillow than buying singles today:

Not sure which pillow suits most guests? See how to choose a pillow.

Cleaning between guests

This is what our mattress listings’ care instructions say, plus how we’d fit it into a turnover:

• Strip the bed and check the protector at every turnover. Wash protectors and bedding per their labels.
• Wash the mattress cover when it needs it: cold, gentle cycle, like colors, air dry without heat. Don’t dry clean, bleach, iron or steam it.
• If a spill gets through, remove the cover right away and let the area dry before putting the cover back on. Don’t let moisture soak into the mattress; our warranty page also excludes mold, so keep a beach or humid property’s bedroom dry and aired out.
• Rotate the mattress now and then so the same spot doesn’t take all the wear.

Step-by-step stain tips are in how to clean a mattress.

The warranty and rental use: read this first

Every mattress we sell comes with a 10-year limited warranty from the manufacturer. Our Warranty page lists what the mattress warranty doesn’t cover, and that list includes commercial use, liquid damage, stained or soiled mattresses, and mold. Whether a particular short-term rental counts as commercial use isn’t spelled out there, so we won’t guess: if the mattress is going into a property you rent out, text John before you order and he’ll find out how it applies to your property. Either way, a protector on every bed is the simplest way to keep a mattress out of the stained-or-soiled exclusions. More in mattress warranty explained.

Getting it delivered to the property

• Where: per our Shipping Policy, we ship anywhere in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii (those and rural areas can take longer). For a P.O. box, contact us before you order.
• Cost: shipping is included in our prices, by FedEx.
• No signature required, but someone should accept and inspect the delivery: shipping damage has to be reported within 48 hours of delivery, with photos of the box and the product. Ask your cleaner or co-host to be there.
• It arrives in a box. Our mattresses come compressed and rolled. Unwrap it with scissors (the listings say never a razor blade). It can take up to 72 hours to fully recover its shape, though you can sleep on it right away, and the shipping page suggests airing a new memory foam mattress at least 24 hours before putting sheets on it, so set it up a day or two before the next check-in. See how long a mattress in a box takes to expand.
• What it sits on: the listings call for a solid surface, an adjustable base, or slats no more than 2" apart. See what to put under a memory foam mattress and how to choose a bed frame.
• White glove in-home delivery and setup is available on select items by quote; ask John.

Furnishing more than one bed or unit?

Text John the number of beds, the sizes, and where each one is going. He’ll check what’s in stock in each size, help you match mattresses, protectors and bedding, and put the order together with you. You can change or cancel an order any time before it ships; see our Purchase Policy & Warranty for the details.

10" Rose - Medium Firmness - 10BNV

A simple, low-priced 10" all-foam mattress that sits at medium on our feel scale, with a cover you can zip off and wash.

• 2" gel air memory foam over support foam
• Zip-off, machine-washable cover
• Non-skid bottom fabric
• 10-year limited warranty; all three of our protectors fit a 10" mattress

From $279 (Twin) · Queen $399 · See sizes & details

10" EcoCore Hybrid Premium Soy Foam & Pocket Coil Mattress - Medium Firm

A medium-firm 10" hybrid: soy-based foam and plush gel memory foam over edge-to-edge pocketed coils.

• 6" edge-to-edge pocketed coils over 1" base foam
• Patented edge support system
• Zip-off, machine-washable cooling cover
• 10-year limited warranty; CertiPUR-US certified foams

From $499 (Twin XL) · Queen $699 · See sizes & details

Questions we hear a lot

Questions? Text John

Tell John about the property: how many beds, what sizes, and who usually books. He’ll tell you honestly what he’d put in each room. Text or call 818-924-3744, 6 AM to 9 PM Pacific, take the 60-second mattress quiz, or use Help me choose.

Written by John & Mimi Venti, MimiJohn. Cover, protector, bedding and care details are from our product listings; warranty and delivery details are from our Warranty and Shipping pages; feel ratings are our own scale; prices and stock are read live from our catalog and update automatically. General shopping information, not legal or tax advice.