The new Generation of Bathroom Amenities
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Less then a decade ago, liquid soaps and body washes were quite a novelty at home and especially in the hotel bathroom. But the acceptance of liquid products has improved drastically over the past few years.
According to consumers, "convenience, hygiene and presentation make liquid soaps and shower gels a popular choice". We all know the mess a cake of soap leaves around the basin.
We are also quite familiar with the stubborn soap scum that needs to be scrubbed in the shower and bath tubs on a regular basis.
Well, these issues are no longer of concern, when using liquid products. Liquid soaps are a completely different formulation from a bar soap because thy do not contain oil or fat components. In fact, liquid soaps do not only eliminate soap scum but they can also more easily incorporate and retain beneficial ingredients, such as vitamins, essential oils, moisturiser, antiseptics and fragrances that tend to evaporate quickly in cake soap.
Some 10%-15% of our population has sensitive skin. For these people traditional soap can be an irritant, particularly in the colder months of the year and they often can cause discomfort or even dermatitis. It is therefore important, that these people are given the choice of good quality liquid soaps that contain soothing moisturisers, skin friendly ingredient and organic extracts.
The good news is that these developments in the retail sector have also filtered through to the hotel industry. The revolution in guest amenities, the amenity dispenser, enables hotels, motels and resorts to provide their guests with what they also prefer to use at home: liquid soap, body washes and high quality shampoos in stylish dispensers.
The Press + Wash dispenser is easily the global hospitality industry's most popular choice of dispensing system. This exciting new guest amenities concept has become ever more popular throughout New Zealand's hospitality industry during the last decade and is now quite well established in well over 15,000 hotel rooms nationwide. Considering the initial skepticism that in-room dispensers received from our domestic accommodation industry, this is a great achievement. The rise of dispensers in the guest amenities market cannot be denied and their advantages convince more hotels, motels and resorts on a daily basis to convert to this cost-saving and environmentally sound new concept.
In other parts of the world amenities dispensers have been used in the accommodation industry for well over 15 years. In fact estimated figures indicate, that the market share of dispenser in several European countries is between 50% and 60% in the 3½ to 4½ star accommodation segments and even in five star hotels, the market share is already over 20% and increasing rapidly.
The benefits of amenity dispensers simply make good sense:
Waste is reduced drastically. Environmental awareness is prevalent in the accommodation industry. Environmental issues such as global warming, conserving of resources and reduction of waste are on top of every modern accommodation provider's agenda. Have you ever considered the huge mountain of small portion control bottles that is being discarded from every hotel each morning (most of them still partly full)? Have you ever thought about all the amount of soap bars that are being thrown out daily (most after being used only once or twice)? Well it is estimated that the world's hotels dispose of well over 10 billion pieces of product and packaging from hotel bathroom amenities every year! Needless to say, that the environmental impact is disturbing.
The use of dispensers in hotel rooms can reduce this waste drastically, as the contents of one dispenser refill usually equals up to 40 or 50 portion control bottles or approximately 60 to 80 small soap bars. Additionally, the refill containers of the leading dispenser systems are made from PET (such as soft drink bottles) and can therefore be easily recycled, leaving the accommodation operator with no waste at all.
Cost savings are substantial. The bottom line is always a very important factor. Managers send their executive housekeepers on endless searches for cost savings within their departments, often leading to ever cheaper (and nastier) products in the bathroom.
Fact is you could save up to 50% of your current outlays for guest amenities simply by implementing dispenser products in your bathrooms. Furthermore, the quality of the liquids supplied in dispensers are European made and of five-star quality.
The maths is quite simple, once you have dispensers in place you will no longer pay for all the individual packaging or for the partly used portions that have to be discarded, nor for the countless items that are taken home by your guests (spending the rest of their life in some dark, dusty cupboard).
Room servicing time is reduced. This is a point you may not have considered before. With dispensers fitted in the bathrooms, your staff no longer have to pick up soap or sachet wrappers and bottle lids or clean spilled shampoo or bath gel in the showers. They will no longer have to scrub soap scum off tiles or shower screens because liquid soap products do not produce soap scum. In warmer climates, where soap scum is also the reason for foul smelling drains in the shower or bath, this will also be eliminated. Considering that each housekeeping staff member saves about three minutes per room due to the implementation of dispensers, this would translate into more then a dollar saving per hour on each of your staff. Further, consider the savings due to the reduced use of cleaning chemicals.
Another very positive fact is that an ever larger number of guests expect to see environmental initiatives in hotels such as amenities dispensers. They do not want to fiddle with tiny little bottles and hard to read labels. They no longer have to leave the shower dripping-wet realising, too late, that they have forgotten to take the soap and shampoo bottles along into the shower.
They welcome the increased space available around the vanity area for their own personal bathroom items and no longer have to use the toilet cistern or towel rack as an emergency shelf.
And finally your guests are no longer faced with a tiny soap bar sample that is virtually disappearing under their fingernails while lathering up. They now have the convenience of using a hygienic and high quality liquid product where and when they need it.
Now if the above arguments made you curious and you are considering this new option for your bathrooms, then be well aware of the following; just as with portion control amenities, there are great differences in the quality and concept of the various dispenser products currently available in New Zealand. There are a number of unpleasant surprises you could be faced with, if you are not doing your home work.
The main rule is to avoid refillable dispenser options in the showers or bath, as the continuous topping up of dispensers may lead to germ contamination and spoilt product. With some dispensers you staff may run the risk of getting cuts and scratches by replacing cartridges or monitoring the product levels. Obviously not all available non-refillable or cartridge dispensers are of the same quality either. These dispensers therefore require a bit more scrutiny.
Visual presentation. An important criteria is the appearance of the dispenser. Your dispenser of choice should represent the star rating of your property and fit in aesthetically with the rest of the bathroom fittings. Many dispensers made from glass or perspex are quite pleasing to the eye. However, not only are they expensive but, according to a test on dispensers in a recent issue of the European Top Hotel magazine, these most elegant models were least successful in the security aspect.
Product security. Dispensers that use factory-sealed refills are not only tamper proof but also more hygienic. The most favourable dispensers are securely locked and sealed and therefore give protection against tampering or theft. Hotel guests must be reassured that the product inside your dispenser is in perfect condition and has not been contaminated by other users or hotel staff. Also ensure that your dispenser product is covered by a manufacturer's warranty.
Dripping or leaking. It is obviously of very high importance that the dispenser you choose does not leak or drip. Ensure that the dispenser valve cuts off nicely once the product has been dispensed and closes tight every time and without dripping. Be aware that dispensers with membrane mechanisms will leak once the air pressure increases inside the container. In other words, if the air inside a partly empty container expands because of changes of temperature, leaking and dripping may occur.
Product consumption. In contrast to the portion amenities where presentation and price are important points to compare, dispensers are quite different. Apart from the purchase price per unit, it is also important to know how much product is on average being consumed/dispensed with a particular dispenser system. This depends on a number of factors, such as the valve size, product quality and viscosity.
First, a larger valve opening will dispense up to four times as much product than a smaller one. Secondly, the consistency or viscosity of the liquid product plays a significant role in consumption. If the shampoo or soap is too liquid and runny, it will drip through your guest's fingers and will be wasted. Finally if the product is of low quality, the liquid will hardly lather up and the guest is therefore tempted to use a lot more product. In other words, an initially cheap unit price may blow out due to the higher consumption.
Product quality. This brings us to one of the most neglected aspects of guest bathroom amenities. Rev-PAR pressures and cost savings have put substantial pressure on the price of bathroom amenities. Often the only way manufacturers and suppliers can match the cost expectations of today's accommodation managers and financial controllers is to reduce product quality. The amenities sector is no different to any other market: you get what you pay for!
The quality of guest amenities even in some of our most up-market 4½ to five star hotels is simply appalling. Some products contain formaldehyde-based preservatives, many shampoos and shower gels have pH levels well beyond the skins neutral rate of pH 5.5. Many products are highly alkaline and therefore damaging to the natural moisturising layer of skin and hair. The same goes for dispenser products. We therefore recommend that you try the products yourself before you decide and ask the supplier the obvious questions.
Daily maintenance. This point seems to be often overlooked but could snowball very quickly and develop into a major issue. Apart from the frustration with leaking of cheap dispensers, monitoring the product level can also be a problem. Some dispensers have tiny windows through which staff are expected to read the level of the remaining contents. Ensure your dispenser of choice provides an easy and clear monitoring device because if your guests run out of liquid soap halfway through their shower their feedback will not be cheerful. Finally, you will have to consider if the dispenser has any other maintenance issues such as mechanical parts that are susceptible to wear and tear or large surfaces that can scratch and look untidy after a short period of time.
References. This is a simple check on the overall performance of the dispenser products you consider. Ensure you make inquiries on how long a particular product has been on the market and in which accommodation complexes it is already fitted. Then don't hesitate to call these references and talk to the housekeepers in order to get a professional overall view on your preferred dispenser.
After considering these important points in the comparison between dispenser products, you will find the equation is simple: save cost, reduce room servicing time and protect our environment by reducing waste or stay with the old fashion cake of soap and run the risk of being left behind in the industry and possibly by your guests.
Roland Funk
Swisstrade P/L
