Of Hotel toiletries and related stuff: An advice from novice to Hotel Industry

Many years ago I got a chance to stay in five-star hotel abroad. And by chance it happened to be in Wuhan, the same city where Covid19, a form of Corona virus, causing infectious disease on pandemic scale in recent times originated. Grandeur, Opulence and etiquettes impressed me while their prices of stay and other daily needs, exorbitant as they were, depressed. That must have been in mid-2000. Thereafter, I got many opportunities to stay in five star and equivalent hotels. Most of these hotels have some very nice toiletries like soap, conditioners, moisturisers, shampoo, shower cap and I will often take opportunity to bathe to my heart content, and sometime use their swimmjng pool, as I love swimming, but do not get regular opportunity. As these toiletries are replaced on daily basis, I used to or even now collect them, push in my suitcase, so that next day, I get the supply of fresh ones. At the end of journey, I will have good number of these depending upon the number of days I stayed in. I sometime felt that I carry more of these, than the gift for my home (thanks my wife never complained).

In one of the hotels in Washington’s suburb, I found a small note suggesting or requesting guests to use towels again next day as towels do not get soiled and are reusable with one-time use. Normally we use towels for some days before they are washed at home. The hotel had a very logic in preservation of environment, as towel washing may contribute more to greenhouse emissions. I did not buy this argument, for the reason that I wanted to enjoy my hotel stay, of course at someone’s cost.

Last year, I stayed with hotel Taj at Agra for a night. We had a dinner too. It was frustrating to see food prices of even seasonal vegetables very high. I did twit about this marking it to Taj to which they wanted more explanation. My logic is simple. How come your food item charges remain the same over a long duration for the vegetables that cost less during the season. I know often these hotels give discount on stays during lean period of tourist season. Why not discount the cost of food items if their basic ingredient costs less during the season?

Often, excitement of staying in five-star hotel wears off after one or two days, even for me who hardly stays or stay at the most once in a year. And if you are staying longer, it is just like coming to hotel for sleeping to start next day early in the morning. I do not know as to how often regular guests at hotels notice changes and appreciate them if they ever notice them in the first place. Nobody on the earth will call hotel a home. 

Now, we in India are in 21-day lockdown, stay home, period. Today is 4^th day. Many more on this earth are home-bound than us. Tourist industry bears the brunt as they are in shut-down moribund state. Thought of writing this blog occurred as I asked my wife if we still have those shower caps from hotels. A neighbour of mine gave me some nasal masks. And I sometime look like this (see photo), if I need to step outside my apartment and on the Society’s premises. Of course, not a very odd sight these days.

A word of advice to the tourist industry, especially hotel industry will not be out of place. While you like guest to reuse towels again (and again) evoking emotional Save-the-Environment campaign, why not give discount to those who stay for a longer period on daily basis, so that they save toiletries, in any case eat less and less in quantity and variety, and use your hotel more often for sleeping? Please do not evoke grand design of SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT or SAVE THE PLANET. Simply put in a message, Stay longer to save on your expenses on daily basis. It is law of diminishing returns on pleasures of staying in hotel, as I learned during my graduation. Thanks Jacques Turgot, Thomas Robert Malthus, you knew it in mid-1700s.