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Monday, February 9, 2015

Travel Stories of the Week; tracking towels; Portugal's rotating hotel

Hotels are starting to track towels and robes. I am glad. I always worry when I take a hotel towel down to the swimming pool, and signs or staff say, leave it in the basket. Will I be blamed or billed? Will the bedroom cleaners be sacked for supposedly stealing towels? Now I and staff should be safe from being accused of taking items which are not missing but simply moved around the hotel.

Souvenir Towels
If customers are taking towels, and robes, the hotel should be selling them as souvenirs. A lightweight one which is easier to pack, a different colour and style, a smaller or larger size, a brand new one, or a cheaper old one when they change designs.

Hawaii
A remember a hotel in Hawaii, the Halekulani, which sold white bathrobes in three sizes, large, medium and child size. We bought one of each.

Hong Kong
Another hotel in Hong Kong had a list of items you could buy, comprising almost everything moveable in the room, the pillows, pillowcases, sheets, ash trays/sweet dishes, vases, lamps, mirror, mattress without base, even the entire bed.

Thinking about it, I imagine that they used two suppliers to furnish the bedrooms, and got a commission on every sale.

Some guests at the hotel take a fancy to the goods and are quite prepared to pay. The goods disappear into 'expenses', or a treat for a guest whose every other need, such as meals, is already paid for, or even a gift for the family at home who can now share in the joy of travel.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2936298/Have-swiped-towel-room-Hotels-using-tracking-devices-tabs-linen-guests-steal-them.html

Portugal
The rotating hotel in Portugal offers certain rooms a chance to have a mountain view at one time of day, water view at another. The hotel's owner-designer seeks to make the place interesting. They also have an enoteca machine (which lets you try out small glasses of wine at budget prices).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2944623/The-ROTATING-Portuguese-hotel-guests-fall-asleep-mountain-view-wake-facing-river.html

Angela Lansbury B A Hons, travel writer.

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