Travelers staying in discount hotel rooms and purchasing cheap vacation packages will increasingly find that their hotels are no longer offering bathtubs. Tubs are disappearing from many chain hotels to open space to install more luxurious showers.
Holiday Inn only offers bathtubs in 55 percent of its new locations vs. 95 percent of its new hotels which offered tubs a decade ago. Marriott has plans which call for 75 percent of its rooms to only offer showers. The reason for this move away from bathtubs is because travelers dont have the time to sit in a tub and many guests simply prefer showers, according to hotel officials.
Hotel shower experiences are being enhanced with improvements made to showers. Marriott is using frameless glass shower enclosures. Holiday Inn has started offering Bath & Body Works products, as well as curved shower rods and curtains that allow in more light.
Hotel executives believe that a glass enclosed shower gives guests the feeling of a more spacious environment when compared to traditional shower and tub combinations. Shower only bathrooms give the appearance of being cleaner and modern. Some studies have shown that guests prefer spa inspired walk-in showers.
There remain hotels which want to provide combo tubs and showers. A majority of their guests take a shower instead of a bath when traveling for business, but a tub or bath/shower combination is preferred for vacations, according to a 2008 survey conducted on behalf of Embassy Suites.
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