Now that Memorial Day has come and gone, the summer vacation season is in full swing.

Like many people, I’m starting to feel a sense of urgency because I have nothing planned yet, and in fact, have only begun to narrow down what I want to do and where I want to go.

While researching lodging options for my still-undetermined getaway, I have learned two things: One, there are plenty of choices. Besides traditional hotels and motels, you can save money and get a sense of how the locals live by renting private homes, apartments or condos. I found two fantastic websites, FlipKey.com and VRBO.com (Vacation Rental By Owner), which offer a wide selection of residences both nationally and globally.

The other thing I discovered is that almost none of the accommodations – including the hotels – provide information about the mattress on which the reader would be sleeping on. On one hotel website, you can do a room search by amenities, such as whether the room includes high-speed Internet or a free breakfast. Or, you can conduct a search by transportation or activities located near the hotel. But you can’t search for a room that offers a gel memory foam mattress or a firm innerspring mattress. Aren’t amenities just that – the extras, the accoutrement, the “sides” to the main course – which is the bed?

Admittedly, I’ve become a mattress snob since working at Verlo, but some people have health requirements or strong preferences for a specific type of mattress. Not being able to sleep well, or waking up with aches and pains due to an uncomfortable mattress, can certainly take some of the enjoyment out of the best-planned trip.

Here is what I would like to find when searching Flipkey.com for a flat in Paris:

“Beautiful, cheap flat with Eiffel Tower view is close to cafés, galleries and transportation. Towels and linens provided; washing machine and Internet available; with a super comfortable, plush innerspring mattress to return to each night so you can rest and re-energize for the next exciting day of sightseeing.”

But so far, I haven’t found anything that helpful. I do know, however, whether some Parisian apartments have “cozy wallpaper,” flat screen TVs with DVD players, or “decorative cabinets from the Napoleon period” but nothing about the most important element in the room – the mattress.

Oh well. C’est la vie.

Have you ever requested information about the mattress in a hotel or vacation rental?