Tooling Into Hotels

David J. Danto

Business travel thoughts in my own, personal opinion

eMail: ddanto@IMCCA.org Follow Industry News: @NJDavidD

Tooling Into Hotels – July 2023

A couple of weeks ago I posted another edition of my Traveler’s Toolbox blog – listing the new and cool items I travel with, but a recent resort stay has me considering adding some actual tools to my bag. There is a nice resort I stay at sometimes here on the New Jersey shore, but the next time I go there I’m probably bringing some channel-lock pliers. Let me explain…

This resort has some beautiful facilities and gorgeous rooms. The bathrooms are spacious, and have a separate room for the toilet and a spacious walk-in shower with a marble bench area. One (or two for that matter) can sit on the bench and enjoy the shower experience. Unfortunately, the frameless shower doors they originally installed were pretty but they did not do a very good job keeping the water in the shower. The bathroom floor was often flooded after a shower.

Well, I was there again for a weekend getaway recently and noticed that they fixed the wet bathroom floor problem…but instead of fixing the door seals, they went entirely in another direction. They’ve inserted a ‘flow restrictor’ behind the shower-head. Instead of an invigorating water experience, what they have now is a slow trickle of water that can be described as mousy at best. There is an adjustment lever on the showerhead, but it only served to make the stream even slower. Taking a shower under a slow trickle of water is just not a premium resort experience.

Geeking-out (or perhaps Joe-the-plumber-ing-out) for a moment, I can report that I am familiar with the brand of showerhead they are using – and it can be ordered and installed with this flow-restrictor. Such a device (which is essentially a plastic washer-sized disk with holes in it) slows down the water output to said trickle. It is precisely what the bean counters that are running the hospitality industry would do rather than fix the shower door: install a cheap piece of plastic, use less water, lower bills, make more profits.

I’m lucky that I drive to this resort here in my home state so I wouldn’t have to carry the slip-joint pliers shown above in my flight bag – but I am going to add it to the tools in my car. The next time I stay there it will be relatively easy to bring them up to the room, take the showerhead off, remove the flow-restrictor disk, and screw the showerhead back on. I hate modifying hotel infrastructure in my room, but the way I see it this is a test of wills. How much will the hospitality industry throw at us without guests revolting? Less room cleaning…higher costs…less services…and now mousy showers? They’d deserve it if every guest removed these in every room – even if it was one at a time per stay…even if it’s just me.

Also, p

Actually, I’m likely going to be home for the summer. That’s a decision I made when we toured Europe in May and also in light of the fact that I have a bunch of business travel scheduled for September. With the airline meltdown of a few weeks ago and the record number of travelers expected this summer the decision seems better and better every day. If I do travel it will be local…and I’ll be sure to bring my pliers.

This article was written by David Danto and contains solely his own, personal opinions.

All image and links provided above as reference under prevailing fair use statutes.

++++++++

As always, feel free to write and comment, question or disagree. Hearing from the traveling community is always a highlight for me. Thanks!