Your Home Away From Home

Source: LUXE Linear Drains

You’ve just come from the airport, or maybe a long drive—you check in at the registration desk, get your card key and amble up to your room with your luggage. As you enter your room, tossing your belongings on the bed, you race over to the window to check your view. Not bad. Nothing as breathtaking as the Grand Canyon, but not bad. What’s the next thing you do? Do you plop down on the bed, testing the firmness of the mattress? Turn on the TV to see if you can catch the last few minutes of the game? Nope, none of the above. You move swiftly to the bathroom—ready to seize upon the slightest clue or evidence of the previous guests, or maybe even unwanted guests from the insect kingdom. You breathe a sigh of relief—everything looks okay, you surmise that it would be okay to stay the night.

But is “okay” really enough? In recent years, as evidenced by significant changes, the hospitality industry has become increasingly aware that merely providing a neat and sanitary bathroom is not enough. Hotels, and even some motels, have upped the ante in terms of features and creature comforts, creating a bathroom experience that can far exceed anything a traveler would experience at home.

The primary trend in hotel bathroom design is to create a “spa-like” atmosphere, and regular and business travelers alike are responding. Evidence suggests that one of the first things people do when checking into their hotel room is, you guessed it—check the bathroom. But whereas in the past, guests would have been checking for dirt, fingerprints, clean towels and the like, now, the inspection revolves around different questions—is there enough lighting? Is there more than one sink? Is the blow dryer powerful enough? Does the shower have a hand-held shower head?

The hospitality industry has been paying attention to what its guests are saying, and the message is clear—pamper me. Luxury and comfort are no longer reserved just for the 4 and 5-star hotels; travelers staying in even mid-tier lodging expect the bathroom to be something special that they cannot get at home.

To accommodate these demands, hoteliers have added some appealing and downright ritzy features to their bathrooms—heated floors, waterfall showers, oversize towels, spa benches, candles, and even bathrobes—just to name a few. But the changes aren’t all designed to increase the “plush factor”. More practical elements, such as shower benches for older guests and water-saving motion sensor faucets, have been implemented widely to make the hotel bathroom experience what people feel it should be—convenient while exceedingly comfortable.

That is not to say that all of the latest hotel bathroom changes have been embraced. Some of the more interesting, if not disturbing, trends involve the integration of the bathroom and the rest of the hotel room into one continuous space. Yes, that’s right—in some luxury properties in New York and particularly in Europe, you can have the pleasure of seeing your traveling companion answer nature’s call in full view of all the room’s inhabitants. In these cases, the old adage “familiarity breeds contempt”, or at least revulsion, may truly apply.

Regardless, there has been a clear shift in the thinking of the hospitality industry with respect to how the bathroom is treated. No longer is it just a functional place to brush one’s teeth and take care of personal hygiene—it has become a haven for the weary traveler to relax and unwind in luxury, and undoubtedly the amenities will continue to grow as hotels compete vigorously for the traveling consumer dollar.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this article, we’d love to hear from you! Although we specialize in linear drain products, we at LUXE Linear Drains pride ourselves on our years of industry knowledge with respect to bathrooms, and we would welcome an opportunity to consult with you and assist you as you take on your next bathroom design or re-design project.

You can contact us here on the website, or call us at 877-398-8110. We look forward to hearing from you!