Toothpaste is heavily branded in a health related fashion that makes it hard for hotels to get away with fake botique and paying for a real brand risks offending users of a "higher" or competing brand. Then there are also the foreign patrons who will find local brands funny at best.
This is notable in that the one hotel that carried toothpaste felt they had to say which brand. (They were right, I once stayed at a hotel with generic foreign toiletries and only the toothpaste triggered ill ease: wondering whether potentially tainted toothpaste or skipping toothpaste was the higher risk.) But they had also chosen the wrong brand if they have foreign patrons as aquafresh has very little presence abroad.
> risks offending users of a "higher" or competing brand
I strongly suspect that I am not alone in the stubbornness of my toothpaste preference. I will grudgingly use a different shampoo if I have to as most shampoos don't have too strong of a smell. In any given day I use probably 3 to 6 different soaps, with only the one in my house being my preference (mmmmmmmm coconut ginger) so using some random soap at a hotel is no big deal. But I will be buried deep in the ground before I subject myself to using anything but my usual toothpaste.
It took me years to find a flavor of mint that I honestly enjoy using. Nothing else has ever felt quite right; it even has the right texture! Using another flavor for even one brushing would make me want to gag. Taste, in both senses of the word, is a very personal thing I suppose.
I'm very picky with my toothpaste. The marketing hype convinced me that a specific brand had "the best" toothpaste in the world just at the time I had serious teeth issues that cost me thousands.
I currently live that proper state of delusion that allows full placebo effect and toothpaste is not expensive enough to warrant a reality check.
Thankfully, that's not a taste related thing like parent, so I borrow toothpaste from friend, family or hotel the few times I travel. Also, since it is feature based, other brands have started introducing similar feature, allowing me a bit of variation.
But really I can understand parent, I have had a period were I was so scared of going to the dentist (I was 30+ at the time) that I was following a very strict routine religiously. I took my toothpaste, brush, rince and floss on my wedding night. They travelled with me to another continent on my honey moon. I took them to the hospital to use on the night my son was born.
For what it's worth, I'm sort of in between the both of you, and I know a number of people like myself: I almost always make sure to bring my own toothpaste, but I'll begrudgingly use someone else's if necessary.
But similar to the previous poster, I (and the people similar to myself) don't have this at all with soap or shampoo.
I'm in the same boat, although I'll always bring my own conditioner to hotels (I'm female, so it's probably not as big of a deal for guys with shorter hair). Occasionally, they don't provide it, or it's "conditioning shampoo" (which doesn't condition at all), or the bottles are too tiny and the product is too watered down to condition sufficiently.
But soap is soap is soap, and toothpaste is the same ingredients in the same concentration for basically every manufacturer (and even then, it's mostly the mechanical action of brushing that gets your teeth clean, not the toothpaste itself -- you can brush with water in a pinch and still be fine). I convinced my husband to buy generic toothpaste and it's saved us DOLLARS (Woo! Big money!) a year!
Me either. It's a paste that has to gently scrap my teeth. I can't imagine why it needs to be more personal than the soap I wash my bottom with or the shampoo I wash my thinning hairline with.
I have to agree with you there. My toothpaste and soap is based on what is the cheapest option.
The only exception I make is for anti-perspirant (also something I haven't ever seen in hotels) because some brands make my skin become red and fall of and some don't work well enough.
I struggle to maintain loyalty to a specific toothpaste variety because of the overwhelming variety of types of Colgates and Crests stocked everywhere in the US. Even when I think I have discovered a variety that tastiest pleasant and seems to be effective, the next time I find myself in front of the shelf I struggle to recall the details: was it cool mint with gum protection? Or fresh mint with whitening? The packages seem to change subtly every few months and it's not clear that every store stocks the full range so I frankly have no idea whether I am sticking with the same toothpaste over an extended period.
My favourite example of this going too far was a toothpaste sold in "day" and "night" formulations, but their Canadian Drug Identification Numbers were the same. Ie: identical products in different packaging.
So this is a really valuable marketing opportunity for toothpaste manufacturers, a rare switching opportunity. Here's a chance to get a guest to try their brand of toothpaste, in a market where driving change is difficult. They should be giving little tubes to hotel chains -- and very soon even paying the hotels to stock their brand.
I'm a total toothpaste-tart because of those little tubes; I'll use whatever comes along. My dentist receives them by the boxload, presumably as promotional items from the various manufacturers vying for recommendation, and dumps them in a crate at reception for free distribution.
So every six months I stock-up on a cocktail of various toothpastes and just use whatever comes out of the bag next.
The only one that was jarring was Corsodyl, and it even had a little chart on the reverse showing that people needed three months ot so to adapt to its taste. I persevered with it because it was free but wouldn't choose it voluntarily.
So, would you say the chart was correct? How do you find it now as opposed to before? Could this be the start of high culture toothpaste one's palate must be developed for?
Furthermore, toothpaste is a health-related product and a lot of people are loathe to mess with what they use and "works." Personally, I doubt there's much to choose between various Crest and Colgate products. On the other hand, I travel a lot and wouldn't be very inclined to routinely use some unbranded single-use tube provided by a hotel.
At home I share a tube of toothpaste with my wife: if we go on holiday together, we bring the tube with us.
If I'm travelling solo, for business or whatever, then the home toothpaste stays at home, so I need to remember to buy a new tube to take with me. It's the only thing I need to expressly purchase other than the hotel room booking.
If you travel more than once a year just keep a zip lock bag ready with a toothbrush and toothpaste and floss. That way there is no thinking, just grab the bag and you're good. I get samples from my dentist which I put in there so I never run out of anything and I keep it in a bathroom drawer. It's incredibly helpful.
Nope. Same deal. I'd probably pay about $5 more a night in exchange for toothpaste being provided. I'll be on the hunt for Hyatt now that I know it's standard there.
You'd pay $5 more a night to avoid having to buy an extra tube of toothpaste at the store every once in a while?
Sometimes, I feel like I'm so cavalier about spending money that my depression-era grandparents must be rolling in their graves, but then when I see comments like this, it makes me feel much more frugal. ;-)
I'm from the same era, and as I've gotten older I'm much more frugal. My decised father was psychotically frugal.
I'm different than my father, but we definetly don't give hard earned money away. Now easily made money I usually spend freely.
Tooth paste--prescription grade, and use pea size amount. (Not out of cheapness--just don't want to give a dentist any money. ) Hair cutting--Flobee. Car breaks down--pull out the tools. Plumbing problems--one day at a garage sale I bought a 4' monkey wrench. I've actually used it. Emotional upset--drink. Need new clothes--pull out sewing machine, and custom fit cheap clothes. Eat out--specifical occasions. Buy Men's hair color to hide getting older in this ageist society--walk right over to women hair color and buy brown 51 for $2.99. The only item I splurge on is a certain glycerine soap. (I have thought about making my own, and might if I can obtain Neutrigenia's propriatiry formula?)
And I would never tell a date/most people any of this. When socializing, I'm a phoney spendthrift, and when it came to my pets money was never an option. I would pay anything to make them healthy/happy. Years later I was talking to a vet I befriended, and he said they have a office subscript for guy's like me--it's WPA. (Will pay anything). I remember being bothered, but their health was my priority, even when I was broke. They all passed, but I have no guilt over their care.
I'm not sure this Hyatt thing is true? I recently stayed at a Hyatt and didn't see toothpaste in the room. Maybe their spokesman misinterpreted for "standard in room" and "available upon request"
I also stayed in a Hyatt in Vancouver recently and no toothpaste.
The "issue" was that I was flying with only carry on luggage, so no toothpaste possible in the cabin and I had to to grocery shopping for a tube of toothpaste for one night in Vancouver...
If you're staying at a large brand (Marriott, Starwood,etc) just ask the front desk for toothpaste. They will give you a few single use packets for free. I get 2 or 3 uses from each packet.
I travel over 100 nights a year. So go to the drug store and buy a few travel toothpaste tubes for ~$1 each and stick one in with your travel toiletries when you travel?
For years I had wondered about this toothpaste conundrum; as the author points out it is in fact one of the important toiletry component if not the most important (for me personally actually it is).
I made up a theory that it has to be sourcing problem. Toothpaste is one thing that you don’t hear small supplier making on their own - I get to hear all the time about handcrafted artisan soaps, conditioner, shampoos etc. but not toothpaste. So for hotel industry it is very easy to source small supplies of toiletries other than toothpaste.
And on the other hand name brand toothpaste manufacturer would not be interested in setting up manufacturing lines for small toothpaste tubes (the fact it is a tube, which essentially needs a pumping machine to fill it up supports this line of thinking) for a niche segment where volumes would be minuscule as compared to their traditional channels.
But they have already set up manufacturing for such tubes for Hotels in Europe and Asia, so it should only make sense that they would want to sell more of these.
Emirates also supplies a toothbrush and toothpaste on long flights in a nice little toilet bag, even for economy passengers.
These things are everywhere, except apparently American Hotels.
I suspect these 'mini sizing' consumer goods trend is reserved for Asia and I guess now Europe.
In USA the marketing strategies of these companies does not include 'Sachet marketing' or mini sizing. And of course importing these small size containers for a niche market in USA would not make sense at all.
[Edit]
This blog writes about how the new trend in Europe is 'Right sizing' of packaging.
My dentist seems to always have piles of sample-sizes to hand out. At my last hotel trip, I had to make the trip to the concierge, and they had 5mL packs of brand-name toothpaste that was like a flat ketchup pack.
FYI in at least some European countries it's the same. In my recent stays at hotels in Spain and Belgium the situation is just as the article describes for American hotels: you get all kinds of situational or barely useful stuff like shower cap, shoehorn, conditioner, etc.; and no toothpaste. And I have always thought it doesn't makes sense and wondered about the reason, like the post's author.
I think it was the same in other European countries where I stayed, but my memory isn't good enough to be sure. In Asia I have always found toothpaste in hotels though.
But I'd assume most hotels don't source from small-time shops (at least the big chains surely have one supplier nationwide). And at least here in Germany, toothpaste is easily available in small tubes?
As mentioned in the article, most hotels will send up a free tube of toothpaste if you phone reception and request one. The same is true for a number of other 'essentials' you may forget that aren't provided by default such as shaving kits and sometimes even phone chargers.
Yeah, kind of. I'd agree except that it's not "always". The last time I tried it was in a London hotel where they didn't have any at the desk. Given that it was 1am and I'd just had an Unbranded Fried Chicken as the one meal still available at that time of night, I was a bit gutted...
Yup, same here (without the wife). I always make sure to have both a normal and travel sized tube of my preferred toothpaste. OTOH I don't really care about soap or shampoo.
He mentions toothpaste is standard in Asia which is also my experience. The standard delivery mechanism is a sealed plastic bag with a cheap toothbrush and a two-time use mini tube of unbranded toothpaste. (So it's not like you're using a re-filled tube someone else used the night before)
The reporter should ask toothpaste manufacturers this question. Surely if anyone cares that hotels supply guests toothpaste, it's the manufacturer who stands to profit from such a deal. I suspect that if you went down that road, you would find your answer.
I don't see the mystery. It seems perfectly straightforward to me.
(1) Toothpaste, deodorant, tampons, and similar "intimate" items are highly desired by most people, and so, clearly, most people will bring them as a matter of course.
(2) Soap, shampoo, and other things you usually find provided by hotels are, however, awkward for the traveler to carry on their journey. But they are cheap for a hotel to provide, so they do so.
(3) Loofahs, shoehorns, and other misc. junk are just thrown in to cheaply create an image of luxury.
You'd think it'd be this obvious, but then again Asian hotels give you the brush and toothpaste.
When I think about why I bring toothpaste and a toothbrush with me... it's because hotels don't provide them. It's not because I want my toothbrush, or my toothpaste, or even my floss, I just bring it because I can't rely on always having it otherwise.
Which just gets into the circular reasoning. Hotels don't provide it because travelers bring it because hotels don't provide it etc. That's probably the reason the pattern continues, but then why didn't it catch on in the first place?
Bringing my own shampoo is a hassle, because I buy shampoo in normal-sized many-use bottles that are quite large and might leak.
Bringing my own soap is even worse, because nobody wants to carry around a slimy wet cake of soap.
Bringing my own toothpaste is easy, because it's small, and I get the brand whose taste I'm accustomed to. Also, I've got to bring my toothbrush with me anyway, so the toothpaste as well isn't a big problem.
Now, shaving cream, on the other hand, is an item that's a bit of a hassle to cart around with me.
Maybe shaving cream isn't standard because in the mid 19th century when the tradition got started, it was traditional for travelers to carry their own beard.
Since switching from a cartridge razor to a safety razor a few years ago, I've also switched from using shaving cream to using shaving soap (the use of which seems to go hand in hand with use of safety razors, if only for retro-cultural reasons). While I do not travel with the safety razor because TSA, I do bring the shaving soap (and a boar's hair shaving brush) along with a cartridge razor, in part because it's more convenient (it takes up less space than a travel-sized can of shaving cream).
I've found the standard units of Col. Conk shaving soap, e.g.
http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Col-Conk-Shaving-Soap-Lime-S...
to be good for travel. The plastic container the soap is embedded in can be resealed for travel and you don't have the 'slimy wet cake' problem that I have yet to solve for other forms of soap. Shaving soap is also more economical than shaving cream; much less of it is used per shave, and so a single small unit of shaving soap can last for many months.
I mentioned this in another thread, but another option is using (hair) conditioner. I can't personally speak to how well it works on faces seeing as how I have no facial hair, but it's my go-to at home for shaving my legs and things.
I've even tried body lotion in a pinch, at a hotel that didn't have conditioner unless you asked for it... not the worst. But way better than shaving cream from hotels still, especially when they give you those practically empty plastic packets.
For most liquid toiletries, it's actually difficult to buy "travel size", i.e. less that 4 fl oz. But for toothpaste, this is a standard size that you normally buy, so it doesn't add much of a burden.
Yes, it's easy. You just buy a travel-sized tube at pretty much any chain drugstore in the US. (Or, as is the case with many people, use the trial sizes your dentist gives you when you're in for a cleaning.)
"You are allowed to bring a quart-sized bag of liquids, aerosols, gels, creams and pastes in your carry-on bag and through the checkpoint. "
YMMV of course as to how strenuously this is enforced in practice. My observation is that in Europe (at least in the UK) the separate quart baggie taken out of luggage is actually more routinely and more strictly enforced than in the US. And I somewhat doubt that a squeezed down tube of toothpaste in that baggie is typically going to cause an issue. (But in the US, I use travel-sized toothpaste and have TSA Pre so I don't have a lot of recent data.)
By shaving cream do you mean the stuff that comes in a tube? Because I don't think that is such an issue, and the stuff that requires a brush is something that only very few men would use today.
Shampoo: get a small bottle. Then just fill it up before travel from your large bottle. Upon returning, return remaining shampoo to large bottle and wash it.
Shampoo (Cant stand the smell of most hotel shampoo), Soap (I like Dr. Bronners in the Bar, also, see above), Toothpaste (I'm preferential to colgate with fluoride), Deodorant (Unscented), Aftershave, Q-Tips, (2) Razors, Antacids plus a bevy of other personal care products.
I don't use most of the toiletries left by the hotel, they don't smell good (though they seem to do just fine with cleaning) - Mostly I just don't relish smelling like 'Citron Citrus Explosion with Mango and Green Tea extract' for 3-4 hours after I shower. The rest of the stuff is so I don't have to go look for a 7-Eleven or Drug Store (usually in the middle of the night) in a strange city to fix whatever ails me. It also helps make travel more bearable, because then I feel more like I would if I was at home.
So I suspect the real reason hotel's have no toothpaste in the rooms, is most travelers prefer to bring their own.
> So I suspect the real reason hotel's have no toothpaste in the rooms, is most travelers prefer to bring their own.
Indeed, this was my thought too. I suspect that toothpaste is such a necessity that nobody travels without their own. Shampoos, conditioners et al are nice but not necessary and hence less liable to find a place in the backpack.
The hotels must have observed the unused toothpaste tubes and simply removed the item from their inventory to cut down the costs.
Also, toothpaste is much easier to pack than shampoo. Packing a regular shampoo bottle brings a real risk of it opening and leaking all over your luggage. Toothpaste, not so much.
And in the US, 3 oz or less. And it better be less if you don't want TSA stopping you. I've been stopped a number of times at TSA for 3 oz bottles of mouthwash or lotion. They don't make be throw it away, but it is an inconvenience having them paw through my bag.
I wonder why hotels have no vending machine to buy a toothpaste, etc in the middle of the night when no shop is opened or in general when no shop is in walking distance.
Just talk to the guy at the front desk. Why do you need a robot when there's a guy staffing it 24/7 who'll happily give you a free tube of toothpaste if you simply ask him?
This thread is like bizarro universe for me. Am I seriously the only one who's tried asking the desk for toothpaste?
A kind of common anxiety, involving not wanting people to "serve" you, even for money, when you could instead get the same thing done yourself. It's the same reason middle-class Americans—even when in possession of plenty of money and no time—tend to clean their houses or buy gadgets like Roombas, instead of retaining a part-time cleaner.
I sometimes suspect I'm one of very few Americans that don't use soap on my body. I wash my hair and face, and just rub the rest of my body under water. Soap just does nothing for me. And yes, I use deodorant. I've never seen a benefit to soap on my body.
Another movie one: Between the time that Tyler Durden pointed out the "cigarette burn" marks at the change-of-reel and the time that digital projection displaced film, I'd notice them _every_ time.
Cue dots were actually largely anachronisms in most commercial movie theaters before digital came along because multiplexes spliced most films onto one large platter--though cue dots may still have been present.
There were typically two cue dots for each ~15 minute reel. On the first cue dot, the projectionist would start the second projector running while the second was the cue to actually switch over.
They did still have the cue dots on each reel, because smaller movie theatres still used changeover projection. In such a theatre you'd also often see a slight jump in the positioning of the picture when the changeover happened.
To stay on the hotel topic, this one [0] scores pretty high on not unseeing it. If you see the cleaning lady and there's no glasses on her cart then chances are high that she has to clean them herself while cleaning your room. Which is pretty much always the case and they do have to clean your toilet too.
They normally have to do many rooms, so they don't always have the time to do it properly.
When at a hotel, drinking glasses / cups / mugs etc.. I always clean myself before using.
Speaking of 99 Percent Invisible - that podcast makes the entertainment system in my car reboot when played. It ends up in a cycle of play a few seconds, reboot, play, etc, until I change to another podcast.
No other podcast or any other source causes this issue.
I recently read an article that said that most podcasts don't use VBR encoding for MP3s because there are some players that don't handle it correctly; maybe 99% Invisible does and your car system is crashing because of it?
Thanks. I did a quick search and found the/an article[1] that says iOS and macOS do not accurately seek within a VBR MP3 but implies that they play without issue.
I'll have to investigate this further (or buy a new car) when I have the time.
Some years ago I went on a cruise and they provided a name-brand toothpaste, and iirc a hotel in UK or Europe provided toothpaste on my stay. I was excited each time I received it.
A Sheraton I visited recently provided a packet of shave cream. It smelled of horrible medicine and it didn't protect my face at all during shaving; in fact, I determined over two days that using it had been worse than not at all. Note that I tried with and without mixing it with an appropriate amount of water, but it didn't matter.
I know there is probably a significant cost different to the hotel, but I vote for name-brand toothpaste over horrible shave cream.
As for the rest, they only thing I would want is shampoo. Since the TSA started checking for "insecure" amounts of fluids, I have really started to rely on the shampoo in hotels. I only keep an "insecurely" large bottle of shampoo at home and don't want to waste time and energy putting it into a small bottle to take with me for the matter of a few to several days of use.
BTW, If you're curious about the 100mL TSA rule, read these for their explanation and reasoning:
Have you ever tried using hair conditioner instead of shaving cream? I prefer conditioner even at home. I never get enough shaving cream for my legs, if I even get one that doesn't smell "manly", so I always just pack extra conditioner.
Huh! I have a beard and don't shave regularly but I sometimes want to on longer trips. I'm sort of a lightweight packer and resent taking even the travel-sized shaving creams for something I might use once but never found a more compact alternative that I liked. I will give conditioner a try.
I like all in one shampoo, I then use aftershave afterwords. If you'd like an after shave that doesn't smell super masculine, try gables lilac scented - its for sure a unisex scent.
I am 'ashamed' to say that I have worked in hospitality sector - hotels - and there are some things in this article that are definitely true in the UK:
Things do get topped up. Those big soap dispenser things with some posh label on, they do get topped up. There are different ways to do this - sometimes the trolley with towels and stuff on has a few pre-topped up ones on and they get swapped over. Some staff top up on a room by room basis, obviously only when the guests change lest the illusion be shattered. These items rarely get stolen (even by American tourists) in country hotels (can't say for big corporate chains). There is a matter of trust going on here and far less gets taken by guests than you might imagine, few people 'steal'.
The ratings thing is what defines what you have in a room. Some things like 3/4 length mirrors chime in on two stars, if I remember. Even number of coat hangers is star count related.
I have done my fair share of running around for guests, I cannot remember ever having to get toothpaste or even a toothbrush for any guest ever. It is just not a requirement or expectation or even something that people habitually forget.
Some things are available in the smallest of shops, toothpaste being one and tampons being another. I believe that people have no more of an expectation to find toothpaste as they do have to expect tampons, condoms or razor blades just there as a freebee.
There are more worrying things though in a hotel. That glass to drink out of, how do you know that it wasn't washed and then dried using the towel left behind by the previous guest? For that same towel to also be used to dry off the tiles in the bathroom, the floor and the sink? Usually the towels will be boil washed and dried by some contractor, however, they are as much in use by the housekeeping staff as the guests in many a place.
Another observation is the state of the toilets. Those guests that dine on fine cuisine in the restaurant probably don't eat that sort of stuff every day. It really does not sit with them too well and the toilets do show the signs of this. Compared to the staff toilets (or the loos at your workplace), hotel toilets are a mess, that posh food is just not intestine friendly. Therefore, if you are in a hotel, be far more concerned about what goes in your mouth rather than how you clean your mouth.
A further point, why didn't the research for this article include a word or two from housekeeping staff? Do managers really know how to do hospital corners or any of the multitude of things one needs to do to make a hotel room spotless in 20 minutes?
> “If you think about toiletries, you’re diluting those products with copious amounts of water,” said Kersley, “and they’re only in contact with your skin topically.” Toothpaste, on the other hand, goes in your mouth, and maybe down your throat.
...then why is it that can I find mouthwash in about half the hotels I stay at? Mouthwash "goes in your mouth, and maybe down your throat".
> Or perhaps it’s a simple matter of portability and convenience. A bottle of shampoo might leak in your luggage; a bar of soap is often slimy; a tube of toothpaste, though, can be tossed into your Dopp kit without a second thought.
...yeah, but have you ever had a tube of toothpaste leak or explode in your kit? What an absolute mess. It's happened twice in my life. The first time took forever trying to clean everything else - even then my deodorant case and razor handle always left my hands smelling minty fresh a long while. The second time it happened I just threw it all out and bought new gear. That's why I rarely pack a new, whole tube of toothpaste anymore.
Soaps and shampoos are a bit of a luxury item, which is why there are whole stores like "Bath & Body Works" that just sell them. It's a marketing opportunity for the manufacturers to pay hotels to put out their mini-bottles for free. There's no such niche for boutique toothpastes.
I'd be rather surprised if hotels routinely got their mini-sized bathroom products for free. In the case of the big chains, they mostly slap on their own house brand anyway.
But, yes, there's at least the opportunity for boutique hotels to use a "luxury" shampoo/soap brand as part of their overall image and guest experience.
Whereas for toothpaste, it's pretty much Crest or Colgate. Or, if you're a somewhat frou-frou B&B in Vermont or California, maybe Tom's.
I always think that this is a waste of resources. Imagine the sheer amount of conditioner that gets thrown away unused because of this. I have seen wall-mounted shampoo and soap and really liked the idea, although it does not convey the mentioned branding effect, which hotels try to achieve with these toiletries. It made me feel better. Unfortunately consumers are incredibly stupid. If you want to achieve a positive branding effect from doing sensible stuff like this, you cannot just do the practical thing, because that would seem cheap. You have to tack on all this hipster bullshit and mention how you are saving the planet on every occasion.
Last time I didn't bring toothpaste I asked the front desk of my hotel and they gave me a bunch of packets. But it would be nice for them to just put them in the room to begin with.
Most hotels that I've been to that don't have toothpaste in the rooms do have them available at the front desk upon request (at no cost.)
It's a cost saving measure, and I assume most people travel with their own toothpaste (so much preference, is small and doesn't flag TSA search.) If someone stays one night, even if they don't use the toothpaste, you still have to replace the tube. Makes more sense to keep a small supply at the front desk/back-room.
A capsule hotel in Tokyo (First Cabin Tsukiji) I stayed in had a small tube of toothpaste (unbranded), and toothbrush, which they changed every day. The toothbrush was really small and difficult to use, and toothpaste was as generic tasting as they go. I still used them a few times just for the novelty of it.
On that note; why do I need two bars of soap when the hotel internet less than 1Mbps?
The hotel industry is in the US is strange and archaic. Hotel internet and toothpaste are great examples of issues that should be obvious.
Heck, I provide a bottle of wine to my Airbnb guests.
Your single-sentence answer is misdirected. The article doesn't pose the question of how to get toothpaste at a hotel, but rather why it is not included in the standard set of amenities. You don't have to ask the reception for for two types of soap, lotions, and gels, but you have to ask for toothpaste. That's the "mystery".
> The average daily rate for staying at U.S. hotels is $111. The average number of tubes of toothpaste these hotels provide is zero.
I've never stayed in a high end hotel in the US which didn't provide a toothpaste and toothbrush kit on the bathroom counter on arrival. And like many other people are stating on this thread at almost every hotel I've stayed at in other regions around the world (Asia, Oceania, South America, Europe) the same thing is provided.
Seems like a bit of a straw man premise for the article.
In the last year, I've been in a full service Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton and a Hyatt - and out of those, only the Hyatt had toothpaste. The Sheraton also had one, but it was clearly marked as a special promotion, and my last stay at a sheraton before that, had no such amenity.
What do you consider a high end hotel? Most hotels I have stayed at provide toothpaste but only upon request. I don't remember last time I have seen toothpaste just waiting on the counter.
It's certainly not the norm in the US at the big chains (Marriott, Starwoods) even at their higher-end properties. I can't say the presence or absence of toothpaste (or razor, etc.) is something that I make a particular note of but they aren't common.
> “If such requests did begin to trend,” explained a representative from the Wyndham Hotel Group, “we would evaluate our brand standards and offerings.”
Isn't Wyndham the same group that had a major security breach and the pleaded to congress that it's not their job to keep customer data safe from thieves?
This is notable in that the one hotel that carried toothpaste felt they had to say which brand. (They were right, I once stayed at a hotel with generic foreign toiletries and only the toothpaste triggered ill ease: wondering whether potentially tainted toothpaste or skipping toothpaste was the higher risk.) But they had also chosen the wrong brand if they have foreign patrons as aquafresh has very little presence abroad.