Air mattress for guests: setup, bedding and a host's checklist

For most adult guests, choose a raised queen about 18 to 20 inches tall with a built-in pump, inflate it a day ahead so the vinyl can stretch, and make it up with deep-pocket fitted sheets. Keep a spare pump and patch kit nearby. Never let a baby sleep on it: infants need a crib or play yard.

Choosing the bed for a guest

Height matters most for adults. A raised bed at 18 to 20 inches, such as Intex’s 18 inch PremAire or 20 inch Thermalux, brings the sleeping surface close to regular bed height, so getting in and out is easier than from a floor-level bed. The raised air mattress guide compares heights and trade-offs.

Size depends on who is staying. A queen suits a couple; a twin or full suits one guest or a small room. The air mattress size chart lists dimensions and weight limits. For guests staying several nights, SoundAsleep’s CloudNine adds a secondary pump that monitors air pressure in the background.

Raised air mattresses for guest rooms

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Babies never sleep on an air mattress

This is the one rule for visiting families that has no exceptions. In a December 2007 release, the CPSC reported 16 infant deaths since 2002 on air mattresses, most of them infants under 8 months, and said that even properly inflated air mattresses are usually too soft for infants to keep a clear airway. A 2017 study in the American Journal of Public Health found 108 infant deaths from 2004 to 2015, across 24 states, in which an air mattress was where the baby had been sleeping. A later CPSC safety poster (NSN 16-3) says never to place infants 15 months and younger to sleep on one.

The AAP says babies sleep in a crib, bassinet, portable crib or play yard that meets CPSC standards. The CPSC’s own rule is “bare is best”: nothing but a fitted sheet in the crib or play yard. If family is visiting with a baby, borrow or rent a play yard rather than setting up the air bed for them.

Setting it up the day before

1. Pick the spot. Clear the floor of anything sharp. Intex says its beds perform best on a solid foundation; if you use a bed frame, avoid old or damaged bedsprings, which can damage the bed.
2. Inflate a day early. New vinyl stretches under weight for the first few uses, according to Intex and SoundAsleep. Outwell’s airbed manual adds that a new bed may soften at first because the PVC is stretching, not leaking, and that it firms up after several inflations. Filling it the day before lets that happen before anyone sleeps on it.
3. Let the room settle. Intex’s owner’s manual says the air inside a bed expands and contracts with temperature, which can lower the pressure, and Outwell’s says a bed loses some pressure in cold weather as the air contracts. Inflate once the room is near its night temperature, then top up before your guest turns in.
4. Make the bed. Use a fitted sheet with the right pocket depth, a mattress protector if you have one, and the same bedding you would give a guest in a regular bed.

Bedding that stays put

Intex says normal sheets work on its airbeds if the pocket depth is correct for the bed. On a raised bed that means deep-pocket sheets; measure the inflated height and choose a pocket at least that deep. The sheets and toppers guide covers sizes, pocket depths and frames.

Sheets and toppers for air mattresses

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A guest-ready kit for holiday hosts

If you host family over the holidays, or you are shopping for someone who just moved into a first home, a guest-ready kit makes a practical gift. Build it around the bed:

• A raised air mattress in the size their spare room can take.
• Deep-pocket fitted sheets and a pillow or two.
• A topper for comfort.
• A small external or rechargeable pump as a backup to the built-in one.
• A patch kit, with a note on how to find a leak.

For the softer side of a housewarming, our sister site Cosy Homeware has a guide to cozy housewarming gifts.

During the stay

Top the bed up each morning for the first few nights; a soft bed on day two is usually stretch or cold, not a hole. If it keeps going flat, the leak guide shows how to find and patch it. When your guests leave, clean the bed with mild soap and water and a sponge, never in a washing machine, as Intex advises.

To compare every size, height and pump type, see the air mattress overview.