Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Hotels and Places to Stay > Hilton | Hilton Honors
Reload this Page >

Don't steal the linens! Supply chain issues...

Don't steal the linens! Supply chain issues...

Old Feb 8, 2022, 6:29 pm
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Gulf Coast
Programs: Hilton Honors Lifetime Diamond; National Car Rental Executive Elite
Posts: 2,302
Don't steal the linens! Supply chain issues...

Two weeks in a row now at two different properties (Hampton, HGI) owner by the same franchisee. They're very close to each other.

Both hotels are completely out of hand towels and most bottled toiletries. Shampoo is readily available, no conditioner or lotion. These are the Neutrogena bottles that are ubiquitous amongst these brands.

The Hampton had no juices in the dispenser the first two mornings of my stay, but they returned on the third.

Front desk agent said they are "waiting on their shipment from Hilton to come in" and that the "stuff has been on backorder for a month".

Anyone else seeing similar issues?
aww3583 is online now  
Old Feb 8, 2022, 11:29 pm
  #2  
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Somewhere in the Mid-Atlantic
Programs: Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 608
Originally Posted by aww3583
Two weeks in a row now at two different properties (Hampton, HGI) owner by the same franchisee. They're very close to each other.

Both hotels are completely out of hand towels and most bottled toiletries. Shampoo is readily available, no conditioner or lotion. These are the Neutrogena bottles that are ubiquitous amongst these brands.

The Hampton had no juices in the dispenser the first two mornings of my stay, but they returned on the third.

Front desk agent said they are "waiting on their shipment from Hilton to come in" and that the "stuff has been on backorder for a month".

Anyone else seeing similar issues?
FWIW, there is no waiting for a shipment to come in from Hilton since they do not supply things directly for properties. Almost everything comes from places like Sysco, AS Hospitality, American Hotel and Guest Supply.

At the Hampton I'm at there are currently no shortages that I'm aware for F&B items from Sysco. At times last year there were brief shortages for things like waffle batter but that comes from Heartland Waffles. Shipments for the Treat Shop from Coke in particular due to a lack of route drivers and for some of the snacks we carry are at times backlogged by several weeks to over a month. Linen has been a challenge now for well over a year. It went from '19 into early '20 having no occupancy so the owner nixed all purchases to now having plenty of occupancy but shortages for all things terry so when things are available you hoard and buy well over what you need knowing it may who knows how long until you see that item again.

Some of what they're telling you could just be skimping and going cheap but overall it sounds very real to what the times in the industry are like right now for supplies.
The Road Goes On Forever is offline  
Old Feb 9, 2022, 5:15 am
  #3  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Gulf Coast
Programs: Hilton Honors Lifetime Diamond; National Car Rental Executive Elite
Posts: 2,302
Originally Posted by The Road Goes On Forever
FWIW, there is no waiting for a shipment to come in from Hilton since they do not supply things directly for properties. Almost everything comes from places like Sysco, AS Hospitality, American Hotel and Guest Supply.

At the Hampton I'm at there are currently no shortages that I'm aware for F&B items from Sysco. At times last year there were brief shortages for things like waffle batter but that comes from Heartland Waffles. Shipments for the Treat Shop from Coke in particular due to a lack of route drivers and for some of the snacks we carry are at times backlogged by several weeks to over a month. Linen has been a challenge now for well over a year. It went from '19 into early '20 having no occupancy so the owner nixed all purchases to now having plenty of occupancy but shortages for all things terry so when things are available you hoard and buy well over what you need knowing it may who knows how long until you see that item again.

Some of what they're telling you could just be skimping and going cheap but overall it sounds very real to what the times in the industry are like right now for supplies.
Always appreciate your input. Im well aware of the challenges facing supply chain right now.

Ive had 150+ nights in the last 18 months and this is the first issue Ive ran into. Since its localized to one franchise, it leads me to believe its more likely poor planning and sourcing on their part than anything else.
aww3583 is online now  
Old Feb 9, 2022, 8:46 am
  #4  
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: MCO
Posts: 382
I have stayed at some hotels that are out of hand towels and/or wash clothes. Also some that don't put them by default in the room, but will deliver upon request. Also stayed at a Hyatt Place that is out of all bottled toiletries.
gbdbld is offline  
Old Feb 9, 2022, 3:39 pm
  #5  
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: BRS
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 4,958
Originally Posted by gbdbld
I have stayed at some hotels that are out of hand towels and/or wash clothes. Also some that don't put them by default in the room, but will deliver upon request.
Oh god really. Next they'll be passing off hand towels as part of the resort/destination fee.
DC9 and strickerj like this.
Schwann is offline  
Old Feb 9, 2022, 3:44 pm
  #6  
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Tahoe
Programs: Delta DM for now
Posts: 474
Im currently staying at a Canopy, and the toiletries are certainly a mixed bag. Shampoo and lotion is the Neutrogena stuff from Hampton/HGI, conditioner and body wash is Crabtree & Evelyn, and the bar soap is Pharmacopia. Im not sure which is the normally stocked toiletry for Canopy, but it should be something nicer than Neutrogena
TuxTom is offline  
Old Feb 9, 2022, 3:50 pm
  #7  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,327
Originally Posted by TuxTom
Im currently staying at a Canopy, and the toiletries are certainly a mixed bag. Shampoo and lotion is the Neutrogena stuff from Hampton/HGI, conditioner and body wash is Crabtree & Evelyn, and the bar soap is Pharmacopia. Im not sure which is the normally stocked toiletry for Canopy, but it should be something nicer than Neutrogena
Pharmacopia is the brand used in many HR/GH. It was always the purple and white packaging, but I've recently seen it in brown and yellow. (Purple seems to be Hyatt's color.)
MSPeconomist is offline  
Old Feb 9, 2022, 5:56 pm
  #8  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Gulf Coast
Programs: Hilton Honors Lifetime Diamond; National Car Rental Executive Elite
Posts: 2,302
Update!

Stopped by the front desk to get towels/toiletries tonight. This is my 4th night of my stay, still no housekeeping.

The front desk agent was reluctant to give me another towel because, as she said, policy is to only give out new towels when a used towel is turned in.

No wonder they're out of towels. They're all being used in rooms and since there is no housekeeping, there is no daily pick-up of used towels to send to laundering.
Schwann, dgreen12, Zurich and 1 others like this.
aww3583 is online now  
Old Feb 9, 2022, 7:10 pm
  #9  
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Houston, TX, USA
Programs: UA 1K, AA Lifetime Platinum, DL Platinum, Honors Diamond, Bonvoy Titanium, Hertz Platinum
Posts: 7,954
Originally Posted by aww3583
Ive had 150+ nights in the last 18 months and this is the first issue Ive ran into.
I'm at at least that number myself. Occasionally I've run into lack of certain items: no shampoo at one property, no conditioner at another. I've never had problems with linens.
Steve M is online now  
Old Feb 9, 2022, 7:21 pm
  #10  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: 4me
Posts: 11,953
Last year I encountered hotel towels that had RFID tags. Unfortunately can’t remember where that was.
TomMM is online now  
Old Feb 10, 2022, 5:43 am
  #11  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Gulf Coast
Programs: Hilton Honors Lifetime Diamond; National Car Rental Executive Elite
Posts: 2,302
Originally Posted by TomMM
Last year I encountered hotel towels that had RFID tags. Unfortunately cant remember where that was.
That's very, very likely to be for tracking inside the off-site laundry processing facility. In my 750+ nights, I've never seen a hotel with the infrastructure necessary to utilize RFID tracking on-site.
aww3583 is online now  
Old Feb 10, 2022, 5:56 am
  #12  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,103
I recently encountered a small Hilton washcloth towel at a rental unit in a part of Europe where the nearest Hilton is either a few hundred miles away or even two or more countries away. But this kind of pilfering is not the reason why some Hilton hotels are low on some towels at times. Some Hilton hotel owners/managers have gone to reducing laundry volume and costs and as part of that have been disappearing some things that used to be more common than they are now and have been trying to reduce their costs for getting laundry done.

The more private equity involvement there is in a market, the more likely this kind of thing happens. The more that other hotels do this kind of thing, the more likely other hotels jump on the same bandwagon too. Rat race to the bottom is in full swing in the US hotel industry, and it's the customers left paying more while getting less because of it.
GUWonder is offline  
Old Feb 10, 2022, 6:09 am
  #13  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: 4me
Posts: 11,953
Originally Posted by aww3583
That's very, very likely to be for tracking inside the off-site laundry processing facility. In my 750+ nights, I've never seen a hotel with the infrastructure necessary to utilize RFID tracking on-site.
Ah that makes sense. Thanks
TomMM is online now  
Old Feb 10, 2022, 6:18 am
  #14  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,103
This linked article about RFID tracking for hotel linen-use is over 5 years old, but at that point they had some Hilton hotels as customers too:

According to a Miami-based company called Linen Tracking Technology, a lot of hotels stitch tiny microchips into their towels, robes, pillowcases, cloth napkins and other linens. The LinenTracker chips are currently being used in over 2,000 hotels--but don't ask which ones.

According to Linen Tracking Technology executive vice president William Serbin:

"Our properties like to remain anonymous. They benefit from the gained efficiency and don’t want to alarm guests that they have this technology,"

The RFID-equipped chips were originally designed to help hotels keep track of their linens as they went back and forth to off-site laundry facilities (Hotels can lose an estimated 20% of their linens each month through various mishaps, most involving cleaning issues). But they've since started to employ that same technology to catch sticky-fingered guests who might try to make off with their in-room robes. When the chips are taken past the hotel's entrances or exits, real-time tracking software sends an alert. The head of housekeeping (probably) isn't going to follow you home, but those towels might show up on your credit card.
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/travel...n-it/83191436/
GUWonder is offline  
Old Feb 10, 2022, 7:12 am
  #15  
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: JFK/LGA
Programs: AA EXP/5 MM, BA Blue Bayou, HH LT Diamond
Posts: 5,816
Over the years I will confess to having nicked a few of the bath towels with the textured checkerboard at the ends. I take them to the gym as i) wife doesnt want me taking the "good" towels and ii) the checkerboard provides for really good grip when wrapping the towel around your waist.
pauleeepaul is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.