One of my favorite vacation experiences is relaxing in hotel bathtubs.
A bath is one of the few things I like more after a hard day of flying delays and luggage issues.
The tub should be as large and ornate as possible.
So you can imagine my sadness when I get into a new hotel or one that has recently undergone renovations and discovers that my favorite bathtub has been replaced by a lovely but meh rainfall shower.
Not just in my head, either.
The number of bathtubs in hotel rooms is rapidly decreasing.
Kellie Sirna, the co-founder of the renowned hospitality design company Studio 11 Design, stated that hotels are becoming more and more concerned with being attractions for tourists and locals and embracing their surrounding communities.
"There's little need to deliver a long, lavish bath experience, with so much to explore on property and nearby," the author writes.
In fact, many hotels are replacing their tub and shower combinations with more contemporary shower-only arrangements.
The hotel shower's ascent
It wasn't until the late 1800s that separate bathrooms for each hotel room became a standard practice.
They were regarded as a special amenity even back then.
Before having access to their own bathrooms, hotel visitors may anticipate finding public facilities and a sink to wash up in.
However, the concept of a private bathroom began to gain popularity, and by the 1920s, many hotels were providing en suite bathrooms.
Similar to the decision to build private restrooms decades ago, the present trend toward bathtub-free areas is driven by visitor preferences.
When traveling, Sirna claims that customers are becoming more interested in more rooms, environmentally friendly hotel alternatives, and maybe most importantly, cleanliness.
Does the tub get scrubbed?
There are a number of variables at work that have contributed to the decrease in the hotel bathtub, but shifting client preferences appear to be one of the main drivers of the trend.
The pandemic has taught us more than ever how important sanitation is.
More than half of people who answered a brief question on Facebook about bathroom preferences favored showers to tubs, frequently passionately.
The key factor influencing most readers' preferences was their concern with the cleanliness of the tub.
Many people were frank in their explanations.
Denise Jordan from Philadelphia said in the Lounge, "Bathtubs used by anyone other than my own family [are] absolutely filthy."
However, readers were reluctant to use other bathroom amenities due to hygiene in addition to hotel baths.
Another area of worry was hotel showers, which led a number of respondents to say that they choose to wear shower shoes when staying in hotels as a result.
Overall, it appears that readers, and possibly hotel visitors as a whole, are worried that the level of cleanliness in hotels could not match what they personally are comfortable with, especially in light of the massive amount of cleaning that hotel staff performs.
Drew Powers of Illinois stated in the Lounge that "the staff has 100% more work than any human can be expected to perform."
"The majority of that room will never be cleaned to the standard that it requires."
Shower-only bathrooms might speed up cleaning because many hotels are still so short on housekeeping and other employees.
An action that both saves the hotel money and ensures that the housekeeping team has more time to thoroughly cleanse rooms.
But as we've previously mentioned, hotel housekeeping is still quite hit-or-miss, with many properties continuing to neglect daily cleanings, even at very upscale properties.
Major hotel chains have been reducing services in the name of sustainability, which is another cause that may be fueling the trend of defying hotel baths. Labor shortages have led to many modifications to housekeeping, but these improvements have also been accompanied by service reductions.
Is sustainability a factor?
While a conventional shower-only option only requires about nine square feet, the usual standard-sized tub requires about 13 square feet.
The topic of which method of bathing uses more water, however, is a contentious one (long, hot showers may actually use more water than the average bath).
In either case, Sirna claims, tourists are trying to lessen the carbon footprints they leave behind. Hotels may capitalize on this by switching out pricey bathtubs for showers, some of which are simple and modest and others that are more opulent.
As a result, some intriguing developments in hotel showers have been made, such as low-flow showerheads that cut down on water consumption and the use of natural materials like stone to mimic the outdoors.
With double showerheads, rainfall showerheads, and increasingly elaborate and distinctive tile work, hotels are also evoking spa-like bathroom experiences.
A few new hotels are debuting without even one bathtub, like Motto by Hilton New York City Chelsea.
Some accommodations, such as Dream Hollywood in Los Angeles, only provide bathtubs in their most upscale suites.
But if there's truly no evidence to support the claim that showers are more environmentally friendly, it raises the question of whether eliminating bathtubs from hotel rooms is actually about sustainability or rather a ruse by hospitality corporations to reduce their costs.
The removal of single-use tiny bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and soap from rooms and their replacement with mounted dispensers that can be refilled by housekeepers is one way we can tell if hospitality organizations are sincerely committed to sustainability.
Will hotel bathtubs vanish?
The bathroom amenities that a hotel offers still primarily depend on its target market.
If city hotels have the room, Sirna said, providing a bathtub is a chance to reach out to the community's apartment-dwelling population, which might not have bathtubs of their own.
"Romance tourists are a diverse bunch; while a sensual, unexpected shower experience has benefits all its own, the conventional, elegant bathtub still has a significant visual aesthetic appeal.
Business travelers are more wowed by an experience in a high-design shower that fits into their regular routine.
Hotel baths are "practically outdated," according to Paige Harris, director of design and development at Valor Hospitality Partners unless there are extremely specific circumstances.
According to Harris, "several high-end resort properties still have bathtubs, but only in suites, not in regular guest rooms."
Therefore, bathtubs are unlikely to completely disappear despite the continued and growing trend toward showers.
Bathtubs will continue to exist as long as there are ardent bathtub enthusiasts like Carolyn Spencer Brown of Maryland and me who are ready to spend a little money to have access to one.
Brown said in the Lounge, "Team Bath all the way."
"Over that, I'll pick one hotel over another."
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