Okay, show of hands, please: Ever felt compelled to re-make your hotel room bed? Odd question, I know, but personally I have been in that position a number of times in a variety of cities and hotels over the years. And you might be surprised when I say that I am not referring to stays at inexpensive interstate inns, but 3-star and better properties and fine resorts.

Am I just an overly particular guest with a fetish for a perfectly made bed? Absolutely not! I will admit that, due to the training of my nurse mother, by the age of eight I could make a bed with hospital corners snug enough to pass muster with a drill sergeant. That is merely to say that if a child can accomplish that task, certainly trained hotel staff should be able to as well. However, I don’t require such perfection in the beds I sleep in now; I just want a bed where the sheets aren’t sliding off the mattress or disproportionately distributed to one side or the other.

Perhaps I just notice it more because I usually travel with my husband, so we’re sharing a bed, and two bodies tugging at the covers are certainly going to reveal any flaws in the bed-making more quickly and obviously than one. Sometimes the trouble is apparent from the moment the spread is pulled down, sometimes it isn’t until part way through the first night, and sometimes it’s after housekeeping has been through to straighten the room after a night or two.

What’s the big deal? A lot of times, the bottom sheet is barely tucked in on one or more sides and becomes all bunched up, leaving one lying partially on the mattress pad and uncomfortable from all the lumps and bumps. In other cases, the top sheet has been arranged with plenty of overhang on one side while it barely covers the top of the mattress on the other, or it hasn’t been secured at the foot of the bed so that one’s feet are exposed to the air or a scratchy blanket. I don’t know about you, but when I’m traveling and sleeping in a strange bed, I don’t need additional annoyances or discomfort to make my rest less peaceful.

I understand that housekeeping staffs are often short-handed and have an enormous amount of work to accomplish in a short time span. And I comprehend the economics of using flat rather than fitted sheets. I still don’t think those excuse a poorly made bed — especially at those finer hotels and resorts that pride themselves on customer satisfaction and service. It takes only seconds to spread the linens evenly on the mattress and securely tuck them in (no more than it takes to just randomly shove them in, as I’ve observed most seem to have been), and that is certainly preferrable to guests having to do it themselves when the bed becomes an uncomfortable, messy tangle.

— Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader