Hotels Offer Lotions and Sunscreen Amid Heightened Airline Security
Hotels are coming to the rescue of weary travelers forced to discard their cosmetics, lotions and hair-care products in the wake of last week’s foiled terrorist plot in London.
The move comes after last week’s ban of liquid products—from bottled water to hair gel and lotions—in carry-on bags on airplanes. The Transportation Security Administration ordered the new airline restrictions Aug. 10 after British officials arrested 24 people in an alleged terrorist plot to use liquid explosives to blow up U.S.-bound airplanes from the U.K.
Omni Hotels, for example, is offering guests free Clinique facial skin care products for women, high-end hair care products, sunscreen, toothpaste, contact lens solution, and nail polish and remover. The hotel chain is buying “thousands” of products to assist travelers during the travel advisory, said Caryn Kboudi, VP-marketing, for Dallas-based Omni Hotels. Omni executives sent employees to department stores and others to stock up on products its customers might require.
”We literally said, go get your car keys, go get your wallet and go get this done,” Kboudi said.
Omni, which serves affluent business and leisure travelers, is offering Clinique products because it’s a brand many of its core female customers trust, Kboudi said. The hotel chain is also doling out salon-level hair care items, including Paul Mitchell products, to guests. The chain has also asked its shampoo and conditioner vendors to step up its service and provide a larger quantity of products to Omni’s 40 properties nationwide.
“Travel today is very different,” Kboudi said. “Our job as a hotel company is always to try to give business travelers in part a good experience in the end, something that allows them to relax and unwind. This is just another part of that.”
The hotel chain sent e-mails about the complimentary offering to its customer database (under 1 million consumers). P.r. efforts also support.
Omni plans to offer the complimentary items for at least the next week as customers adapt to the travel advisory, Kboudi said. She estimated about 10% of Omni Hotel’s customers would take advantage of the value-add service. “We’re only looking at doing the right thing for the guests,” she said.
Wyndham Hotels, too, are giving its guests a helping hand. The hotel is offering bottled water, saline solution and hair care products to guest upon arrival. The offering dovetails on the chain’s ongoing “We Remember What you Forgot Program,” in which guests can receive 17 other complimentary items, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant and other personal care items.
“We have a program in place,” Peter Strebel, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts president said Friday. “We now just want to enhance it…with this crisis going on.”
The Parsippany, NJ-based chain implemented the effort across all of its global Wyndham hotels on Sunday, including Wingate Inn, Travelodge, Baymont AmeriHost Inn, Days Inn and Ramada.
“It shows the brand is very responsive to consumers needs,” Strebel said. “In the hospitality business, our goal is to satisfy customers. It’s all about making people return. We are very cognizant of what is going on.”
Wyndham Hotels are notifying guests about its complimentary offering upon check-in, as well as promoting the initiative on its Web site. Once the restrictions on airlines relax, Wyndham will likely return to its standard offerings, Strebel said.
Likewise, Marriott asked its hotels to stock up needed sample-size toiletries it normally wouldn’t carry, including hair gels, shaving cream and razors across its 2,800 properties worldwide, said spokesman John Wolf. The request came within 24 hours after news broke about the terrorist plot.
“We called our hotels to stock up on those supplies,” Wolf said, adding the chain has already seen an increase in demand for the products. “We want to make sure we have some of the more common [toiletry] items that people bring.”
Marriott is publicizing the complimentary products upon check-in at its hotels and via its virtual concierge services, in which guests receive pre-arrival planning e-mails for their hotel stays, Wolf said. The virtual concierge service is offered at several hundred hotels in the U.S.
For now, Marriott is taking a wait and see approach regarding the future of the offering. “We have to see what new rules remain permanent,” Wolf said.
On Sunday, the TSA eased some restrictions on carry-on items. Airline passengers can carry up to 4 ounces of liquid, nonprescription medicine (think cough syrup), solid lipstick, baby food and glucose gel for diabetics, news reports said.
The organization previously banned all liquid medications from flights. In addition, the Homeland Security Department lowered the terrorist threat level from red (severe) to orange (high) for flights from the U.K. to the U.S. All other U.S. flights remain at an orange alert level, reports said.
