The Case Against Bathroom Dispensers

Many properties are installing bathroom amenity dispensers instead of providing individual use bottles for things like shampoo and body wash.

But is it the best move? In this article we’ll consider reasons why you might not want to make the switch, in the next one we’ll look at the advantages.

Basically, with dispensers, it’s less expensive and there’s less waste. But what do your guests think? Do they consider it just another way for you to save money at their expense?

Much depends on who your guests are - and how much they’re paying for accommodation. According to The Well-Mannered Traveler, amenities dispensers in higher-end hotels are considered by some more frequent travellers as “tacky” and “unsanitary.”

One road warrior even told Traveler that a hotel bathroom amenity dispenser “seems cheap to me.” Software trainer Melissa Odom, who spends about 200 nights a year in hotels, told Traveler “I’d think, ‘Ick, whose hands have been on this’?”

Some travellers who even understand why hotels use them aren’t crazy about them. “I don’t particularly like them,” travel planner Sheri Doyle told Traveler, “but I appreciate the environmental reasons for doing it.”

Yes, dispensers are frequently used by hotels who tout their green, eco-friendly policies, since they eliminate plastic waste and cut down drastically on product waste. But some travellers look at the dispensers and wonder “Are they really being filled with what they claim to be filled with?” With sealed individual bottles that concern goes away. However, whole replaceable dispenser cartridges are becoming more widely available now too. There is an increase in consumer waste with this option, though markedly less than with individual use amenities.

Many travellers consider dispensers unsanitary, as Odom mentioned. Bulk or refillable dispensers, as they’re exposed to the environment, can breed bacteria, if your housekeeping staff isn’t as zealous in cleaning every single room as you’d like them to be - while maintaining a speedy pace, of course. Dispenser surfaces can contain contaminants such as fecal matter, mold or fungi as well. Of course, keeping on top of things with regular and consistent cleaning practices eliminates this.

There are some dispenser systems which address these concerns, but they’re often quite costly, and doesn’t that nix the whole reason you’re using them in the first place?

In the next post we’ll look at the case for dispensers...