A Dream Room May Depend on the Pillow

THE pillow talk begins almost the moment you check in to the Skylofts at the MGM Grand, a 51-room addition to the Las Vegas hotel that opened in January. A "dream butler" visits the guest to hand out a pillow menu explaining the fine points of the eight selections, from a memory foam pillow that molds to the shape of your head to an adjustable air pillow that comes with a pump. On the bed sit goose down pillows swathed in creamy Anachini pillowcases. The one in the middle is monogrammed with the guest's initials.

It's hard to recall a time when hotels have lavished more attention, money or publicity on pillows. Sure, bespoke monograms are still a rarity (rooms at the Skylofts, after all, start at 0). But finding a hotel that provides a selection of quality pillows, whether designed to prevent allergies, stifle snoring or just promote a good night's sleep, has become much easier in the last five years.

Pillow menus are almost as familiar as room service menus at some small high-end hotels, like the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, which offers 12 types of pillows. The Salish Lodge near Seattle ups the ante with 16 choices. In New York, the Benjamin, credited with introducing the concept five years ago, serves up 11.

Larger chain hotels offer fewer options. But most, including Hyatt, Hilton, W and Westin, have plumped up the quality and dimensions of their pillows and, mindful of the many travelers with allergies, provide hypoallergenic pillows.

Even moderately priced hotels like Marriott Courtyard, Econo Lodge and Comfort Inn are moving to help find the perfect pillow - or at least one that doesn't feel like a rock. "Because pillows are a much smaller capital expenditure than mattresses, they're a smart way for economy brands to improve their rooms," said Debbie C. Howath, an assistant professor at Johnson & Wales University International Hotel School in Providence, R.I.

Just don't expect much choice. Red Roof Inns recently began replacing classic interwoven polyfill pillows, which go flat in six to eight months, with costlier hypoallergenic pillows filled with fiber puffs to stay fluffy longer. But Red Roof decided against offering multiple types. "We can't throw dollars around in the economy segment," said Joe Wheeling, the chief operating officer.

The hotel industry's obsession with pillows took off in 1999, when Westin introduced the Heavenly Bed, outfitted with both feather and hypoallergenic-fill pillows. Cut-throat competition insured that pillow upgrades and choices became widespread.

But other reasons were at work. As the industry has grown more design conscious, hoteliers discovered that a bed piled high with pillows imparted a message of welcome and comfort. "They're also part of your first impression when you enter the room," Mr. Wheeling said.

Aging leisure travelers, with increased concerns about backaches, stiff necks and fitful sleep, have prompted hotels to create more comfortable surroundings. And Judi Brownell, a professor at the Cornell Hotel School, said that the last decade's dramatic increase in women's traveling for business helped promote pillow options. "Women have strong preferences for amenities," she said, "and they like having choices as a way of personalizing their surroundings."

Women have sleep concerns that differ from those of men, she added. According to a recent survey by the National Sleep Foundation and Hilton Hotels, 40 percent more women than men reported having difficulty getting a good night's sleep when they traveled. And twice as many women as men take along a pillow when they travel.

Indeed, Ms. Brownell is one of them. "My husband cringes when I go into a hotel hugging my pillow," she said. "But I need a lot of sleep, and I'm still not sure I'll get the right pillow at a hotel."

Even hotels offering double-digit pillow menus admit finding the perfect pillow is not easy. Most have an employee on hand to make suggestions and explain arcane offerings, like the jelly neck roll, which can be heated or chilled to conform to your head.

Eileen McGill, the sleep concierge at the Benjamin, asks guests about their sleep positions, snoring habits and health before suggesting two or three pillows. For jet lag she might recommend a Swedish - a k a NASA, since it was developed by the space agency - memory pillow, the most popular item on the menu. She likes the satin beauty pillow - "hypoallergenic with cutouts to decrease pressure" - for guests coming to New York for elective surgery.

Though Ms. McGill says guests have called from the airport to request specific pillows, not everyone cares. Tobias Mattstedt, vice president for operations at the Skylofts, said most visitors viewed the pillow menu as a conversation piece rather than a sleep aid.

"We get a lot of requests for the NASA memory pillow because people havseen it advertised on TV," he said. But guests rarely order the buckwheat hull pillow.

"It's a very nice pillow, but it sounds too healthy," Mr. Mattstedt said. "People come here for a good time."