kennycrudup

Seriously. Hell, you might have a plane crash into you as you're checking in!

NDDomer86

These are all things that a housekeeper SHOULD notice, though let's be honest, there are those out there who wouldn't, and presumably would correct beforehand. In the majority of select service hotels such as aLoft, Element, Four Points, and Courtyard, these pumps are rarely checked it seems, certainly not between every guest as I've encountered numerous locations where the pumps were near empty. In fact, at one particular Four Points that I checked into, one pump in the secondary bathroom was completely knocked off the wall and left laying in the tub with the top off and the liquid inside leaking out. If these dispensers were actually secured then I would have no problems using them, and have had no problems using dispensers that WERE properly locked at several higher end hotels. Someone doesn't have to have a criminally inclined mind to want to mess with the contents of the dispensers. Bored teenagers and college frat types are some of the most "trouble-making" (for lack of a better term) people out there and I have heard countless stories from people that I know personally from their younger days working jobs in gyms, the YMCA, the country club, etc (word to the wise, if you are ever in Kannapolis, NC don't ever eat the food at the Kannapolis Country Club). Courtyards may attract a more business oriented clientele, but Four Points and aLoft certainly do not.

Yes, this is true but hardly worth the hassle as it would be presumed that those bottles would just get trashed and replaced before the next guest anyways (again this doesn't always happen).

I'll keep that in mind as someone financially invested into one of the most successful hotels in Europe (that does NOT use dispensers by the way)

returnoftheyeti

FWIW - the JW in. Vancouver has the 3x bottles in the shower.

JBord

Your points are all correct, although perhaps obscure. I suppose most people (at least me) had to make a decision at some point in their lives that they can either think about stuff like that or not. I will just say that I know enough about the restaurant business to make me not ever want to eat at one if I really thought about it. Way worse than what one could possibly experience with hotel soaps, and I'd guess much much more common. I still frequent restaurants and hotels though. If you start down the path of worrying about what may have happened, where do you draw the line? Personal decision for each of us of course. And, on topic, I will certainly say I feel it's less likely someone tampered with a wrapped bar of soap than a gooey, slimy shower gel in a shower dispenser, so there's that.

DenverBrian

I guarantee you that housekeepers are not "trashing and replacing" bottles of soap and shampoo that appear to be full and unused by the previous guest.

Bully for you. You don't see an inherent bias there? If you had started out by making this statement, we could have understood your aversion to dispensers a little better.

NDDomer86

The point being that if a select service hotel is going to cheap out and go the way of dispensers, then they need to ensure that those dispensers are properly maintained and secured which means utilizing better quality dispensers than the Dollar Tree Made in China variety that I have seen at aLoft and Four Points hotels (I don't stay at Courtyard so cannot speak specifically to the dispensers there, which don't seem widespread just yet).

As I stated above, I've had no problems utilizing full sized shampoos, conditioners, and lotions at higher end hotels because they have been properly secured to prevent guests from tampering with what is inside. It is when the locking "mechanism" is there but either isn't used or doesn't actually function that it becomes a problem and I refuse to use them. Just the same as I would refuse a room without a properly functioning door lock (though the Hilton Atlanta DID try to convince me to stay in a room where the deadbolt could not be engaged one night).

As for DenverBrian nice selective reading there. I have stated twice now that I have no problems using dispensers when they are properly secured, so what is this inherent bias that you speak of? Additionally I also stated that I am aware that housekeepers will not trash and replace toiletries that appear unused, but that the general presumption among the average person is that they will be replaced before the next person anyways, so why go through the effort of tampering with it?

hockeyinsider

Bottles or dispensers?

returnoftheyeti

NDDomer86

This is what I have seen at most higher end hotels that don't offer individual sized containers, and since they are locked into the tray, as stated above, I don't have any qualms about using them (since they generally are a higher quality product)...

JackE

Is there an actual difference between shampoo and body wash?

hockeyinsider

Yes. Comparatively Speaking: Shampoo vs. Body Wash Formulation

u600213

I encountered Tea Tree dispensers at Residence Inn Willow Grove PA
Horsham, PA 2-Bedroom Hotel Suites Residence Inn Philadelphia Willow Grove

Shampoo was very minty.
I kind of prefer the individual bottles but the actual product was fine.

catocony

They still put out a little bar of soap, although the Courtyard I stayed in last night did not have any hand lotion. The dispenser was mounted in a crappy spot - right where most people would stand under the shower head. Putting it under the shower head, where most people have their shower caddy or whatever at home, would have been a better move.

Segments

One more reason to avoid Courtyards. Maybe this is becoming the hotel equivalent to airline Basic Economy? We hope you upgrade to a regular economy ticket (or higher grade hotel in this case)?

Now I’ll have to pack my own bars of soap, and request compensation each time housekeeping throws away my personal bar of soap. Ugh!

CMK10

I'm currently staying at my usual SHS, the SHS Charlotte University, for the third time in as many months. Since my last stay here in February they've put the dispensers into the shower. I really don't like these things, they feel chintzy and there's a good opportunity for error (they're not refilled, the wrong product goes in the wrong bottle etc.) but on the plus side the Tea Tree stuff is better than Paul Mitchell. At least in my opinion.