Westin Detroit Hotel Replaces Free Bottled Water with Empty Carafes?

Are They Taking Advantage of Guests?

Recently, I had a rather unpleasant experience at the Westin Detroit Airport. Instead of providing complimentary bottled water in the room as they used to, they replaced it with an empty glass carafe and a notice asking guests to fill their own water at stations located on each floor. This initiative, which they tout as environmentally friendly, left me feeling quite annoyed.

A Decline in Customer Experience

While it’s clear the hotel is cutting costs, the way they are doing it is frustrating for guests. A review on TripAdvisor pointed out that the free water bottles are gone, and now there’s only a carafe for tap water, which I find quite unpalatable. If you do the math, that carafe probably costs around $10, while bottled water costs only a few cents.

This move gives the hotel a cheap feel, especially when room rates soar to $500 per night. It exemplifies a trend in modern American hospitality: eliminating inexpensive comforts while expecting guests to do extra work and feel guilty for complaining.

Convenience Overlooked

In an airport hotel, where many guests arrive late, tired, and thirsty, having water in the room is a basic customer service expectation. The water stations in the hallway simply can’t replace the convenience of a sealed bottle. A bottle of water is much more predictable and safer than a reusable carafe, especially when you have no idea if it’s been cleaned properly.

In reality, that carafe won’t be cleaned between guests. I bet you’d find plenty of other areas in the room that were overlooked during housekeeping.

Alternative Solutions for Environmental Concerns

The hotel’s signage boasts “Fill it Forward” and “Proudly B Corp Certified,” but if you feel this is a decrease in quality, perhaps it’s time to reassess your values. However, if the true goal is to reduce plastic waste, the hotel could do much more: offer canned water, sealed glass bottles, or at least provide one complimentary bottle in the room alongside refill stations for those in need.

How is the Hospitality Industry Changing?

The issue isn’t just about water. It’s about how hotels are leveraging brand value built over decades, only to let it slip away for quick profits. As the CEO of Marriott stated, they’ll be counting the number of new rooms on their tombstone.

Customers Are Ignoring Their Choices

The problem arises when a brand no longer represents quality and consistency; customers won’t return to the site to book again. In that case, these hotels have nothing left to sell to the very markets they are trying to contract with, to the point of refusing to enforce quality standards.

Prices Go Up, Service Goes Down

Hotels are hiking room rates while cutting service costs, whether it’s water, housekeeping, or even the alarm clock by the bed. Many amenities that used to set a full-service vacation apart from cheaper options are gradually disappearing, from robes and slippers to bar soap, laundry bags, and room service.

What Do Customers Remember After Their Stay?

Each seemingly small cut blurs the lines between full-service hotels and options like Airbnb. Guests don’t remember the card by the bed saying no housekeeping is needed, or the card in the bathroom reminding them to reuse towels, or even the commitment to no longer provide bottled water. They only remember the high price they paid and the feeling that even getting water became a chore, with more bacteria than the monkey in the movie Outbreak.