The hot new hotel room perk: a Murphy bed

livemint.com:

Beds once associated with claustrophobic Depression-era flophouses are popping up at ski resorts, timeshares and luxury suites. Hotel rooms are shrinking, and travelers are increasingly demanding their rooms be more than just places to catch some shut-eye. That has led hotel developers to turn to an old standby—the Murphy bed.

Today’s hideaway wall bed isn’t the rickety, dust-covered last resort many travelers might expect, say hoteliers, designers and furniture companies. They pitch it as an aesthetic marvel that’s also comfortable. “It used to be that they were kind of a punchline in comedy sketches," says Caden Wilding, vice president of marketing at Wilding Wallbeds, a family-owned Murphy bed retailer and manufacturer based in St.

George, Utah. “The industry is coming to see them more favorably." Michelle Sutton, a 43-year-old gym owner from Barberton, Ohio, booked a short stay at an Orlando-area timeshare with her wife as part of a theme-park vacation. When they reached their studio room, they found no bed.

“I thought, ‘How am I gonna call the front desk and ask where’s the bed?’" Sutton says. Sure enough, the room had a Murphy bed—a detail Sutton says the timeshare didn’t mention during the reservation process or check-in. “It was actually super comfortable," Sutton says, adding she would stay in that room again.

Motto, Hilton’s hotel brand aimed at young professionals, features traditional layouts that boast a single, king-size bed and others with bunk-style beds. In addition, Motto’s seven current locations also feature rooms with a wall bed as the only sleeping option. These “Flex Rooms" can be used alone or connected with an adjoining room for a suite-style layout.