Why Can Feather & Down Pricing Swing So Widely in Soft Bedding Tenders

If you’ve ever run a hotel bedding tender and wondered how feather/down prices can vary so dramatically for what appears to be the same product, you’re not alone.

It’s common to see bids that differ by 2× or more – and the instinctive reaction is often to blame supplier margin, opportunism, or market instability. In reality, the issue is more structural, and here we’ll break it down. (pun intended)

Feather and down isn’t a single, standardised product and hotel tenders often – unintentionally – create the conditions for extreme price variation. Here’s what’s really going on.

“Feather/Down” Is a Category, Not a Commodity
Two products can both be legitimately described as feather/down and differ enormously in cost, performance, and lifespan. Key variables that materially affect price include:

• Down percentage (e.g. 90/10 vs 50/50 blends)
• Fill power (loft and insulation efficiency)
• Species (duck vs goose)
• Processing quality (washing, deodorising, sterilisation)
• Consistency of clusters (resilience and long-term loft retention)

If a tender specification doesn’t lock these down clearly, suppliers are free to price very different products while still appearing compliant.
The result: pricing that looks irrational, but isn’t.

Down Supply Is Inherently Volatile
Unlike synthetic fills, down is a by-product of the food industry.
That means supply is influenced by:

• Global poultry production cycles
• Disease events (avian flu can remove supply overnight)
• Regulatory or export restrictions in major producing regions
• Seasonal slaughter patterns

Not the nicest thoughts we know, but when supply tightens, prices spike quickly – especially for higher-grade down. Suppliers exposed to spot buying price defensively; vertically integrated suppliers can absorb shocks more easily. This alone can create significant bid dispersion.

Ethics and Traceability Change the Cost Base
Responsible sourcing standards such as:

• RDS (Responsible Down Standard)
• Full chain-of-custody traceability
• Audited washing and sorting facilities
• …add real, unavoidable cost.

Fill Weight Is an Invisible Lever
Hotels typically compare price per unit, not price per performance. That creates a powerful incentive to:

• Reduce fill weight
• Increase feather content
• Use lower-resilience material that compresses faster

The product may look fine at delivery, but loses loft quickly and needs earlier replacement.
Some suppliers price to the absolute minimum acceptable spec. Others price for durability and guest experience. The tender doesn’t always distinguish between the two.



What Wide Price Swings Are Really Telling You
When feather/down pricing varies wildly, it’s rarely “the market being irrational”.
It usually means one thing: You’re not actually buying the same product.
Loose specifications allow quality, ethics, fill weight, and lifespan to be traded off against price – often invisibly.

How Procurement Teams Can Stabilise Pricing (and Outcomes)
To reduce volatility and get genuinely comparable bids:

• Specify fill power, down %, species, and fill weight
• Avoid catch-all terms like “feather/down blend”.
• Require evidence, not declarations
• Certifications, test reports, and traceability documentation should be mandatory.
• Evaluate total cost of ownership, not unit price
• Durability and replacement cycles matter more than initial cost.
• Pre-award sample testing
• Enforce delivery compliance

Final Thought
Feather and down can deliver exceptional guest comfort — but only when it’s specified and evaluated properly.
If pricing in your tenders is swinging wildly, the solution isn’t tougher negotiation.
It’s clearer specifications, better evaluation frameworks, and a shift from price to value.
That’s where consistent outcomes come from.