Hotel Dispenser Systems

Hotel Chatter: To dispense or not to dispense? We're talking about hotel toiletry dispensers, that is. We (and a few of our readers) have said before that dispensers are cool so long as there are some good products in them. Fortunately, if you are visiting these hotels along the West Coast, you'll be encountering some good "tropical" stuff from Tommy Bahama.

The Acqua Hotel, Hotel FIVE, The Maxwell Hotel, University Inn, and Watertown Hotel have all added gallon dispensers of Tommy Bahama toiletries to their guestrooms in an effort to be eco-conscious. But Kurt Helmke, the general manager of the Acqua Hotel, outside of Marin in California, knew that not any old brand would work in the dispenser.

A lot of hotels have started moving to dispenser systems, but the Tommy Bahama products make us stand out.

Tommy's amenity line, distributed by Pineapple Hospitality, includes the Exotic Coral Shampoo, Protective Conditioner, Liquid Soap, Hand and Body Lotion and Bath and Body Gel. The amenities are all natural, have never been tested on animals and exude a clean, fresh aroma. No Hawaiian shirts needed!

1.8 Billion Reasons Why Hotels Love Add-On Fees

Hotel Fitness Center

MSNBC: If you’re staying at a hotel or resort in the coming months, Bjorn Hanson has a little advice:

“Before you buy, use or do anything, ask if there’s a fee or charge involved,” said Hanson, who studies the lodging industry as dean of the Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management at New York University.

Why? Because according to Hanson’s research, U.S. hotels will take in an estimated $1.8 billion in add-on fees and surcharges this year. That’s a small (6 percent) increase from last year — due mostly to increases in occupancy, he says — but up a whopping 50 percent from the $1.2 billion they collected in 2000.

“They’ve become institutionalized as a revenue source for many hotels,” Hanson told msnbc.com. “They’re becoming more widely practiced and more guests are being surprised by them.”

Among those surprises:

• Baggage-holding fees: Checking out at noon but not flying home until 6 p.m.? While some hotels will still store your luggage for free, more are charging for the service. “They’re charging $1 to $3.50 per bag,” said Hanson. “That’s in addition to the expectation of a gratuity.”

• Minibar-restocking fees: According to Hanson, more hotels are charging a fee of $2.95 to $9.95 to restock minibars if even a single item has been removed. If you can’t resist the urge, “maybe you should buy more items to amortize the expense,” he said.

• Resort fees: These fees, which typically cover bottled water, use of the in-room safe, access to the fitness center, etc., can run between $8 and $40 per day. Worse yet, they’re generally mandatory, which means you’re charged whether you use the amenities and services or not.

“People hate resort fees more than anything,” said Anthony Curtis, who monitors the Las Vegas lodging scene as president of LasVegasAdvisor.com, an online newsletter. “We try to make the point that they can be reasonable if it’s something most people would use anyway, like Internet access, but people just don’t buy it.

“Our readers tell us it feels like a bait and switch,” said Curtis. “They’d rather see a higher rate that’s all-inclusive.”

Alas, the evidence suggests that travelers are more likely to see those higher rates but no decreases in add-on fees and charges.

“As hotel occupancy recovers, it will provide a sense of confidence on the part of hotel executives to implement more fees and increase the dollar amount of existing fees,” said Hanson. “Larger increases are ahead.”

Hotels Adding More Service Fees

Chicago Tribune: Thinking of taking a dip in the pool while on vacation? Even if you choose not to, you could get charged $40 just for having the option.

Following in the footsteps of the airlines, hotels are piling on a slew of hidden fees for services that used to be free. Now guests are getting charged for everything from access to a gym (or a pool), to early check-ins or departures to holding your luggage.

All of those fees really add up. Total fees and surcharges collected by hotels in the U.S. are projected to hit a record $1.8 billion this year, up 80 percent from a decade ago, according to a recent study by Bjorn Hanson, dean of New York University's Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management.

"People that travel once or twice a year are often surprised [ by hotel fees ] ," he said.

Guests checking into the Quality Inn & Suites in Surprise, Ariz., for example, probably wouldn't expect to see a $1.50 "Safe Warranty" fee for use of the safe already in the room. The hotel introduced that fee this summer, according to the general manager of the property.

Stashing your bags for a few hours after checking out of the Hilton in New York will cost $3.50 -- that's what's called the "luggage holding fee." Hungry? Think twice about grabbing a bag of pretzels from the minibar. Mini-bar restocking fees can run up to $10 at hotels like the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas, in addition to the hefty price of the snack.

And before you pull out your wallet to provide a tip to the bellhop for bringing up your bags or to housekeeping for making your bed, most spots have already charged you a generous gratuity for their service, just like they have done for years with room service.

It's also increasingly common to pay $10 to $20 per day for Wi-Fi access, as well as pay a fee for making local calls or even receiving a fax. And you can expect to pony up anywhere from $15 to $50 a night if you want to bring a pet (that is, if the hotel allows pets) and $10 or more a night for a rollaway bed.

That's on top of a host of other fees that have become standard, like reservation cancellation fees, which can be as much as the room rate, or a resort amenity fee, which can add a significant amount to your daily tab. At the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Niguel, Calif. guests are charged $60 a night for the privilege of using the gym and parking on the premises.

The pricier the hotel, often the heftier the fees, said Steven Mogck, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Midscale Brands by Carlson Hotels.

For hotels, all those charges add up to nearly pure profit, Hanson said. "Most have incremental profitability of 80 percent to 90 percent or more," he said.

The "surcharging fad" took off after Sept. 11 and got worse throughout the recession as Americans reeled in their travel plans and hotels saw a sharp decline in revenue, explained Mogck. In addition, the rising price of food and fuel has put added pressure on most hotels' bottom line.

Online price comparison sites haven't helped either, said Chris McGinnis, Best Western's business travel editor. "The reason fees have gone up is because of the ability to compare rates," he said. "You always want to have the lowest rate available online, so you won't include certain things like parking, Wi-Fi or breakfast. The airlines have done the same thing."

But unlike the airlines, hotel fees and surcharges are often harder for travelers to keep track of because they often vary hotel, not by brand, said Hanson.

To avoid getting taken for a ride, look for hotels that include the amenities you care about, whether that's breakfast, high-speed Internet or access to the gym, as part of the nightly rate, said Mogck.

If it's unclear, Hanson suggests calling ahead to ask about what kind of charges could be tacked on to your room. Then, make a note of the reservationist's claim and confirm again at checkout.

JetBlue Announces 'Concierge on Call'

Jaunted: Browsing winter vacation deals yet? Drooling over JetBlue Getaways offers like $359 per person for a 4-day escape to St. Lucia? Then you'll need to know that, if you go through with booking that trip, you have access to JetBlue's newest feature: a Concierge On Call.

The Concierge On Call service is super new (just announced yesterday), super rare (this from a lost-cost carrier?!), and super limited (only for JetBlue Getaways travelers). After booking a package deal with JetBlue, you'll receive the Concierge On Call contact phone number. Use it before and all throughout your trip to any of JetBlue's cities—even international. The service itself is free, but of course anything you book or arrange through it, you'll be paying for.

So what exactly can the JetBlue Concierge do?

According to the official FAQ...

Concierges can offer travel services, business services, and specialty services and answer questions for nearly anything related to your trip. Some examples are location of airports and mass transportation; ATM locations; weather forecasts; local customs & duty requirements; current exchange rates; local visa, and passport requirements; health club referrals and reservations; gift basket delivery arrangements; computer rental referrals and arrangements; messenger service referrals and arrangements; and more.

Not bad, not bad! What they cannot do is a far shorter list with some "duh" things like a JetBlue Concierge can't do anything illegal/unethical for you, run your errands, plan your wedding or come pick you up from the airport. It remains to be seen whether or not a JetBlue Concierge can book you tables at the restaurants within their Terminal 5 at JFK.

As usual when a new service launches, there's a little celebration bonus for you. If you book a Getaway before October 31, 2011 and travel before April 30, 2012, use promo code GET50 for $50 off.

The Newest Perk for Business Travelers: Club Lounges

Club Lounge at the Sheraton Baltimore City Center

CNN: Move over, room upgrades. There's a new hotel perk in town, and it might be worth more to business travelers than a bigger bed.

"Like many airlines, hotels such as InterContinental and Hyatt are now opening exclusive hotel club lounges to entice travelers to book with them," says Clem Bason, president of travel website company the Hotwire Group.

Club, concierge or executive lounges, which typically require upgraded room bookings or frequent guest program membership, can be a lifesaver for busy business travelers. Perks include being able to take a shower before the room is ready, meeting privately with a client or enjoying free meals, concierge services and cocktails in a private setting.

The number of lounges is growing, especially among high-end hotels. About 18 percent of more than 8,500 hotels at all levels surveyed last year by the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Foundation have a club floor or lounge. That's up from 10 percent in 2004. Of those hotels, 89 percent of them were classified as luxury or upper upscale.

While club lounges been around for decades, they have become a renovation priority for hotels looking to keep room occupancy high and secure customer loyalty during the recession, says Dr. Lalia Rach, a board member of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International.

The Sheraton hotel chain invested more than $100 million to upgrade 120 club lounges around the world after Starwood Preferred Guest members, which make up half of Sheraton bookings, rated them as one of the top two benefits of staying there. The Sheraton Club experience is available to all Starwood program members or with a room upgrade.

Lounges are also a way for a hotel to reinforce its brand via décor, ambiance, convenience, comfort and amenities. They're also not limited to business travelers: families and leisure travelers are also catching on, though some hotels cater more to business needs than others. Hotel lounges are generally "less stuffy," offer more luxurious services and are more comfortable than they used to be.

"We like to live our lives in public. The club lounge is becoming more of a den," Rach says.

Lounge amenities vary widely by hotel brand, and there are several ways to access them. Smaller hotel chains and independent hotels often offer free access for booking higher end suites, while many larger hotel chains make it a frequent guest perk and may or may not charge a daily fee for the service.

For example, travelers gain free access to the club lounge at London's new St. Ermin's Hotel -- one of four hotels owned by Amerimar Enterprises -- by booking king suites.

"Any guest who books the appropriate level room and requires privacy for a meeting can utilize the lounge. It's geared toward the business traveler but open to anyone based on booking. All guests who have access are told about it in advance," says Douglas McHugh, general manager of St. Ermin's. Its club lounge includes a full bathroom with shower, meeting room with audio/visual equipment, tables, to-go coffee and gourmet hors d'oeuvres.

Business travelers should inquire about club lounge requirements and amenities at the time of booking, says Sandi Daniel, CEO of the Fire Light Group, which coordinates incentive packages for business travelers. Ask whether it is quiet, has reliable Wi-Fi and morning newspapers, and quality to-go items. Lounges that open early and stay open late are most convenient for business travelers, Rach says.

Mid-range chains like Hyatt, Marriott, Sheraton and Starwood typically include continental breakfasts, hors d'oeuvres, non-alcoholic beverages, computer use and private concierge attendants, Daniel says.

"These lounges are a great place to wind down without hanging out in a large hotel lobby bar area where it can be noisy, and also a bit of a singles scene sometimes," Daniel says. "If you just want to catch up on e-mail, relax, maybe have a snack and a cocktail, it has a more homey feel, which is often so much nicer then locking yourself up in your hotel room and ordering room service."

Luxury chains like the Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Fairmont and St. Regis take it one step further, often offering complimentary full breakfasts, heavy hors d'oeuvres, cordials, desserts, cocktails, champagne and private concierge services.

"For light eaters, it is enough food to get by without having to go out somewhere and dine alone in a restaurant or order room service," Daniel says. "As a woman who has traveled in business for over 30 years, I find these clubs to be a godsend for many reasons. They are often only accessible with your room key, which makes safer travel."

The hotel industry is starting to understand that business travelers want soothing, exclusive and convenient experiences, Rach says, but there's still work to be done across the board. She hopes other hotels will follow the chains that have done club lounges well.

"Our industry has not put the money into renovation. It's time for the industry to refresh itself."

"Hello Front Desk, Send Up a Yoga Mat"

Reuters: Hotel chains are delivering everything from yoga videos to recumbent bicycles to guests who prefer to work out their jet lag, or shape up for that business meeting, in the privacy of their rooms.

"Probably fitness equipment is the biggest request we get from guests," said Vivian A. Deuschl of the The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. "It's the biggest preoccupation of business travelers besides getting their work done, so we try to make fitness available on any basis they ask for."

In-room fitness options aren't limited to Pilates DVDs and yoga mats, although both are in high demand at most of the company's 78 hotels worldwide, according to Deuschl. "We do folding treadmills and folding recumbent bikes," she explained. "The only things we can't bring to the rooms are heavy weights."

She said women business travelers are particularly keen on exercising their in-room options. "Just as a lot of women don't like to sit by themselves in a restaurant, a lot of them don't want to work out in a room full of strangers," she said.

Celebrities also tend to prefer their rooms to fitness facilities open to a curious public. Gym shoes with hygienic, disposable insoles, gym clothes and 6 a.m. staff-led jogs are among the amenities considered standard at most luxury hotels, Deuschl said. You can even request a personal trainer if you call ahead.

The Kimpton chain of boutique hotels has provided guests in-room 24-hour yoga channel classes and a basket of yoga gear since 2003, according to president and COO Niki Leondakis. Pilates and meditation classes followed. Hula hoops and jump ropes can be had for the asking. Leondakis believes the modern business traveler's focus on wellness coincides with the aging of the baby boomers.

"Twenty years ago it was wine, dine and work, not about maintaining a healthy lifestyle on the road," she said. "People today are looking at work/life balance in a more integrated way." She said while yoga draws mainly women, both sexes are drawn to hotel-sponsored group runs and bicycle rentals.

Hoyt Harper, of Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, spearheaded Sheraton Fitness, the chain's $120 million initiative to expand both in-room and gym facilities, after a guest survey revealed increased demand. "Sixty-two percent of our guests told us they were very interested in staying fit on the road," Harper said.

Sheraton's workout-in-a-bag includes exercise cards, mats, and resistance bands. Harper said the foam rollers, which afford a mini-massage, are among the most popular items. But he said most guests prefer to use Sheraton's revamped fitness centers. "Hotel facilities were small and cramped and they weren't well stocked," he said. "Our facility is larger, brighter, fresher," he said.

Deuschl thinks the business traveler's obsession with staying fit on the road reflects the travails of modern travel. "If you're coming off an 18-hour trip to China, you feel the need to be pampered," she said. "If you're a frequent guest and you ask for a treadmill, after two or three times it will be in your room without having to ask."

Are Hotels Dumping Small Toiletry Bottles?

USA Today: Hotels are starting to replace mini plastic toiletry bottles with larger bottles as consumers demand greener options, and it's a trend that will likely grow.

I found regular-sized shampoo, conditioner and lotion bottles during my stay at the luxury Greenwich hotel in New York City earlier this summer. Then, while in Los Angeles I spotted them at both the SLS and Avalon hotels. Back in March, I found pump bottles at the business-traveler-oriented Mint Hotel Tower of London, but that hotel also included some of the old-fashioned bottles.

"As time goes on, I think more and more hotels are going to switch over," says veteran hotelier Steve Halliday, who last month opened the Rosewood Hotel Georgia in Vancouver with full-sized toiletries.

What's driving the switch? And how much will you pay if you take the larger-sized toiletries home?

At Halliday's hotel, guest bathrooms feature hefty, acrylic pump bottles of shampoo and other products.

"They're safe, they're clean," he tells me. "They look good. It's almost emulating what you would have in your home."

When guests leave, the pump bottles are refilled so nothing is thrown out, reducing the hotel's waste. Most importantly, guests like them, Halliday says. In terms of direct costs, the large-bottle system's about the same as the cost of supplying bathrooms with mini-bottles, he says. If someone takes a bottle home with them, they should pay $25, but it's not always enforced - another trend among most (but not all) of these hotels.

Other hotels that shun the traditional, tiny plastic toiletry bottles:

SLS Hotel Beverly Hills: This hotel - part of Starwood's Luxury Collection - provides guests with jumbo plastic bottles with ordinary snap-open tops. Called "Lotions and Potions," they're made with organic ingredients. The hotel even provides a gentle face wash. The products are available for sale for $20 per bottle - which you might discover on your bill if you take them home with you. There is no sign in the bathroom stating the price, although the bottles are for sale in other parts of the hotel. Hotel spokesman Robbie McKay tells me that guests don't take them that often. My guess: The bottles are too big to fit in a suitcase and far too big to pass through airport security.

Most Viceroy Hotels: The recently upgraded retro-chic Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills provides guests with acrylic pump bottles containing Neil George products. Unlike other hotels I visited, the Avalon's bottles feature a note that says you'll pay $65 if you take it home. The Avalon's part of the small Viceroy chain, which emphasizes green operations and avoids the tiny plastic bottles at most of its properties.

Other Rosewood Hotels: Hotel Georgia's sister hotels such as Jumby Bay in Antigua, Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas and the Carlyle in Manhattan also provide guests with larger-sized toiletries, Halliday says.

Downside?

Could there possibly be a downside to replacing plastic bottles that are used once with heftier bottles that don't have to be trashed after one use?

Well, yes, for some travelers.

I've heard more than one person say they would be concerned about using soap and lotions provided in bottles that anyone could have opened.

It's not clear, however, how widespread this concern is among travelers.

The Most Important Factor in Hotel Selection

USA Today: When it comes to choosing a hotel, which of the following is most important to you: Location? Cleanliness? Security? Rate?

Only one answer garnered more than 40% of the vote in a new survey of 1,000 people, and that is...

Cleanliness.

The poll's full results:

Cleanliness 43%
Price 23%
Location 19%
Security 11%

The rest of the votes went to "I don't know," "Other" and "None of the above."

Tsk-tsk from a risk-averse insurer. The results don't go over so well with Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, the property and casualty insurance giant that sponsored the June survey.

"Travelers should take safety precautions more seriously, and travel security should be higher on their checklist than cleanliness," said Jim Villa, a senior vice president and North American manager for Chubb's accident and health business. "It seems that more people are concerned about housekeeping than security."

On that note, just think about ESPN's Erin Andrews, who was once stalked and filmed by a predator who's now in prison.

Hotels Seek Amenities that Guests Like to Swipe

Wall Street Journal: Cheryl Cortez tells people to stay at the W chain of hotels. It isn't the room décor or the customer service, it's the Bliss soaps, shampoo and lotion.

"I swiped all six items," says Ms. Cortez, 37, a corporate roadshow marketing specialist in Edina, Minn., of the Bliss brand bath products the hotel provides. "I remember telling the guys at my breakfast table they should take it all and give it to their girlfriend, or wife, or me," she says of a recent stay at the W in New Orleans. "The bath products are so good."

Travel-sized beauty and grooming products at hotels are something many travelers view as pleasantly scented parting gifts. They are also the result of global marketing and licensing partnerships that marry the beauty industry to the hospitality business. And in a world where travelers are restricted to three-ounce liquid carry-ons on airplanes, bath products in hotel rooms are gaining attention.

Hilton Hotels and Resorts announced in May it had commissioned six new products from the Peter Thomas Roth cosmetics brand for use in all 540 hotels in 78 countries worldwide. Hilton Hotels and Resorts ended its relationship with its previous beauty partner of four years, Crabtree & Evelyn.Hilton Hotels Corp.'s mid-market brands—Embassy Suites and Doubletree—now carry Crabtree & Evelyn.

These marriages and divorces are the result of agreements between hotels and hospitality supply companies, which frequently license beauty brands' names and formulations, then manufacture and sell the amenities directly to hotels. "After about five years, some hotels want a change to a brand that is hot, new, trendy, current—which was one of the requirements for Hilton," said Teri Unsworth, the account supervisor at Sysco Guest Supply who paired Hilton to Roth after an 18-month search process that began with 50 beauty brands.

"We are always looking for retail brands that are appropriate for our different customers," said Ms. Unsworth. Hotels, suppliers and beauty brands work together to either create a new line of products or choose an appropriate beauty pairing for each hotel.

Hilton found Peter Thomas Roth appealing because it held valuable licenses in the Far East, where some countries, such as Japan, regulate beauty products as health-care items and hold them to different standards of safety.

Together, the companies worked to create the Mega-Rich line, tailoring items for a global and business-oriented hotel. The process included fine-tuning details such as ensuring a lotion could be quickly absorbed—the better for nongreasy boardroom handshakes. Hilton has a six-month exclusive agreement to use Mega-Rich in rooms and on its online shop before Peter Thomas Roth sells it at other retail outlets.

While Peter Thomas Roth products will be distributed to more than 20 million guests worldwide each year, the New York-based beauty company Peter Thomas Roth Labs LLC won't see big profits on the deal.

Hotel amenities can be a powerful marketing tool, says Amy Nelson-Bennett, CEO of Molton Brown, the UK-based cosmetics company owned by Japan's KAO Corp. Molton Brown began offering its products in boutique hotels in 1985. Its hotel program now accounts for 25% of its overall sales, though profit margins are narrower than in other segments.

Hilton says changing beauty brands didn't add to its costs which it declines to disclose.

A hotel will pay more to have a luxury brand such as Ferragamo, Hermés, Bulgari and Asprey, all of which provide guest products to hotels. The cost of these bath products can run higher, in the range of 60 cents to 80 cents per bottle, says Hotel Amenities, which distributes Ferragamo.

Retail beauty products are set to make the jump from hotel room sink to the hotel's spa. Peter Thomas Roth and Hilton announced Tuesday they would place products in Hilton's new eforea spas.

At Ritz Carlton, products in most bathrooms bear Ritz Carlton's own label, but Bulgari products are in premium Club Floors and suites. "In the future, the bathroom amenities should link to the spa. We are moving in that direction, definitely," says Sharilyn Abbajay, vice president, Global Spa, Retail & Fitness for Marriott International.

"There was a time when it was fashionable to take a white-labeled product and put your [hotel] logo on it and call that quality," says Andrew Flack, vice president, Global Brand Marketing, Hilton Hotels and Resorts. "Hilton once had its own brand of wine, but if I sent you a couple of cases of Hilton wine, you wouldn't be very excited."

Man Recycles Hotel Soap to Save Lives

The Denver Channel: That bar of soap you used once or twice during your last hotel stay might now be helping poor children fight disease.

Derreck Kayongo and his Atlanta-based Global Soap Project collect used hotel soap from across the United States. Instead of ending up in landfills, the soaps are cleaned and reprocessed for shipment to impoverished nations such as Haiti, Uganda, Kenya and Swaziland.

"I was shocked just to know how much (soap) at the end of the day was thrown away," Kayongo said. Each year, hundreds of millions of soap bars are discarded in North America alone. "Are we really throwing away that much soap at the expense of other people who don't have anything? It just doesn't sound right.”

Kayongo, a Uganda native, thought of the idea in the early 1990s, when he first arrived to the U.S. and stayed at a hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He noticed that his bathroom was replenished with new soap bars every day, even though they were only slightly used. "I tried to return the new soap to the concierge since I thought they were charging me for it," Kayongo said. "When I was told it was just hotel policy to provide new soap every day, I couldn't believe it."

Kayongo called his father -- a former soap maker in Uganda -- and shared the experience.

"My dad said people in America can afford to throw it away. But I just started to think, 'What if we took some of this soap and recycled it, made brand new soap from it and then sent it home to people who couldn't afford soap?' "

For Kayongo, collecting soap is "a first line of defense" mission to combat child-mortality around the world. Each year, more than 2 million children die from diarrheal illness -- the approximate population of San Antonio, Texas. According to the World Health Organization, these deaths occur almost exclusively among toddlers living in low-income countries.

"The issue is not the availability of soap. The issue is cost," Kayongo said. "Make $1 a day, and soap costs 25 cents. I'm not a good mathematician, but I'm telling you I'm not going to spend that 25 cents on a bar of soap. I'm going to buy sugar. I'm going to buy medicine. I'm going to do all the things I think are keeping me alive.

"When you fall sick because you didn't wash up your hands, it's more expensive to go to the hospital to get treated. And that's where the problem begins and people end up dying." Kayongo, 41, is familiar with the stress that poverty and displacement can create. Almost 30 years ago, he fled Uganda with his parents because of the mass torture and killings by former Ugandan military dictator Idi Amin, he said.

Witnessing the devastation of his homeland shaped Kayongo's mission and still haunts him today. "It's a long-term grieving process that sort of never ends," he said. "As a child coming from school, passing dead bodies for 10 solid years -- 'It's not cool,' as my son would put it. It's not good. A lot of my friends were orphaned, and I was lucky."

Kayongo and his parents fled to Kenya, where he would visit friends and family in refugee camps and struggle to survive -- sometimes without basic necessities. "We lost everything," Kayongo said. "We didn't live in the camps, but we sacrificed a lot. The people worse off lived in the camps. Soap was so hard to come by, even completely nonexistent sometimes. People were getting so sick simply because they couldn't wash their hands."

Kayongo transitioned from the tough life of a refugee to become a college graduate, a U.S. citizen and a field coordinator for CARE International, a private humanitarian aid organization. But he has not forgotten his roots -- or the fact that many refugees in Africa continue to lack access to basic sanitation.

"As a new immigrant and a new citizen to this country, I feel very blessed to be here," he said. "But it's important, as Africans living in the Diaspora, that we don't forget what we can do to help people back at home. It's not good enough for us to complain about what other people aren't doing for us. It's important that we all ban together, think of an idea and pursue it." With the support of his wife, local friends and Atlanta-based hotels, Kayongo began his Global Soap Project in 2009.

So far, 300 hotels nationwide have joined the collection effort, generating 100 tons of soap. Some participating hotels even donate high-end soaps such as Bvlgari, which retails up to $27 for a single bar. Volunteers across the U.S. collect the hotel soaps and ship them to the group's warehouse in Atlanta. On Saturdays, Atlanta volunteers assemble there to clean, reprocess and package the bars.

"We do not mix the soaps because they come with different pH systems, different characters, smells and colors," Kayongo said. "We sanitize them first, then heat them at very high temperatures, chill them and cut them into final bars. It's a very simple process, but a lot of work."

A batch of soap bars is only released for shipment once one of its samples has been tested for pathogens and deemed safe by a third-party laboratory. The Global Soap Project then works with partner organizations to ship and distribute the soap directly to people who need it.

To date, the Global Soap Project has provided more than 100,000 bars of soap for communities in nine countries. Kenya Relief is one organization that has benefited. Last summer, Kayongo personally delivered 5,000 bars of soap to Kenya Relief's Brittney's Home of Grace orphanage.

"When we were distributing the soap, I could sense that there was a lot of excitement, joy, a lot of happiness," said Kayongo, whose work was recently recognized by the Atlanta City Council, which declared May 15 as Global Soap Project Day in Atlanta. "It's a reminder again of that sense of decency. They have (someone) who knows about their situation, and is willing to come and visit them ... to come and say, 'We are sorry ... We're here to help.' "

Want to get involved? Check out the Global Soap Project website at www.globalsoap.org and see how to help.

Swedish Hotel Offers Love Coach

Venus Room at the VenusGarden Hotel

Hotel Chatter: Hotels are not ones to shy away from sex what with all the sex kits we've seen in the minibars in the past years, but this hotel goes far above and beyond a black box full of condoms, lube and massage oil and even the porn offerings on the TV.

The Venusgarden Hotel near Malmo, Sweden offers a professional orgasm coach on staff. Actually the coach is Ylva Franzén, the proprietor of the three-bedroom farmhouse as well as the author of a best-selling book Orgasmera Mera (Orgasming More).

Each of the three "Rooms of Love" are sensually-named--Kamasutra, Tao, and Venus, and all feature "feathers, massage oils, perfumed candles, erotic illustrations, and a basket of love toys, along with a copy of Franzén’s book", of course.

But that's not all. Up in the Tao room (in the attic) there's a big round bed and a mirror on the ceiling to further get you in the mood. The Venus room promises a "magic pill" for him (Viagra?) and a swing above the bed. But the Kamasutra room might be where you want to spend your stay as the canopy bed in the center of the room is a place where "you can relax and make love for three days like the Indian gods." And don't forget, Franzén is on call to help you should any issues, um, arise.

Hmm...the description sounds more tantalizing than the website pictures which look like a bed and breakfast that's been heavily decorated with Pier 1 accents.

But should you be in the mood for being in the mood, a one-night stay here is just 1500 Swedish Krona (or about $237USD.) Free breakfast, linens and towels are included. Is it wrong to hope they just give out new linens to every guest?

Hotel Mini-Bars Go Local

USA Today: Forget Pringles chips and Snickers bars. Hotels are increasingly replacing mainstream candy, chips, beverages and other mini-bar treats with locally made indulgences.

The 400-room Omni Berkshire hotel, for example, recently decided to replace Pringles in its guest-room mini-bars with chips made on Long Island, the hotel's chief, Peter Strebl, told me. His team has also been meeting with chocolate producers from Long Island and Brooklyn.

"We're going to replace M&Ms with a local chocolate provider," he said.

The go-local trend has been in place at boutique hotels for years, but it's starting to take hold among mainstream chains such as Omni, Hyatt and others - especially in New York. "The world is moving towards more local and organic," Strebl told me.

The push comes as travelers increasingly demand authentic experiences - whether art, soda, beer or snacks - during their hectic travels and hotels eagerly oblige so they can stand out over rivals. Since its opening last July, the Andaz Fifth Avenue - one of Hyatt's upscale boutique hotels - stocked its mini-bars with locally made items such as North Fork Chips and locally made apple cider.

The Hotel Williamsburg, a boutique hotel set to open next month in Brooklyn, N.Y., plans to play up its location throughout the hotel - including in its mini-bars. Expect to find the increasingly ubiquitous North Fork chips, as well as other locally made goodies: Brooklyn Hard Candy, a Malin+Goetz hemp candle, Brooklyn Brewery beer and Hudson single malt whiskey.

At the edgy Maritime Hotel in Chelsea, guests can grab a bag of Martin's Pretzels, a a small New York brand sold just a few blocks away at the Union Square Greenmarket. The Maritime is one of the uber-chic hotels from hotelier Sean McPherson, who's also behind the celeb-filled Bowery, Park and Waverly hotels in New York City.

Not every hotel chain is shunning Pringles, M&Ms and other popular brands. When I stayed at the Hard Rock San Diego, for example, I had my pick of Pop-Tarts, Kit-Kats, Junior Mints and Oreos. (The hotel is at the entrance to San Diego's fun, club-filled Gaslamp Quarter, where people tend to party into the night and come home in the mood to snack.)

Given the broad love affair with Pringles and other standard snacks, I asked Strebl if he thinks the move is a risky one. He said no. "Our feeling is that maybe it will pique peoples' interest. If you see North Fork chips that are organic and have less fat in them, we think people will be more apt to buy," he said.

Miami Hotels Offer Amenity On Wheels

Miami Herald: Mouthwash. Comfy robe. Sewing kit. BMW?

Hotels increasingly are offering a new amenity: access to luxury cars.  The Ritz-Carlton in Key Biscayne has a fleet of new BMWs available for guests to test-drive for up to three hours through early June. Fairmont Turnberry Isle in Aventura shuttles VIPs in a Jaguar XJL. Miami’s Epic Hotel has hosted special events showcasing exotic roadsters including Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

“When we put a Jaguar out front, it’s subliminal advertising to a degree, because it’s sitting right there for all our members and all our guests to see every day,” said David Feder, managing director of Fairmont Turnberry Isle. The shiny speed machines look good parked in front of the lobby, sure, but they’re also a sales pitch from auto dealers and manufacturers to well-heeled (but hopefully not lead-footed) guests.

“It’s product placement both ways,” said Chekitan Dev, a professor of marketing and brand management at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. “Car companies want to get in front of these people because they have money to spend. The hotel is also trying to place its product in front of the car.”

Stacy Morris, marketing communications manager for BMW of North America, calls the six-year partnership between Ritz-Carlton and BMW a “perfect brand fit.” The tour arrived in Key Biscayne last year.

BMW assumes all liability and has staffers on hand to gas the cars up, keep them in good shape and show drivers how to use their features. Test drivers must have a valid license, be at least 21 and be a guest of the hotel.

Hotel general manager Derek Flint said there were no mishaps last year aside from a couple of speeding stops and one man who ran out of gas. While the promotion likely doesn’t drive many people to book rooms at the hotel, he said, the benefit comes from enhanced guest satisfaction. “The feedback is great,” he said. “And we’re connected to that.”

In car-crazed Miami and its environs, the relationship between cars and hotels stretches back decades. During David Kurland’s tenure running the old Grand Bay Hotel in Coconut Grove in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the hotel accepted a Porsche 911 to keep out front.At the St. Regis Bahia Beach in Puerto Rico, where he works now as general manager, a Bentley Mulsanne (base price: $285,000) graces the entrance.

“People associate what sits out front with what goes on inside,” Kurland said. “When you go to hotels like the Shore Club, the Delano, you’re always going to see parked out front — and it’s not by chance — the Ferraris, the Lamborghinis, the Porsches.”

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The Amenity Travelers Want Most

New York Times: In the lavish days before the recession, there was an amenities arms race in the hospitality industry, as hotel chains replaced dated bedspreads with down comforters and duvet covers, mounted flat-screen TVs in all their rooms and competed to offer fancy toiletries and must-have accessories like iPod docking stations.

But with budgets tight, hotels are making more strategic investments, focusing on reliable Internet access, better lighting and more appealing dining options — an approach that may turn out to be a better fit with business travelers’ priorities.

“It comes down to pretty simple stuff for business travelers,” said Adam Weissenberg, leader of the hospitality and leisure practice at Deloitte & Touche. “A lot of them want a comfortable bed, good lighting, a desk where you can actually do work and high-speed Internet access. Outlets you can plug into are also really important.”

That’s not to say that concierges bearing iPads don’t contribute to a hotel’s cool factor. It’s just that travelers arriving after a late flight or a long day are more focused on being able to recharge their own electronics.

“Most travelers, when they’ve been surveyed, don’t really care much about the flat-screen TV,” Mr. Weissenberg said.

John Wolf, a spokesman for Marriott, said that consumer fickleness about technology trends is one reason the company hasn’t rushed out to buy 3-D HDTVs for guestrooms. Instead, Marriott is investing in upgrades to help manage Internet bandwidth at its hotels, overhauling breakfast buffets and literally rearranging the furniture in guestrooms.

“People want natural light — natural light is huge,” Mr. Wolf said. “At the Residence Inn, we’re putting the desk right in front of the window.”

Marriott has revamped the breakfast offerings at its Residence Inn and Fairfield Inn & Suites brands to include more hot items like a ham, egg and cheddar quiche and healthier options like oatmeal and fresh fruit, which Mr. Wolf said guests like to see as available, even if they choose a muffin or breakfast burrito instead. Last year, Hilton Hotels added waffle makers to the breakfast buffet at its Hampton hotels.

Giving business travelers food they can eat on the run is another growing trend. Hyatt Place offers a “Grab ‘N Go” case stocked with sandwiches and salads, and the Market in the renovated lobby of the Grand Hyatt New York offers food and snacks from local purveyors around the clock.

Mr. Weissenberg said hotels are also responding to travelers’ desire to maintain some type of exercise routine away from home.

To help those who wrestle with limited luggage space, Westin Hotels & Resorts has partnered with New Balance to lend guests workout gear, including shoes with new socks and disposable insoles. The complimentary program is available at 10 properties, but will be expanded to other hotels this year.

Sheraton Hotels teamed up with Core Performance to develop 30-minute workouts accessible through the hotel’s video-on-demand system. Sheraton also offers a workout mat, stretch band and other equipment for an in-room workout.

But for all the focus on food and fitness, Mark Johnson, founder of HotelChatter.com, said feedback from the site’s readers indicated that the No. 1 amenity travelers were clamoring for “is power strips and plugs.” “Guests are bringing more and more hardware to the hotel room, and they’re looking to juice it up.”

Although HotelChatter declared “plug panels” — strips of outlets on desktops — the must-have amenity of 2009, travelers’ electrical needs continue to increase.

More innovative amenities HotelChatter has spotted include in-mirror televisions in the bathrooms of every guest room at the Charles Hotel in Boston, “bed dials” that adjust the mattress pressure at Hilton Garden Inn hotels and Mac Mini computers at Joie de Vivre’s Citizen Hotel in Sacramento, which allow guests to download movies from sites like Netflix or Hulu.

But with travelers toting more of their own gadgets on trips, hotels are increasingly shifting their focus to help guests get the most out of the hardware they already have.

Many chains are scrambling to develop apps for mobile devices that will allow guests to order room service, request housekeeping, change their reservations or connect with a concierge. To make it easier for guests to print documents, Hilton Garden Inn offers a mobile printing service that sends files from a smartphone to a printer in the hotel business center for no charge.

Holiday Inn has been testing technology that will allow guests to use their phones in lieu of room keys, bypassing the front desk. After a customer makes a reservation, a text message is sent with a room number and a phone number to call upon arrival; once this call is made, the system validates the guest’s phone number and responds with a tone that unlocks the door. More tests are planned for later this year.

Pimped Out Hotel Showers

Gettysburg Wyndham shower

Wal Street Journal: Hotels are hitting the showers—with crystal chandeliers, glass walls and even hammocks.

In an ongoing race to differentiate themselves from other hoteliers, new upscale properties are outfitting their shower stalls with multiple heads and other sleek features.

Guests at the Wyndham here, one of two hotels in the expansive Gateway Gettysburg complex, get a cavernous, 43-square-foot shower with five shower heads. Two are mounted on opposing walls at thigh level, two more heads at chest level and a fifth overhead.

"The first thing I thought was, 'How do I use that thing? And when I use it, I hope it won't come at me like a firehose,' " said Amanda Witman, a Wrightsville, Pa., resident who held her wedding at the Wyndham in August.

The shower is an obvious target for change as hoteliers strive to offer time-strapped travelers a quick escape in their rooms. "A lot of people want to have something that's just a bit different and more luxurious than what they have at home," said Gene Kaufman, a New York-based architect who has designed more than 70 hotels.

The revolution in elaborate showers primarily is taking place in newly built, upscale hotels, with nightly rates of $200 and up, depending on the market. In many cases, they have replaced bathtubs entirely, though tubs remain a fixture in the pricier luxury market.

In Morgans's Mondrian South Beach hotel in Miami, the shower head protrudes from the bottom of a hanging crystal chandelier. The shower walls are decorated in a blue-and-white tile mosaic of clouds. The W hotel in Mexico City provides spacious showers with hammocks that guests can lounge in.

There is a drawback. Some guests consider elaborate hotel showers to be impractical. That's the reaction that Linda Simard, a sales and marketing representative for a beer company, had to the Wyndham Gettysburg's five-head shower. She and other guests found the dual-control knobs confusing. And, when all five heads are turned on, the overall water pressure drops. Ms. Simard ended up using only the main head and leaving the others off.

"Your first impression when you walk in is, 'Wow, that is wicked cool,' " she said. "But it doesn't do anything for me. I just think it's overwhelming."

As business travel has become far more common over the years, hotels have been shifting their tub-to-shower ratio more in favor of showers. "Most people, when they're going to work in the morning, don't drop and lounge in a tub," said Ted Hunter, Wyndham Worldwide Corp.'s chief of development planning and construction.

The industry's new rule of thumb for newly built hotels: Tubs belong only in rooms with two double beds, since those are the most likely rooms to house families with children.

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The New Hotel Amenity: Gas Cards

Los Angeles Times: The new hotel amenity is the gas card. That seems to be the trend as regular gas in California hovers around $4 a gallon and hotels seek an incentive that will resonate with guests. Gas up with these deals the next time you belly up to the pump.

Marriott Hotels is offering a California Road Trip Package that includes a $25 gas card with a stay at 10 locations in Bakersfield, La Jolla, San Bruno, San Diego and San Francisco. When I tested this deal at a few locations, I found package prices slightly higher than the hotel's best available rate.

For example, I found the "Road Trip" rate for $159 a night on April 22 at Residence Inn San Diego La Jolla -- $10 more than the best available rate for the same room on the same night. Still, that's $15 of free gas when you crunch the numbers. The offer is good through Sept. 6; use the code TRS when making a reservation. Contact: California Road Trip Package, (800) 834-7260

Riviera Palm Springs offers a "Free Gas Pass" package that includes a $25 gas card and free valet parking for visitors paying the best available rate. (I checked random midweek and weekend dates and found best available rates starting at $239 plus tax a night.) Mention "freegaspasspromo" when checking in to receive the extras. The offer is good through May 26, with some blackout dates. Contact: Riviera Palm Springs, (866) 588-8311

Personality Hotels include three San Francisco properties -- Hotel Diva, Hotel Union Square and Kensington Park Hotel -- where the Get Pumped Up! package applies. The offer includes a $10 gas card and free valet parking with rooms that start at $169 a night plus tax. The offer is good for stays through Dec. 30 but must be reserved by April 16. Contact: Personality Hotels, (800) 553-1900

Comfort Inns, Quality Inns and other brands from Choice Hotels offer a"Free $50 Gas Card" for two stays by accruing points through their free rewards program. Check out this prior Daily Travel & Deal blog for details about that deal, which applies to stays through May 4.

The Evolution of Hotel Amenities

Hotel Chatter: Every year's end we round up the best and the worst of the year that was, including the Must-Have Amenity, whatever hot item that hotels were killing themselves to place in their guestrooms.

Here's a quick rundown of the past must-have hotel amenities from the past couple of years:

2006 was the flat-screen TV, 2007 was the iPod docking station, 2008 was high-tech recreational toys, 2009 was the plug panels and 2010 was the iPad.

But have you ever wondered about the must-have amenities of years long gone by? The Washington Post has that covered in a recent article about the evolution of hotel amenities:

Joseph A. McInerney, president and chief executive officer of the American Hotel and Lodging Association...can offer a ticktock of the milestones: After color TV came the TV-plus-remote, then the clock radio. In the 1960s, shampoo became a must. Lotions, mouthwash and more followed. The 1970s saw the introduction of sewing kits, shoe mitts and shoe horns. In the early 1990s, coffeemakers appeared in the room. At the end of the century, irons and ironing boards became de rigueur.

Nowadays, thanks to the recession, hotels have started to do without some of these bathroom perks like lotions, sewing kits and even little bottles of shampoo and conditioner (instead they use dispensers on the bathroom wall.)

But at least they aren't taking away our gadgets. iPads, flat-screens and plug panels continue to be crucial to hotel stays. Now if only we could get them to add free WiFi as a milestone amenity.

Best Hotel Amenities

Aromatherapy Associates

Room 77: Road warriors confess to amassing a treasure trove of toiletries from their travels. There are those who take selectively and those who take everything but the bathroom sink (you know who you are). Well, whichever camp you fall into, here’s a list of our favorite hotel toiletries that are truly worth hoarding.

Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo (Tokyo): Aromatherapy Associates

A UK brand touting the use of natural, essential oil ingredients, it’s easy to see (or rather, smell) why Aromatherapy Associates would find a home at the luxurious Mandarin Oriental Tokyo – where design principles incorporate the Japanese reverence of nature. With scents like bergamot, chamomile and damask rose, Aromatherapy Associates knows how to harness the power of smell to melt your stress away.

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