Textiles for hostels, camps and school residences: bunk beds, mattress protection and rotation

In a hostel, a camp or a school residence, textiles are decided by three things that do not carry the same weight in a hotel: the size of the bunk bed, which is usually 80 or 90 cm wide; rotation by groups, which empties and refills every bed on the same day; and mattress protection, which is the item that saves the most money when children and teenagers sleep there, and different people every week.

This guide covers what the regional rules say about bunk beds and mattress covers, how to measure and make up a bunk bed, which mattress protection suits each case and how to organise rotation so that no bed is left unmade on group changeover day.

What the rules say: 80 or 90 bunk beds and a washable mattress cover

Hostels and youth facilities are regulated by each autonomous community, and each one sets its minimums. A recent and detailed example is Decree 123/2018 of the Region of Murcia, which regulates tourist hostels and youth hostels. Its table of minimum requirements sets out, among other things:

• Bunk beds of at least 0.80 × 1.90 m in the one-star category and 0.90 × 1.90 m in the two-star category.
• A side gap between bunk beds of at least 0.50 m and an exit aisle of at least 0.90 m.
• «Ropa de baño y cama a disposición de los clientes, incluida o no en el precio» (“Bath and bed linen available to guests, whether or not included in the price”).
• «Colchones modernos y bien conservados (no de gomaespuma ni lana), con cubre colchones higiénicos» (“Modern, well-kept mattresses (not foam rubber or wool), with hygienic mattress covers”), with a note worth reading twice: «Funda simple no es aceptable. Tiene que ser lavable y transpirable» (“A simple cover is not acceptable. It must be washable and breathable”).
• In the higher category, facilities for washing and drying clothes.

The same decree provides for the refuge hostel, where guests sleep with the gear they bring (sleeping mat, insulating pad, sleeping bag). Outside that case, bed linen is part of the service.

Public buyers offer another useful clue. In 2024 the Agència Catalana de la Joventut put out to tender the supply of linen for the hostels in the XANASCAT network in three lots: the first with pillowcases, fitted sheets, sheets, terry mattress protectors and towels; the second with mattresses and pillows; and the third with fire-retardant covers. In other words, the mattress protector is bought together with the sheets, as an everyday item, and fire protection is dealt with separately. If your regional rules or your tender specifications require fire-retardant textiles, check which test they ask for; we explain this in textiles and the rules: what an inspection can ask you for.

Before buying, ask your authority in writing for the requirements of your category. What follows is common practice, not the rule in every region.

Measuring and making up a bunk bed

A bunk bed is measured like any other bed, by the mattress and in all three dimensions, as we explain in which sheet size goes with which bed. But it has three particular features:

• The width may be 80. Our catalogue fitted sheet starts at 90 × 200 cm; if your bunk beds are 80 wide, that size is made to measure, with a lead time confirmed in the quote. It is worth knowing before the season, not in the week of opening.
• The mattress is usually thinner. The catalogue fitted sheet is designed for mattresses up to 24 cm (±1 cm) deep. With a thin mattress the elastic takes up the difference, but measure the actual depth: if you add a quilted mattress protector, the height goes up.
• The top bunk is hard to make. You cannot walk round it, the bed base is at face height and the guard rail gets in the way. Anything that simplifies making it up, such as a fitted sheet with good elastic or a duvet cover instead of a flat sheet and blanket, saves minutes per bed and badly tucked-in sheets. The two options are compared in duvet cover or flat sheet.

Mattress protection, the item that saves the most

In a facility with children, the question is not whether there will be a night-time accident, but when. According to the guide to managing childhood enuresis published by the Sociedad Española de Pediatría Extrahospitalaria y Atención Primaria (SEPEAP, 2014), enuresis affects in general 16% of children aged 5, 10% of those aged 6 and 7.5% of those aged 10, and from the age of 15 it persists in 1-3%. On a camp session or in a school residence it is normal for it to happen, and a mattress that is not protected is lost or spends days drying out.

The protection items do different jobs, and on a bunk bed they are usually combined. This is how our product sheets describe them:

A common combination in hostels is the full zippered cover as a fixed layer with a waterproof protector on top, which is the one washed in the rotation. The cover protects the mattress from wear; the protector, from liquid. If your rules require a «lavable y transpirable» (“washable and breathable”) mattress cover, as Murcia's do, a protector with a polyurethane backing meets both words: our product sheet states that, unlike PVC, polyurethane lets vapour through. The finishes and sizes are in mattress protection.

The night-time routine

What is most appreciated at a camp is for a night-time accident to be dealt with quietly. This works well:

• In each room or in the group leaders' room, a closed bag with a fitted sheet, a protector, a pillowcase and spare pyjamas.
• A separate bag for wet items, which goes to the laundry separately and as soon as possible.
• If the protector has done its job, the mattress only needs airing; if there was none, the mattress is out of service until it is completely dry.
• For a child with known enuresis, an underpad on top of the fitted sheet means only that item needs changing.

Rotation: groups arrive and leave on the same day

A hotel changes a few beds every day. A group hostel changes them all at once: one school leaves on Friday and the next arrives on Monday, or a camp session ends in the morning and the next one starts in the afternoon. The number of sets is calculated for that peak, not for the average. The PAR logic (one on the bed, one at the laundry, one in the cupboard) is in the PAR guide; here, what changes is the cycle: if the laundry returns the linen over several days and the group changeover takes hours, the set in the cupboard has to cover every bed.

Many facilities hand out bed linen as a kit per bed space on arrival, folded and ready, and collect it on departure. This has three advantages: guests make up the bed themselves and the team only checks; items are counted in and out; and losses are spotted straight away. Marking textiles by building or by size helps stop the laundry mixing them up; the methods are in how to mark bed linen and towels.

The blanket is the other item that sets the pace. In a hostel, a blanket that can be washed at every changeover without lengthening the cycle is welcome: our product sheet for the 320 g/m² fleece blanket describes it as the lightest and quickest to wash, one that “comes out of the washer almost dry and needs no ironing”. The other blankets, with their weights, are in blankets.

What really wears out textiles in a hostel

In a youth facility, textiles are damaged more by use than by washing: shoes on the bed, fitted sheets pulled off from the bottom bunk, covers used as sleeping bags. Some decisions reduce that wear:

• Cotton and polyester blend fabrics for the rotation linen: they dry faster and stand up better to the pace of group changeovers.
• An anti-pilling finish on sheets and covers, so that pills do not give away the wear in mid-season.
• A single pillow and pillowcase size throughout the building, so that any pillowcase fits any bed.
• Zips closed before washing full mattress covers, as the product sheets state.
• A check at the end of each session, setting aside anything torn or stained before it goes back into circulation.

Frequently asked questions

What size is a hostel bunk bed?

It depends on each region's rules and on the category. In Murcia, for example, the minimum is 0.80 × 1.90 m for one star and 0.90 × 1.90 m for two. Always measure the mattress: width, length and depth.

Is a mattress cover compulsory in a hostel?

Some rules require it. The Murcia decree calls for mattresses with a hygienic mattress cover and specifies that a simple cover is not acceptable: it must be washable and breathable. Check the rules in your region.

Waterproof protector or underpad at a children's camp?

The two items complement each other. The protector goes on every bed and is washed in the rotation; the underpad goes on the beds that need it and is changed without stripping the bed.

How many sets of sheets does a group hostel need?

Enough to make up every bed on group changeover day while the previous set is at the laundry. Base the calculation on peak occupancy and the real time the linen takes to come back, not on the average.

In summary

In a hostel, a camp or a school residence, the order of purchase is: know your region's rules, measure the bunk beds, protect every mattress and size the linen for group changeover day. With that done, the rest is replacement.

Sources

• Decreto n.º 123/2018, de 30 de mayo, por el que se regulan los albergues turísticos y los albergues juveniles de la Región de Murcia — Boletín Oficial de la Región de Murcia, 2018
• Suministro de ropero para Albergues de la XANASCAT (anuncio 546733-2024) — Agència Catalana de la Joventut / Official Journal of the EU (TED), 2024
• Manejo y diagnóstico terapéutico de la enuresis infantil — Sociedad Española de Pediatría Extrahospitalaria y Atención Primaria (SEPEAP), 2014