Luxury hotel brand Sofitel has conducted an indepth analysis of the sleeping habits of its customers with a view to improve their sleep by making it better and longer. The hotel will now deploy new experience rituals across all its hotels to help guests enjoy ‘blissful nights’.

French luxury hotel brand, Sofitel, part of world’s second largest hotel chain, Accor, has released the findings of a study conducted on the sleeping patterns of its guests with a view to improve their sleep and especially to minimise the notorious ‘first night effect’, which often occurs when people sleep far away from home.

In a press statement, Sofitel says that the aim of the study was to better understand how travellers sleep in order to help them sleep better and longer. Guided by this research, Sofitel says it will be deploying new experiences across all its hotels to help guests sleep better.

According to the statement, the ‘first night effect’, also known as a syndrome, occurs when people sleep in an unfamiliar place for the first time as the left hemisphere of human brain displays heightened activity, which keeps it in a state of alert even after people have closed their eyes.

“This study was invaluable for Sofitel because it gave us key data on our guests’ sleep. In late 2023, we started brainstorming on how we could apply the findings to our hotels across the world. We sought to give all our hotels clear guidelines and the opportunity to revamp their rooms and suites, to elevate the experience of all our travellers in the most personalised way possible,” says Nicolas Gronier, VP Global Marketing Sofitel.

Sofitel says that the first night syndrome is a widespread issue as in 2023, 45 pc of its guests spent only one night in the brand’s hotels. Such guests are especially prone to the first night effect. This inspired Sofitel to design an original, first full-scale study to analyse these sleep issues, in collaboration with leading sleep experts.

It says that in alignment with the study findings, the brand is launching ‘The Art of Sleep,’ an extension of the Sofitel ‘MyBed’ programme launched in 2003.

The hotel says that it analysed the subject’s sleep at home to get a baseline measurement of its quality while in the second, they were invited to Sofitel Paris Arc de Triomphe. The study applied a holistic approach that took a host of variables into account such as total darkness, a temperature set to 19°C, the neutralisation of sounds and smells, the nutritional value of the menu, hydration and breathing exercises.

The statement adds that all the senses were studied through sleep sensors installed under the mattress. The objective was to deliver a sleep score out of 100 based on six factors namely, duration, depth, regularity, interruptions, time to fall asleep and the wake-up phase.

According to the study, on average the subjects’ sleep quality in the Sofitel Paris Arc de Triomphe room was 13.7 pc higher than at home and the higher the score, the better the sleep. The subjects of the study slept an average of 65 minutes longer. Their respiratory rhythms were slower, a sign of deeper sleep. While 32 pc of the subjects woke up after 8 am, and 64 pc of the subjects fell asleep in under 30 minutes.

The hotel says that these numbers were borne out in the positive feedback the subjects provided as more than 8 out of 10 of them rated the experience as “good” to “very good.” When the subjects were asked about the best parts of the experience, the mattress and the pillow were mentioned in 96 pc of the responses.

The statement adds that drawing on the study findings, Sofitel will be phasing in new rituals in each of its hotels starting in July 2024. The offerings include light meals formulated to help guests fall asleep quicker, bespoke treatment protocols, relaxing playlists curated specially for the brand’s hotels, and precise lighting and temperature adjustments.

The statement adds that this will be an extension to the 2003’s Sofitel MyBed pillow menu, from which guests can choose the best option for them amongst Rêverie Douceur, a square pillow filled with soft feathers, and the Ergo Confort pillow, which offers support designed for reading and working in a semi-upright position. The hotel says that the Sofitel MyBed pillow menu is a tailored service that offers premium pillows to help create an inviting environment. To foster sleep, the brand also offers guests calming herbal tea to drink before bed.