Hotel guests are upset about the disappearance of shower screens

Hotel guests have been noticing something unusual has been happening in their rooms lately, and many are very unhappy about it.

It’s a standout travel memory that still makes me cringe to this day.

I was showering back at my hotel room, attempting to get clean after a long day exploring some stunning sights.

There was just one problem – the shower was positioned in close proximity to the toilet and there was no screen. So the water from the shower would swirl along the ground, travelling up near the toilet before returning to the shower, and my feet.

Along with being disgusting, the whole experience baffled me, the entire bathroom was getting wet!

And I’m far from alone; many travellers are noticing that something strange is happening in hotel rooms around the world – they are increasingly losing their screens.

For many, this feels messy and can even be a slip hazard.

Conde Nast Traveler has penned an article about this phenomenon recently and posted it onto their Facebook page, eliciting many responses from travellers upset about the lack of shower screens.

Titled: “The slow disappearance of the hotel shower door”, they noted that “nobody likes it when the entire bathroom floor is drenched after a shower”.

These days, guests are often being greeted with a shower with a half curve of glass, or a shower head and a drain that are totally separate to the rest of the room.

There are also designs of crittall doors, which are large panes of glass with black frames that can partially or fully enclose the space.

Douglas DeBoer, the founder and CEO of Rebel Design Group in the US, believes the influence stretches into the past due to space issues.

“The trend originates from Europe as far back as the ’80s, where the bathrooms in historic properties are typically small and don’t have the clearance for swinging doors, so partial hinged glass works better,” he said.

These crittall doors are good for small spaces, but have only a half screen. Picture: iStock

Frameless showers have other benefits for hotel staff, such as cleanliness.

“Frameless shower doors offer less chance of mould build-up [and] are easier to clean.”

Meanwhile, Douglas DeBoer, the founder and CEO of Rebel Design Group, said many guests don’t like the door-less showers.

“Complaints are numerous, mainly from the US,” says DeBoer. “Many guests do not like the open bathroom concept, because it lacks privacy – especially with toilets or when showering, making hotel bathrooms a one-person-at-a-time use.”

There are lots of different shower designs. Picture: iStock

Things can get quite messy without a screen. Picture: iStock

On Facebook, many travellers expressed their dislike of the screenless shower designs.

One tourist wrote: “I can’t stand a wet floor. Don’t care how they do it, just keep the water in the shower.”

Another agreed: “Yes. The mess was the main issue.”

While a third said it was too cold without the protection of the screen: “Very European … at least French. I travelled there often for work about 20 years ago and many hotels had no doors on the showers.

“I didn’t like it at all. Too draughty and it made a mess all over the bathroom.”

To which another agreed: “The shower is so draughty without a door. I get cold.”

Others said “cannot stand this trend”, “hate this”, “design over function loses every time” and “it’s kinda absurd”.