seadan

I'm staying at the Grand Hyatt in San Francisco Union Square (scored a nice Diamond upgrade to a 34th floor suite! ^), and my room has bulk dispensers for shampoo, conditioner, and bath gel instead of individual bottles. They're fixed to the wall of the tub/shower. The hotel is doing a trial, I think, to see how guests respond to this, as they're looking at ways to be more eco-friendly. I'm not sure what brand of product is in the dispensers, but there was some H2O spa body lotion and soap as the other amenities in the bathroom. Personally I think it's a great idea and support efforts for hotels to be more environmentally friendly. After we got settled in the room, the front desk called up to see if we'd be able to take a survey about this before we leave (which also noted the small bottles could be requested if necessary).

Is this just a trial within the hotel or something Hyatt is considering nationwide? What do others think about this type of change?

coplatua1k

Tacky

sfvoyage

Are the dispensers tamper-proof, so weirdos can't add extra ingredients in them? Are the products dispensed in a hygienic fashion, so previous guests' dirt & sweat etc. won't be left on the edges & surfaces and transferred to subsequent guests? If so, I think it's a good idea. Frankly, all those little bottles are eco-unfriendly. However, product safety & hygienic concerns may be more important.

Renard

I think this is just another example of hotels trying to cut costs and pass it off as eco-friendly.

splatnz

Agreed - 2 Star Motel Tacky. Just recycle the bottles

mikew99

I concur with the other posters. If the Hyatt really wanted to be eco-friendly, they could still stock the mini-bottles but add the dispensers to the bathroom and encourage guests to use those instead. But then that probably won't save Hyatt as much money.

Cost savings aside, it's extremely hard to have wall-mounted dispensers in the bathroom without conveying the notion of "cheap and tacky," regardless of how eco-friendly this is. I don't think this has any place in an upscale hotel.

kevino

I don't think it will last.

I assume they will still offer tea, coffee, lint remover sticky, q-tips and cotton pads, plastic laundry bags, and sink soap at that hotel.

RichardInSF

And they put soap, shampoo, etc., dispensers in a SUITE? Last place I saw this was at the HR Boston Financial Center.

When these things appear, my business disappears -- especially if combined with a snotty "we're just doing this to save the planet" attitude.

dingo

Extremely tacky...are you sure you aren't staying at the Y?

KIXman

I don't find bulk dispensers appealing regardless of where I'm staying.

They certainly have no place in a Grand Hyatt suite!

Aus_Mal

The current small bottles in a lot of hotels aren't tamper proof either, and often not changed between guests unless they appear used... So potentially not much difference there if a freako was in your room before you and wanted to do bad. Have you sterilised the coffee maker? Remote Control? Even the cups could have been tampered with..

yyzgigi

I'm all for reducing plastic waste, but I think it needs to be done in a classy way. I'm staying in a boutique hotel right now that has large plastic refillable bottles of high quality soap and lotion products with a pump dispenser at the sink, shower, and by the bath tub. Similarly the Banyan Tree in Bangkok has refillable ceramic containers in the shower, tub, and bath area. Both of these send the right message and don't look like a motel-6.

oldpenny16

I use a lot of shampoo and usually have to tip the maid to get enough. I like the idea of having plenty of products in the bathroom, but am not sure about the wall dispenser idea.

I've seen large bottles in hotels in the UK and didn't even think about previous guest tampering with them. Should I worry?

An awful lot of plastic is wasted with the tiny bottles.

A few really nice hotels such as the Lord Elgin in Ottawa provide guests on at least the executive level with larger individual bottles of products and decent sized bars of soap.

19103_aa

And those have since been removed with the remodel.
I would personally prefer larger bottles only provided once during a stay, and only replenished upon specific request...

Firewind

I've seen these in (upscale) European hotels for years.