The Worst Hotel Design Trend
I love hotels and have been visiting them professionally for decades. In that time, the industry has changed a lot. Some of these changes are welcome — like replacing disposable plastic toiletries with refillable dispensers, or getting rid of giant dusty entertainment units in favor of flat-screen wall-mounted TVs. But every few years, some small pleasure or comfort disappears, to the detriment of guests. I’ve grown accustomed to packing my own lightweight robe and expecting the only room service option to be DoorDash. But the latest hotel trend — the disappearing bathroom door — makes sharing a room with another human downright intolerable. Here’s why travelers shouldn’t take this destruction of privacy sitting down.
The Incredible Shrinking Hotel Bathroom
First, they came for the tubs. No relaxing soak at the end of a long day, no way to safely clean a squirming toddler without getting wet with them, and above all, no apology for the removal of an amenity that used to be standard. When I questioned the rationale behind a tubless suite, one hotel manager insisted that their clients preferred showers and didn’t want a separate tub. Another hospitality director told me prefab showers are cheaper to build and can be installed quickly. Plus, they save on housekeeping labor, which decreases costs.
The downsizing didn’t stop with bathtubs. Soon, shower doors began disappearing, or were downsized to cheaper half-glass. This made showering a less-than-luxurious experience, with hot water battling cold air (not to mention the soaked floors). Would you like a conveniently placed ledge or shelf to rest a foot on while shaving your legs? Those vanished, too, in the same renovation cycle that gave us walk-in showers with nowhere to put our shampoo.
But the latest hotel amenity to disappear in the name of a more open aesthetic is, of all things, the ability to use the toilet in private. That’s right — bathroom doors are on the chopping block. While some hotels go the distance with spa-worthy soaking tubs and steam showers, others are “renovating” with barn-style sliding doors, barely frosted or completely clear glass doors, or even no doors at all to save on space — all to increase the bottom line.
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Coping Strategies
Guests are fighting back, however. Sadie Lowell was traveling with her father when she discovered — to her horror — that their twin-bed room in London’s Holmes Hotel had no bathroom door and clear glass walls. The experience led her to launch BringBackDoors.com, an ever-growing database of hotels (there are now over 500 of them) rating potty privacy from “full” to “zero.”
For those of us who simply want to soak in peace, the odds are not in our favor, either. As of 2019, shower-only rooms accounted for nearly a quarter of all hotel rooms in the U.S. — triple the share from the mid-2010s. My personal experience is that you’re more likely to find a tub (as part of a traditional shower-tub combo) in a Motel 6 than you are in a recently renovated 4-star hotel. You can filter for in-room tubs when searching online travel agencies such as Booking.com, but they may not be on offer in all rooms, so it’s always a good idea to call to confirm. (It never hurts to scope out traveler-submitted pictures on sites like TripAdvisor, too.)
Should you accidentally find yourself in a half-glassed shower with an audaciously exposed toilet, you can grin and bear (bare?) it — or join the revolution against the never-ending erosion of hospitality. During your stay, express your displeasure (politely) to the hotel manager, or you can email a letter of complaint to corporate (if it’s a chain).
While it may take time to see any meaningful response, there are a few immediate workarounds. Depending on how the room is configured, a carefully draped bath sheet might provide some privacy. Most lodgings also have restroom facilities in the lobby, while an on-site fitness facility may offer the ability to shower more privately.
I’ve always believed that travel is a privilege, but hotels (and airlines) seem to charge more and offer less with each passing year. We’ve largely lost complimentary seat assignments, free checked luggage (not to mention hotel luggage racks), minibars, and sometimes even daily housekeeping — let’s not give up our bathroom privacy without a fight.
Featured image credit: © Iván Moreno/stock.adobe.com
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Daily Passport is part of Inbox Studio, an email-first media company. *Indicates a third-party property.
