Guests put their suitcase down the moment they walk into a room. Without a luggage rack, it goes on the bed, the armchair or the floor. The wheels and base of a suitcase have been across footpaths, airport floors and car boots, so a case on a bedspread is a housekeeping problem as much as a comfort one.
A folding luggage rack solves it in very little floor space. This guide covers what separates one rack from another, and how to choose for a hotel room, a serviced apartment, a short-stay rental or a spare bedroom at home.
What a luggage rack is
A luggage rack is a folding frame with straps stretched across the top to make a platform. Opened, it holds a suitcase at a comfortable height, so a guest can unzip it and live out of it without bending to the floor. Folded, it stands flat against a wall or slides into a wardrobe.
Every rack in the Dolphy luggage rack range folds this way, and all of them use heavy-duty nylon straps for the platform.
Size it for an open suitcase
The platform has to hold a suitcase lying flat, and the lid needs somewhere to go when it opens: against the wall, over a backrest, or out over the side. A rack that only fits a closed case gets used as a shelf, and the case ends up back on the bed.
| Rack | Height x width x depth |
|---|---|
| Stainless steel, felt backing | 68 x 60 x 46 cm |
| Oak with back support | 67 x 60 x 42 cm |
| Oak, cherry red finish | 60 x 50 x 45 cm |
| Stainless steel, compact | 60 x 50 x 40 cm |
The 60 cm wide racks are the better fit for rooms that take long stays and large check-in cases. The 50 cm wide racks suit rooms where most guests stay a night or two with smaller bags, and rooms where every centimetre of floor counts. If in doubt, open your own largest suitcase on the floor and measure it.
Wood or stainless steel
Oak suits rooms with timber furniture. It matches bedheads, desks and wardrobe doors, and it makes the rack look like part of the room rather than equipment brought in for it. The two wooden Dolphy racks are solid oak, one in brown with a backrest and one in cherry red. Wood shows knocks from suitcase wheels over time, so expect some wear in a busy room.
Stainless steel suits modern rooms, apartments and anywhere with metal fittings. It is resistant to corrosion, easy to wipe down and looks lighter in a small space. Both stainless Dolphy racks have a silver finish.
The simplest rule is to choose the material that matches the other furniture in the room, rather than choosing the rack on its own.
Backrests and wall protection
The damage a luggage rack does is usually not to itself. It is to the wall behind it. A suitcase lid thrown open knocks the paint, and a rack pushed back against a wall scuffs it every time it is moved.
- Felt backing stops the frame marking the wall. The stainless rack with felt backing and both oak racks have it.
- A backrest, as on the brown oak rack, is a raised back that keeps a suitcase upright and stops it tipping. It also gives an open lid something to rest against other than your wall.
In rooms with fresh paint or wallpaper behind the rack, these are the two features to prioritise.
Where to put it
- Near the wardrobe, so unpacking is a short step rather than a walk across the room.
- Out of the path between the bed and the bathroom, where it will be walked into at night.
- Against a wall, with room for the lid. A rack squeezed beside the bed with no space for the lid to open goes unused.
- One per guest in twin and family rooms, if the floor allows it. Two people sharing one rack means one suitcase on the floor.
Folding and storage
Housekeeping will fold and move racks every time they vacuum, so a rack that folds quickly and stands neatly matters more than it first appears. All four Dolphy racks fold flat. The brown oak rack is described as folding flat enough to store in a wardrobe or under a bed, which suits a home guest room where the rack only comes out when visitors arrive.
For short-stay rentals and home guest rooms
In a holiday rental or an Airbnb, a luggage rack is a small thing that tells guests the room was set up with them in mind, and it keeps suitcases off bedding that you are laundering between every stay. In a spare room at home, a folding rack comes out when visitors do and goes back in the wardrobe when they leave, so it costs no space the rest of the year.
Looking after a luggage rack
- Check the straps every few months. Nylon straps take the whole weight of the case, and the fixing points are where wear shows first. Retire a rack whose straps have frayed or pulled loose.
- Wipe the straps with a damp cloth. They collect dust and marks from suitcase bases.
- Clean the frame to suit the material: a barely damp cloth on oak, never a soaking; mild detergent on stainless steel.
- Check the felt backing is still in place. Once it wears through, the frame starts marking the wall again.
Quick checklist
- Measure your largest likely suitcase opened flat.
- Choose 60 cm wide for long stays, 50 cm wide where space is tight.
- Match oak or stainless steel to the furniture already in the room.
- Felt backing and a backrest if the wall behind it matters.
- Place it near the wardrobe, against a wall, with room for the lid.