Hi Sgtumlin,
[quote]I manage and own vacation rentals in the Florida Panhandle Mattresses r huge in rentals but owners don’t want to pay a ton of money. Our pillow tops sag after some years and the coils get complaints they are too firm
I am completely overwhelmed in my search and am ready to just order a Serta from SamsClub
I’m looking for a mattress that satisfies most average sized people Not too soft. Not too firm (just right ;)[/quote]
Your experience with mattresses sagging are typical of pillowtop mattresses that use lower quality and less durable materials in their mattresses (in the upper layers particularly that are the weakest link of a mattress). All the major brands (such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta) tend to use lower quality materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors that will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay and I would avoid all of them completely along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here along with post #3 here and post #12 here and post #404 here).
I would also keep in mind that there are thousands of innerspring mattresses in a very wide range of firmness levels as well and because each person is unique in their specific needs and preferences you will find that with any specific mattress (regardless of the firmness level or type) you will find that it may be too firm for some people and too soft for others.
While I can’t speak to how any mattress will “feel” for someone else because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances … outside of PPP the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability and assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are “durable enough” and meet the quality/durability guidelines here … the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses (including innersprings) are more of a preference and a budget choice than a “better/worse” choice (see this article).
A medium firm mattress would be a good choice for a rental mattress since it will cover a larger part of the bell curve for a wider range of people based on “averages” than softer or firmer choices.
It may also be worth purchasing a softer topper as well so that those renters that prefer a softer sleeping surface can add the topper on the mattress and would have the option to choose between two firmness levels based on the preferences of the renter.
If you do decide to purchase a topper in addition to a mattress then post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to should be helpful.
Since you aren’t buying a mattress for a specific person any local testing on a mattress wouldn’t be nearly as important (since a renter may not have the same needs and preferences as the person who is testing the mattress) so online choices would also be well worth considering.
The mattress shopping tutorial includes several links to lists of the better online sources I’m aware of (in the optional online step) that include a wide range of different types and categories of mattresses in a wide range of budgets as well.
The better local options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here) would be in the Panama City list in post #16 here or in the Pensacola list in post #365 here but again since local testing won’t be as important I would put more weight on some of the online choices that are available to you.
Phoenix
