tanglin

I agree with rickg. Several hotels in the UK I have stayed have only one bottle of gunk, which is meant for you to use on body and hair. No conditioner either. I much prefer individual toiletries.

JackE

Except what you'll end up with is low-quality bath products anyway.

No one is fooled into thinking this is for the environment. If your first priority is the environment you shouldn't be traveling in the first place.

Dublin_rfk

I don't mind the dispensers. Most places I've found them they're filled with the same or higher quality product the hotel would normally have. Also they're more cost and eco-friendly when you are in a different hotel every night.

Gig103

Some of us (speaking for myself and my wife) prefer the individual bottles. I don't see it as a 'step behind' at all. Individual bottles can't be tampered with by the previous guest, or mixed up by housekeeping. And if it's a scent that irritates or is unpleasant (my wife hates mint), then the bottle stays unopened instead of permeating the air (like happened in the DL LAX SkyClub). And I personally hate shower gel and when there are pump bottles, bars of hand/bath soap are nonexistent from my limited experience.

Let's be honest with ourselves, though. Marriott isn't doing it so that they can spend the same $$ on toiletries, and upgrade them. It's a cost savings measure and we can expect the same or lower quality bulk being filled into the dispensers.

I've never run out in a hotel since housekeeping will typically stock new bottles, even if you have partially used ones.

nlkm9

as long as conditioner I supplied, I dont mind. Courtyard took away the lobby coffee--now that was an issue

kennycrudup

Eh, I'm a guy. I've accidentally washed my body with shampoo and my hair with body wash (in fact, that's usually how I wash it). I didn't stink, that's what deodorant is for

Besides, let's be real. Spanish is printed as a 2nd language on everything nowadays, and there's enough cognates that I'd be highly surprised if that happens more than a minuscule number of times.

kennycrudup

I have a solution to this that's SOOOOOOOOOO obvious!

Whowouldanewman

I’ve got no problem with large bottles of shampoo and conditioner, but I’d like to have a bar over body wash every time.

3Cforme

Reality check: Dispensers have been used in Aloft hotels from Day 1, a decade ago. The property directory shows Aloft with over 100 properties, in over 25 countries. There is already significant consumer acceptance within the Aloft demographic, and the relevant price points. Marriott is smart enough to use reality-based anaylsis.

Explorer789

I have found hotels with dispensers almost always have higher quality products since less of it is wasted or taken by customers.

hockeyinsider

Toiletries cost the hotels next to nothing. Hotels want you to take the toiletries -- it's free advertising .

joshua362

Plus its gotta be another hassle for housekeeping to unlock and top off the dispensers with 3 separate large bottles every day.

Also, FWIW, years ago I saw these at my corporate gym and thought "what a cool idea" and found some for the house. What a hassle, they leaked, fell off the wall, pain to clean, etc, and didn't last too long..

nacho

If they use the one that they will throw away after it's finished (rather than refilling) then I'm fine, as I have been to hotels that don't clean the dispensers and I could see mold inside it and slippery around it.

JBord

I agree on all counts. This is what gyms and other public showers provide, not nice hotels. And a bar of soap makes you feel so much cleaner than those gross shower gels. Now, I wouldn't mind shampoo being in a dispenser, just not soap.

I'm not sure this is the right read on the situation. Some may have higher quality products, some may not. There is probably some cost savings to the hotel because they can buy in bulk, huge tubs of shampoo or whatever as refills. But I don't agree that less is wasted. The one-night stays are probably a waste, but if I'm in a hotel for 3-4 days I can use the same bar of soap the whole time. I find it takes me dozens of pumps to get enough of the body wash gel gunk to make me feel as clean as a bar of soap. I've never timed it (I'm not insane!), but I suspect my shower lasts several minutes longer with the gel dispensers too, which is a waste of hot water. I assume that can add up over thousands of guests.

All that said, if a hotel uses dispensers there HAS to be a cost savings. I guarantee it's not provided as any type of upgrade or benefit to the customer. My guess it comes from buying lower cost product (even if it may be deemed higher quality in some cases). If it weren't a cost savings, you'd see every hotel, gym, etc. take them out immediately and stock cheaper bar soap.

kennycrudup

Uhhhhhhh ....?