So the lack of doors is great for hotels and their staffers. But what about the guests, who are slip-sliding all over the room? There are (or should be) lots of little design tricks keeping you safe, experts say. “Hotels tend to mitigate the risks by offering non-slip interior shower mats, cloth bath mats for stepping out of the shower, grab bars, [and] open showers or no-sill showers which avoid having to step up and over the edge,” DeBoer says.
Additionally, “we try to level the floor so there's minimal water weight pitched onto the floor. We would always try to slope it very slightly so it goes to the drain,” says Strauss. “And it's a huge expense, but we make sure that the controls are in a [place] that reduces the amount of water you spill everywhere.”
Still, they do know that some guests don’t care for the look or experience of door-less showers. “Complaints are numerous, mainly from the U.S.,” 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.”
Don’t expect those complaints to be heard, though, as the look is here to stay in newer hotels. “The more classic hotel brands with a more traditional aesthetic, they are much more likely to go back to having doors,” says Parker. “The older generation much, much prefers having a shower door.”
If you find yourself in that camp, you are in good company even with the experts. “I'm like a 70-year-old man at heart anyway,” Parker says, “so I like [a shower door] if it's in keeping with the style of the rest of the room.”
