Lewis42

So, one of my biggest narks that I have when stay in hotels, first world problems I know, is the cleaners removing the soap bar!

I am currently at the IC in Mexico City and each day I open the soap bar and each day the cleaner replaces it with a brand new one.

The sheer wastage of this infuriates me!

Why do they do it?

Does it irritate you other folks?

scubaccr

Not a totally unusual occurence at a full service hotel in my experience, happens getting on for 25% of the time even at good 4*'s.

When initial soap bar is very small (sink + bath have small+medium bars) I don't mind the sink one getting thrown, but I do hate the shampoo bottles 2/3rds full being taken away waste wise.

Points Scrounger

I open the soap package carefully, so that each day before the room is cleaned I wrap it back up as best I can, storing the soap in my airport security quart/100ml bag. I put the (slightly) used shampoo back where it was on the bathroom counter. Granted, most of my stays are single nights.

IAN-UK

I always assumed shampoo bottles (at least the larger ones some ICs provide) were topped up, or at least the unused shampoo pooled and redistributed.

As for the soap, cleaning recycling/remoulding should be easy. Not a happy thought though

scubaccr

1)Agria bottles 50ml/100ml could be topped up, but would not be cost effective employing someone at European/USA wages to fill 300rooms x 4 bottles/room per day?

Filling 1200 bottles a day through small agraria neck , when each needs different amount added (so can't be automated/fixed amount) by eyesight, plus time to remove/replace tops and wipe off excess etc, is too labour intensive. Ok lesser numbers of 100ml agraria but still labour intensivve.

I am sure with volumes hotels/IHG purchase, bought direct and not from local agraria shop, that cost to the hotels is far far less than prices in the town center agria shops that you and I see.


2)The non-Agraria versions are unlikely to (can't) be topped up, eg

Hann -
o Tubes (squeezable) of 40ml (sealed with paper strip)
o Pump dispensers of 100ml (new ones can't be depressed as hann paper collar to pull off before use)

ps
Just checked into my IC Pattaya Suite, and since my last mid July visit the Hann 100ml pumps are changed to 40ml tubes. In fact in July17 only 1x set of 4pumps compared to 2x sets the previous stays upto April17
I guess too many guests, (myself included) took 1-2 100ml sets away each stay.
(Though not only IC Pattaya change since July, minibar changed too, no more 20cl Jack Daniels, no more 50cl Hennesy Brandy, added 20cl Friexenet cava..still haas the other 4x spirt bottles)

seat38a

There are programs out there that recycle hotel soap for the poor. http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/06/health...rnd/index.html

So no it does NOT bother me.

ltfly

I don't think wastage is a first world problem only, any wastage is everyone's problem (not mentioning the packaging problem, with the huge amount of plastic that needs to be produced and destroyed after a single use).

What about writing in every single review, about each hotel you stay, at that you would prefer to keep your open soap bars, so as to reduce wastage? This way, we might see the toiletries included in the 'green leaf' towel changing/not changing instructions costumers can give.

:D!

Do you ask the manager at all properties you stay at whether they participate in a soap recycling program?

Often1

All it takes is once person asking for more soap and the property has to pay someone to run it up to the room.

At a full service property is far faster (time is money) for the cleaning crew to simply toss the amenities and replace them rather than make value judgments about whether the soap bar is 25% or 50% used and which size is the cutoff for the individual customer.

If you do want to preserve the soal, do as above -- wrap it up and save it.

seat38a

Nope. Do you ask the manager when you check in if they REALLY Recycle the stuff that you put in the recycle container? Do you ask for a report on their waste mitigation plan for the property?? I paid to stay at the hotel and that is what I do. The stuff that goes on in the background does NOT interest me. If they recycle everything including the soaps and shampoo then that is fantastic, and if they don't oh well. If a charity comes and picks up stuff for the needy great and if not oh well. I don't worry about these stuff when I stay at a hotel that I'm paying hundreds of dollars a night at.

I love trees and the environment but I'm not a tree hugger.

PMMMDL

I always travel with my own full sized bar of Dove in a plastic travel soap dish and a 100ml bottle of my own shampoo, and it will last me more than 3 weeks.

I don't do this out of recycling concerns, but rather because some products make me break out.

If you want to try out the local stuff, just take a sample home with you to try at your leisure.

Problem solved.

htb

Any decent hotel I was staying at so far followed to following procedure:

If I used any amenity (soap, shampoo, etc) they would place a new bottle on the wash table but leave the used amenity where it was for me to continue to use.

Only if the container was almost empty or the soap bar almost used up, would they take away the original amenity. I still don't see the need for that, though. Just let me toss it myself if I think it's starting to be uncomfortable to use.

HTB.

sdsearch

"Do Not Disturb" often solves the problem. Do you really need the room serviced every day?

Happy

Our trips tend to have many hotel stays. We often wrapped the used soap and brought the soap from the first hotel to the next hotel. We continue using the existing soap and leave the next hotel's soap unopened. We would keep using the large size opened soap which often lasted at least a week or longer.
Currently we are on our 14th night in South Africa and our 10th hotel, but we are still on the almost full size akka bar from Marriott Cape Town.

the_real_a

Actually this irritates me too. I like to have a bar of soap on the basin and also one in the shower. What usually happens is both are removed and i`m left with a single new bar!