Virgin Hotel guests can’t figure out Richard Branson’s ‘bed of the future’
It’s for Generation ZZZZZZZZZ.
Tourists had TikTokkers scratching their heads over a bizarre sleeping accommodating that was Virgin founder Richard Branson’s “Hotel Bed Of The Future.” A video detailing the sci-fi-evoking slumber pad has amassed over 2.8 million views as the internet scrambled to deduce its purpose.
“We’re very confused by this thing on the edge of my bed,” inquired TikTok user Danielle Carolan in the clip of the bed, which had a strange seat-like nook in the corner like the bracket on a picture frame.
She found the quirky mattress attachment particularly strange as it wasn’t a chair and didn’t “swivel out.”
Carolan had several theories about what the doo-hickey was used for, postulating: “One, it’s so you don’t bump your knee when you’re getting up or going back to bed after going to the bathroom. Or, we’re wondering if it’s so you can sit and chat with your friends.”
The nook flummoxed the TikTok commentariat, who had their own speculations about its function.
“That’s where you stack your laundry when you don’t feel like putting it away,” posited one armchair sleep expert, while another wrote, “I thought this was so your dog could have a comfy spot to lay.”
Many had NSFW ideas about the nook’s purported purpose with one gutter-minded viewer writing, “Without getting too graphic … the possibilities are endless.”
Thankfully, that notion quickly got put to bed. As many TikTokkers pointed out, Carolan’s latter explanation was correct — the bed is actually a “Lounge Bed” patented by Virgin Hotels, Inc. reported.
First offered in the company’s Chicago outlet in 2015, the futuristic sleeping accouterment is in fact a cubby designed for an extra party to sit comfortably at the edge of the bed while socializing.
According to the article, The Lounged Bed is outfitted with three “cubby holes” — two bookending the headboard and one in the corner — so three people can comfortably lounge on the bed.
The front corner is also designed to be extra supportive so that the mattress doesn’t implode when a third person sits down.
“Everybody has a cubby hole where they can sit and talk and still work with devices,” gushed Virgin Hotels CEO Raul Leal.
And that’s not the slumber pad’s only cutting-edge attribute.
While most hotels have vertical headboards, which require travelers to pile up a Jenga of pillows to work comfortably, the Lounge Bed” comes with a soft, padded headboard that’s “ergonomically designed with a 120-degree pitch.”
This allows guests to both recline and work easily with a laptop or tablet propped up on their knees, thereby preserving their posture.
No word as to whether this feature can also lessen the likelihood of travelers contracting the dreaded work-from-home “hunchback” — an alleged symptom of the prolonged remote work arrangement fomented by the pandemic.
