Why hotel bathroom amenities from Paris to Hong Kong are becoming so much more than fancy extras
Hotel toiletries are moving beyond being just being an additional touch of luxury. Now they are a symbol of identity for hotels, and niche brands are cashing in
For many hotels, their boasts of wonderful location or luxurious lodgings are no longer enough. To seal a booking these days, hoteliers have to offer anything from complimentary racing cars and butler services to astronomy lessons. This charm offensive even has a name: “amenity creep”.
The trend has even spread to the things you find in your hotel bathroom. Toiletries have come a long way from the days where a no-name soap and a bottle of shampoo were sufficient. That’s partly to do with airline security restrictions, which make travelling with a full skincare regimen tricky. Industry figures show that more than 75 per cent of hotel guests use the toiletries provided.
Sub-par products just don’t cut it any more, so high-end hotels tap upscale brands from posh department stores. Paris’ Mandarin Oriental, for example, goes for Diptyque, while the Park Hyatt New York leans towards Le Labo.
Such little luxuries come at a price, ranging from an extra HK$10 (US$1.30) per room per night for entry-level hotels to HK$200 or more at five-star hotels. Yet they are so ubiquitous that guests consider them “price of entry” – meaning basic, expected items whose absence is annoying – according to a study by Rick Garlick and Joyce Schlentner from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.
Victoire de Taillac-Touhami, a seasoned traveller and co-founder of retro-luxury brand Officine Générale Buly, loves discovering the toiletries that await him when he checks in.
“Toiletries are an integral, pleasurable part of discovering my room, and are always something rather local,” he says. “The hotel’s identity is there, so if it is rooted in a city, that stands out, particularly if it’s a brand.”
