Taking a bath

TRAVD:Travellers are taking note of bathrooms

TRAVD:Bathrooms Pix

By Chris Pritchard

SYDNEY, AAP - Most hotel guests investigate their bathrooms within 10 minutes of checking in.

That's according to a large-scale British survey - but I'd wager Australians are no different.

Unpleasant discoveries include stray human hairs, used soap forgotten by cleaners, other dirtiness - and poor maintenance.

Sloppy maintenance includes cracked mirrors, chipped vanities, stained bathtubs and cigarette burns on surfaces.

I recently stayed in a new hotel with a prominent brown cigarette burn on the white toilet seat. A former guest had parked a cigarette there and forgotten about it.

The hotel - which described itself as "non-smoking" - charged top dollar but hadn't replaced the plastic seat.

Australian roadside motels have lifted their game greatly in recent years. Plastic shower curtains have become an endangered species. Those embedded with grime and mould are even rarer.

Hotel executives say guests wrongly assume far more attention is paid to bedrooms than bathrooms but that this isn't true.

What's more, you're least likely to find an unappealing bathroom in a chain hotel than at an independent property. The reason: chain hotels are often run as franchises and operators fear inspections by owners of the brand (to ensure standards are maintained) as much as some restaurant owners dread health inspectors' visits.

Independent hotel owners sometimes refuse to spend on "non-essential" maintenance - bathrooms fall into this category - particularly if they cater mainly to package tours where profits may be razor-thin.

However, some independents tackle this highly competitive marketplace head-on, insisting standards match or exceed those of the best chain properties.

Travellers remember bad bathrooms, telling travel agents they'll refuse to stay again at hotels where bathrooms fell below expectations.

Hotels are placing increased emphasis on bathrooms as they battle to win and retain custom. But these little rooms are headaches for architects creating properties at the upper end of the market.

"Bathrooms are seen as making rooms feel smaller, darker and boxy," says Peter Hook, spokesman for Accor Asia Pacific, Australia's biggest hotel company with Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis, Formule 1 and All Seasons among its brands.

So, says Hook, designers are becoming more inventive. For instance, at an Accor property in Bangkok a new technique is being tried: a window exposes the bathroom to view, making the bedroom seem bigger. But if bathroom users want privacy, touching a button releases a gas within the glass - rendering it no longer see-through.

Many upscale properties - particularly in resort areas - deal with this issue by having bathrooms shuttered. Shutters are open at check-in - and guests decide whether or not to leave them that way.

South Africa's Protea chain - that country's biggest - has large open-plan bathrooms at several of its top-drawer properties. Only toilets are enclosed. Protea staff says guests like the innovation because it makes their rooms seem larger.

Improvements trickle down through star ratings. "Rain showers (essentially larger shower heads, giving a sensation of standing in the rain) were installed in only our most luxurious five-star properties - but now they're a feature at some Ibis hotels, too," says Accor Asia Pacific's Hook.

When hotels upgrade bathrooms - even in five-stars - they often rip out bathtubs, which hotel managers say are seldom used, and replace them with large shower stalls (sometimes accommodating two sets of showers).

Regular, rain shower and massage shower options are common - with taps or levers used to switch from one to another.

Showers in bathtubs are fast disappearing. "Showers over deep bathtubs are a no-no," says Paulette Cherny, leisure team manager at Melbourne-based Voyager Travel Corporation. "Generally, they don't have handles to assist in climbing in or out and the bottoms can be slippery." One reason for shortcomings, Cherny maintains, is that "most bathrooms are designed by men". So, lighting may be inadequate or mirror positioning won't permit checking the back of a hair-do.

Hair dryers in bathrooms, she continues, "are generally not worth the money spent on them" - but those mounted in bedroom drawers are usually of higher quality.

"Nothing has changed more in hotels over the past century than bathroom expectations," says David Perry, chief executive office and general manager at Melbourne's Hotel Windsor.

But, he adds, it's not just the actual bathroom (where high standards of cleanliness should be taken for granted) that's important - but also the amenities found there.

The Windsor's own research revealed over 70 per cent of guests bring their own shampoo and conditioner if staying two or more nights.

"We asked why," says Perry. "They said they didn't trust brands on offer. Packaging said 'lemongrass' or 'herbal' but this meant nothing. Hotels went out of their way to find inexpensive products. Low cost drove choice - but customers weren't fooled." Consequently, he adds, the Windsor doesn't believe in skimping on toiletries.

Sometimes guests' bathroom gripes can be petty and travel agents agree.

For instance, Linda Brettell, managing director of Sydney's Sanford International Travel, recalls a corporate client asking to switch to another hotel because the end of his toilet paper roll hadn't been satisfactorily folded. And a Japanese businessman wanted to move because his hotel didn't have a Japanese-style electronic toilet. Only one hotel with such a room was available in Sydney - and it was much more expensive. But the traveller happily paid "the difference out of his own pocket".

Bathroom demands vary according to sex, says Brettell. While both men and women insist on cleanliness, "female travellers appreciate plenty of space and a large bathroom mirror".

"For males, powerful shower heads are the most important feature."

Anne Willacy, owner of Perth-based Travel Success, finds holidaymakers seldom inquire about bathrooms before their trips - unless they're going to Bali. Then they ask: "Is the bathroom nice?" In fact, Willacy has even encountered travellers to Bali who "bought bleach to clean bathrooms themselves". However, Sean Skilton, director of Sydney's Travelscene at South West Travel, says while "bathrooms are definitely on holiday travellers' minds" they're "not always the first question they ask". "But scratch the surface and it's there: types of facilities (shower over bath, spa or disabled) or something more specific." Experiences can differ greatly, Skilton acknowledges.

"I was staying in one of the top hotels in Hong Kong and had the very unpleasant experience of sewage leaking into the bathroom. Conversely, staying in Auckland, I was treated to a presidential suite with a bathroom larger than most hotel rooms."

A warning to cruise passengers from Skilton: "We find they frequently complain about the size of their bathrooms."

My own most bizarre memory concerns a hotel in Busan, South Korea. I noticed water dripping down the mirror from the ceiling. A maintenance man arrived swiftly and removed a ceiling panel. Suddenly, a torrent swept my toiletries from bathroom to hallway.

The employee, looking as if he'd been dunked in a swimming pool, spluttered: "Burst pipe - must change room."