Are Changes Coming To Hotel Bath Products?

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Kristen K.'s picture
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Are Changes Coming To Hotel Bath Products?

Last week the image below began bouncing about the internet from Coronado Spring Buzz's Facebook page. From what I gather, Port Orleans Riverside is testing this large format with the H2O+ products.

I'm really torn up about this and wondered what you think about the possibility of moving away from the individual mini bottles.

On one hand, I'm OK with it. This seems like it would not only be a cost saver for Disney, but I would never have to worry about running out or sharing the little bottles while on vacation, and overall it is a much more environmentally friendly move. It would also boost the sales of the shampoo collections in the gift shops because Guests couldn't just take home the minis from their room.

On the other hand I LOVE bringing home my little shampoos and conditioners from vacation! It's one of my favorite things. The cost of those little soaps is figured into what you pay per room night, and unless they plan on cutting the cost per night with this change, it makes me a little grumpy. Also - if Disney goes this route, there is a charity that provides soap and shampoo to the needy that is entirely based around the Orlando hotel industry and this would be a sizable hit to them.

Frankly, I don't stay in a 4 star hotel to get bath products our of dispenser like my local YMCA. It completely changes the "vibe" of the bath experience IMHO.

What do you think?

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JanJ's picture
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I have no issue with this.

We always take our own shampoo, conditioner, soap etc when we travel. I have brought samples home, but I personally have never used them. I would be more apt to use them if they had dispensers like this in the room.

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I totally agree that we like to take a stock pile home so that's a bummer, but the look of them actually looks nice IMO and not cheap like I expected when I heard about it. We normally buy a couple bottles of the shampoo and conditioner in the gift shop anyways so it's not a super big deal to me.

Kristen K.'s picture
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I agree about the look, it is much better than it could be.

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I'll miss my little take home bottles, but the big dispensers will be more convenient to use and they do look pretty nice.

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I always bring my own stuff anyways, so this change doesn't affect me at all. However, I will say that I am not a fan of unsealed bottles dispensing anything in a public place like a hotel as there are a lot of weird people out there and I can see someone "modifying" the contents. I would prefer the small sealed containers.

Also, I won't believe that environmental friendliness is behind any decision until the Tomorrowland Speedway is history.

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I always take my own stuff so not getting the little bottles does not matter. We did usually take it home with us although neither of us tends to use it once we get it home.

Looking at the picture above, it looks like they may have the bottles "locked" into place so no one can mess with them. And while they look nice now that they are new, it will be interesting to see how they hold up. I can see them being a cleaning nightmare for mousekeeping. We have similar bottles in our shower at home and they are horrible to keep clean. Cleaning the dispenser is not so bad but it gets pretty gross behind it.

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I bring my own stuff also but I do love my little bottles to take home... I agree with being able to tamper with them, yeah they look locked down but you could probably still screw the tops off.

Kristen, I read that article about the soaps also and thought what a fantastic idea. Hopefully there will still be some resorts offering the others and they can keep up their work.

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I take my own shampoo as well. I take a couple of bottles home which I do use on occassion when I run out of shampoo before getting to the store.

I seem to remember reading this was a hoax. I'll have to see if I can find it.

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Kristen K. wrote:
I agree about the look, it is much better than it could be.

I pictured those metal boxes similar to soap dispensers in a gas station bathroom. So this is a big step up for me! laugh

KenJ wrote:
I always bring my own stuff anyways, so this change doesn't affect me at all. However, I will say that I am not a fan of unsealed bottles dispensing anything in a public place like a hotel as there are a lot of weird people out there and I can see someone "modifying" the contents. I would prefer the small sealed containers.

Also, I won't believe that environmental friendliness is behind any decision until the Tomorrowland Speedway is history.

Great point, I hadn't thought of that...

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JoAnn C wrote:
I take my own shampoo as well. I take a couple of bottles home which I do use on occassion when I run out of shampoo before getting to the store.

I seem to remember reading this was a hoax. I'll have to see if I can find it.

awesome We can hope!

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Kristen K. wrote:
JoAnn C wrote:
I take my own shampoo as well. I take a couple of bottles home which I do use on occassion when I run out of shampoo before getting to the store.

I seem to remember reading this was a hoax. I'll have to see if I can find it.

awesome We can hope!

I tried looking for it the other night with no luck. I haven't had time to look again. I'll try this weekend.

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Similar systems are used in some U.K. Hotels. As long as mousekeeping fit the top on securely it's impossible to remove the bottles or the caps.

Cleanliness can be an issue on the bottles and the area that holds the bottles, but will probably be fine with the high standards Disney have.

I will miss the little bottles but not that much because a few times the little ears on the lids have made the bottles open and spread shower gel all over my wash bag.

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We just got back from staying at the Beach Club Villas, and the new dispensers were NOT in the rooms.

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Kristen K.'s picture
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Good to know!

JoAnn C's picture
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Just saw these are now at Pop in the refurbished rooms. Not sure about the non-refurbished rooms.

So, whatever I read was a hoax must have been something else that was posted around the same time.

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JoAnn C wrote:
Just saw these are now at Pop in the refurbished rooms. Not sure about the non-refurbished rooms.

So, whatever I read was a hoax must have been something else that was posted around the same time.

I read about those going into the new rooms. Not entirely sure what I think about that. But here's a question, are those refurbished room all dog accepting rooms? Because I can totally see it being useful as far as pet safety goes. If the soap is up on the wall, not much chance the puppy will be eating it.

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Kristen K. wrote:
JoAnn C wrote:
Just saw these are now at Pop in the refurbished rooms. Not sure about the non-refurbished rooms.

So, whatever I read was a hoax must have been something else that was posted around the same time.

I read about those going into the new rooms. Not entirely sure what I think about that. But here's a question, are those refurbished room all dog accepting rooms? Because I can totally see it being useful as far as pet safety goes. If the soap is up on the wall, not much chance the puppy will be eating it.

I don't think Pop is one of pet friendly resort. Or did they add as part of the test?

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No - I just looked it up. Pop is not a doggy hotel.

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Dispensers are not at SSR either.

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JoAnn C wrote:
Just saw these are now at Pop in the refurbished rooms. Not sure about the non-refurbished rooms.

So, whatever I read was a hoax must have been something else that was posted around the same time.

Saw on Facebook this weekend, the dispensers are not in all refurbished rooms.

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I've been reading on Facebook the dispensers have made their way to DCL. Someone posted they were added to the Dream

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*sigh* sad

I'm happy for the environment, sad for the stash of tiny shampoos I always bring home with me. However, this is consistent with how several other cruise lines approach shower amenities. I also expect that it will also boost sales of the H2O+ in the gift shops and online.

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Last September when we stayed in 5 different resorts in 8 days, one of them had these soap dispensers. They looked nice, they were clean and are tamper proof. However, I when I was in the shower I discovered that the body soap dispenser was EMPTY! I always bring my own and usually use my own but had not unpacked it due to the amount of times we were changing resorts. So, I did have body wash. But this could have been a big inconvenience for those who do not travel with their own.

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scrappy wrote:
Last September when we stayed in 5 different resorts in 8 days, one of them had these soap dispensers. They looked nice, they were clean and are tamper proof. However, I when I was in the shower I discovered that the body soap dispenser was EMPTY! I always bring my own and usually use my own but had not unpacked it due to the amount of times we were changing resorts. So, I did have body wash. But this could have been a big inconvenience for those who do not travel with their own.

How substantial are the pumps? Do you get enough out when you pump it, or are you pumping the thing over and over and over and over. The pictures look like you wouldn't get much product out per pump.

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Kristen K. wrote:
*sigh* sad

I'm happy for the environment, sad for the stash of tiny shampoos I always bring home with me. However, this is consistent with how several other cruise lines approach shower amenities. I also expect that it will also boost sales of the H2O+ in the gift shops and online.

My DH loves the grapefruit shampoo. His small bottle stash has finally been depleted so we recently purchased a large bottle of H2O+ I really like the grapefruit scented lotion so that is my next H2O+ purchase!

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The grapefruit is great! My "Disney scent" is the H2O+ Sea Marine "spa" collection. I just ran out of my stash from October. I still have some lotion left though.

Speaking of the different collections, I am allergic to something in the Aquatics collection (the blue bottles). In the past if the room I was in had Aquatics Disney would actually send someone over to the Grand Floridian and they would bring me back a box full of the Sea Marine stuff (green bottles). I can't help but wonder how that will go now. If they will replace the bottles in my shower for me, or if I will just be out of luck.

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I do not remember there being any problem with the pumps. The only problem i can really see with them is making sure they are filled.

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Do you think Disney makes/ saves any money on this? Any time they do something good for the environment, just by coincidence it makes them money.

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The Colonel wrote:
Do you think Disney makes/ saves any money on this? Any time they do something good for the environment, just by coincidence it makes them money.

Oh absolutely they will be saving AND making money from this! They will save money by buying bulk sized of the products, instead of all those tiny bottles. They will save money because people will use less of the product in room by not being able to take it home. They will make money by selling more of the H2O+ products in the hotel gift shops and online because people aren't just taking it home. This is a triple win for Disney's bottom line. There is no down side other than in guest satisfaction, and by reframing the action as all for the environment it takes the edge off of that.

In addition it will raise their profile in corporate responsibility, which brings in earth conscious investors. It will also raise several responsibility and waste scores for the cruise line. Disney it already at the top of the list when it comes on to sustainable cruise ships, but every bit helps. In an industry that is known for waste and excess, Disney is a leader in reducing its footprint. There may be a bit of lip service I'm sure, but if you can look good and save/make money. From a business perspective, why would you not?

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Reducing their footprint? They destroyed the central Florida eco-system killing millions of animals, plants, and trees. Shut down and let it return to swamp. That's the responsible thing to do for the planet.

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