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The Mystery of the Missing Hotel Toothpaste (2013)

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Re: The Mystery of the Missing Hotel Toothpaste (2013)

#52
post #14
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 remov…

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?

Re: The Mystery of the Missing Hotel Toothpaste (2013)

#53

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 hot…

> 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…

I feel like an alien after reading your comment. I will gladly use any soap, shampoo, or toothpaste as long as it's free.

I have never met someone as picky as you say you are with your toothpaste. I don't think you're the norm in any way.

Re: The Mystery of the Missing Hotel Toothpaste (2013)

#54
post #51

Does he realize he can just ask for toothpaste at the front desk? I've never been refused a free tube if I just asked for it.

Yes, he does. He even mentions it more than once in the article.

Ok, well then I'm not going to read an article that long that can be answered in a single sentence.

Re: The Mystery of the Missing Hotel Toothpaste (2013)

#55
> 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.

Re: The Mystery of the Missing Hotel Toothpaste (2013)

#56
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, he does. He even mentions it more than once in the article.

Ok, well then I'm not going to read an article that long that can be answered in a single sentence.

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".

Re: The Mystery of the Missing Hotel Toothpaste (2013)

#57
post #55

> 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 Ame…

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.

Re: The Mystery of the Missing Hotel Toothpaste (2013)

#58
post #55

> 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 Ame…

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.

Re: The Mystery of the Missing Hotel Toothpaste (2013)

#59
> “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?

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2012/06/ftc-f...

So I wouldn't expect them to understand anything that customers actually think.

Re: The Mystery of the Missing Hotel Toothpaste (2013)

#60

A thousand times amen to this. 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. This can't be that unusual a scenario... can it?

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.

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.
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