Huh.. I've stayed in over 1,000 hotels and Airbnbs over the last 15 years and not once saw a bathroom with no door. Lots of bathroom windows, but always some kind of door.
I've stayed in a hotel where the toilet door was made of glass, and had big gaps. I was staying with an acquaintance, so things were really awkward. It didn't help that the shower was right in front of this frosted glass, so the person's entire silhouette was very visible when showering.
Another time, in Amsterdam, I stayed at an AirBnB where the toilet was on the balcony, and had a glass door (non-frosted) in the kitchen. Yep, if you needed to go, and someone was cooking, or was a neighbour, they were looking right at you.
Yes! I was just recently traveling for work in a decent hotel but not a suite, just one with two queen beds but by myself. It had a glass barn door and the top half was frosted glass with "painted" glass on the bottom. Irritating but at least it was just me.
Well, I still don't wanna make everybody in the room have to listen to my grunts as I push out an unhealthy binge-drinking hangover turd followed by a liter of flatulent gas and and liquid spraying into the bowl. I like my privacy, kthx.
Some people make noise when they eat with their mouth open. It's not scandalous, it's just ignorant and gross. It's always an utter clod that is so unaware of themselves just smucking and squelching away on their open mouth full of gloopy donut muck.
It's not a virtue to be so unselfcounscious. It's not about being ashamed or inhibited or in pathological denial of biological realities. It's about being fucking minimally considerate and just the tiniest bit self-aware.
I recently stayed at a hotel in San Francisco that had no bathroom door. I'd even upgraded to the queen size room specifically because their layout map showed a door while the smaller rooms did not. I was pretty annoyed by that.
Me neither, but I remember that when searching for hotels and Airbnbs, I only filter for hotels that are 8+/10 domestically and 9+/10 internationally, which filters out many of the hotels that have those kinds of issues (and score doesn't affect budget much).
It's not about saving a few bucks on a door. It's about discouraging you and your friends from sharing a single room. Hotel sees the money they're leaving on the table and will trade you for it for the low price of watching your buddies do their business.
It sometimes feels like hotels are taunting us: "we're behaving like a cartel, whaddaya gonna do? Regulate us!? We've already tricked you into thinking that's socialism!"
Oh wow, I actually never realized this was the motivation. I thought there was just a hotel convention somewhere and they decided bathroom doors don't look good on social media so they're not gonna do them anymore.
I honestly think it's more about "things that look better on instagram" that has infected virtually every hospitality related experience I've had in the last few years. A room that photographs well or a meal that looks ridiculous are more important than a room that's actually comfortable or a meal that tastes good.
When I stayed in the Dubai airport hotel not only was it $550 a night for a basic tiny room and there were there no bathroom doors but there was a GIANT painting of the king of dubai both in the bathroom and the bedroom! The one in the bedroom was almost floor to ceiling size. I hung a towel over him. It was super creepy and felt like his eyes were watching you as you walked around the room.
In The Good Soldier Svejk, the tavern keeper Pavilec is arrested for taking down his portrait of Emperor Franz Josef, because the flies were shitting on it.
A toilet door is a basic no brainer. Unless you want any others to watch or - if travelling alone - you want your bedroom area to smell the same as your freshly shat-in toilet...
But then hotel do dumb things like fully enclose a barfridge in a cupboard too.
It’s also a hygiene issue. Bathrooms are notoriously covered in fecal particles, one of the reason why flushing with the lid up is not a great idea. Having a door at least provides some protection against your bed also being covered in them.
Extractor, what I’d call a bathroom fan, fair, I’ll go with “close enough to negative pressure for civvies that they fool themselves” (I.e. ain’t actual negative pressure like a cdc lab)
I watched this and it doesn't seem like anti-patterns to me? I spend more time in hotels than most and ironing boards, closets, minibars, and "bigger rooms" are not things I care about. I don't hang out in the room; it's a box I enter to shower and sleep.
I’m glad that someone has built this and made it their personal crusade, but this is a problem that I can’t relate to having. I find it far more uncomfortable/intimate to sleep next to someone (even if in separate beds) than to shower or use the toilet in front off someone. Snoring, farting, dream talking, morning erections, etc.
Somehow I seem to be in the minority with this opinion. But if we’re sharing a room we’re probably pretty comfortable with each other.
Make sure to address the elephant in the room - privacy. Consider installing electrochromic glass panels that switch from clear to opaque. Or take inspiration from Japanese architecture with sliding wooden screens that double as art pieces.
And a third type, people who have had children so have gone through the toddler stage where a toddler would literally chainsaw and burn down a locked door before they let you have 3 seconds of peace to take a shit.
That's actually a very valid point I hadn't taken into consideration.
If you're single or have a partner that you're comfortable with, open concept bathrooms feel luxurious. But if you need sanctity and salvation from the kids, I can get it.
I’ve actually ended otherwise decent relationships early because the other person was way too coy/upset with bodily functions like farting and pooping. If we’er sleeping together I expect us to be farting together. And if we are living together I expect us to be using the toilet in front of each other. Anything less is both inconvenient and reflective of deep personality conflicts that will never be resolved.
I have never in my life imagined that someone might break up with another person for the sole reason that the person refused to poop in front of them. That is honestly wild to me, but I appreciate your perspective, thanks for sharing.
If you flush the toilet at precisely the moment after you take a shit, the vacuum force of the toilet venting down the waste line will pretty much keep that from happening. That's basically prison rules.
I'd imagine that most couples would still want to be able to close a door when they're on the toilet.
I'd rather sleep in a shared room at a hostel and use a toilet in a stall in a communal bathroom than in a hotel room without a proper door on the bathroom.
Basically, just like the airlines, the hotels are saying if you are such a broke destitute to be able to upgrade to our premium tier, then go suffer in the smell of your own shit.
Only once have I seen anything like this. The room had a bathroom door, but also a giant hole cut out in the wall so that everyone in the room could peer into the bathroom for some reason. We demanded a different room with a complete wall separating the bathroom and got one (a nicer one at their expense too).
I've seen it in the US in smaller dense urban rooms and it's honestly something I've never thought about.
It's honestly something it would never occur to me to write a blog post about. But I guess it's one of those things that some people are sensitive about.
I noticed in East Asia, they also have some tendency to have floor to ceiling windows through the whole bathroom to the bedroom, sometimes with no curtain either. I am not sure who this is for
My state does not require a door on a guest bathroom in a hotel. A bathroom serving employees and the public in a hotel is required to have a self-closing door, but the law does not say anything about doors on guest only bathrooms.
I couldn’t find anything in the International Building Code about bathroom doors aside from minimum opening width, but I don’t have access to the full code. I’d have to ask an architect or GC to verify.
> 4625.1200 TOILET REQUIREMENTS.
> Every hotel, motel, and lodging house shall be equipped with adequate and conveniently located water closets for the accommodation of its employees and guests. Water closets, lavatories, and bathtubs or showers shall be available on each floor when not provided in each individual room. Toilet, lavatory, and bath facilities shall be provided in the ratio of one toilet and one lavatory for every ten occupants, or fraction thereof, and one bathtub or shower for every 20 occupants, or fraction thereof. Toilet rooms shall be well ventilated by natural or mechanical methods. The doors of all toilet rooms serving the public and employees shall be self-closing. Toilets and bathrooms shall be kept clean and in good repair and shall be well lighted and ventilated. Hand-washing signs shall be posted in each toilet room used by employees. Every resort shall be equipped with adequate and convenient toilet facilities for its employees and guests. If privies are provided they shall be separate buildings and shall be constructed, equipped, and maintained in conformity with the standards of the commissioner and shall be kept
Zoning does a lot of weird things. My zoning laws require me to put immediate hot water at every faucet. there is no code requiring it. There is zero safety issue.
Huh.. I've stayed in over 1,000 hotels and Airbnbs over the last 15 years and not once saw a bathroom with no door. Lots of bathroom windows, but always some kind of door.
Was it made of glass?
I've stayed in a hotel where the toilet door was made of glass, and had big gaps. I was staying with an acquaintance, so things were really awkward. It didn't help that the shower was right in front of this frosted glass, so the person's entire silhouette was very visible when showering.
Another time, in Amsterdam, I stayed at an AirBnB where the toilet was on the balcony, and had a glass door (non-frosted) in the kitchen. Yep, if you needed to go, and someone was cooking, or was a neighbour, they were looking right at you.
A lot of them are becoming barn style sliding doors, with large gaps. So if you’re making some noise, everyone will hear you.
Lowes hotels at Universal Orlando has them. Worse is they sometimes just slide open on their own.
Yes! I was just recently traveling for work in a decent hotel but not a suite, just one with two queen beds but by myself. It had a glass barn door and the top half was frosted glass with "painted" glass on the bottom. Irritating but at least it was just me.
People make noise when they piss and shit. It’s not scandalous.
If it's not scandalous, can I shit in the lobby trashcan? If the hotel wants me to have an audience, might as well...
Well, I still don't wanna make everybody in the room have to listen to my grunts as I push out an unhealthy binge-drinking hangover turd followed by a liter of flatulent gas and and liquid spraying into the bowl. I like my privacy, kthx.
Some people make noise when they eat with their mouth open. It's not scandalous, it's just ignorant and gross. It's always an utter clod that is so unaware of themselves just smucking and squelching away on their open mouth full of gloopy donut muck.
It's not a virtue to be so unselfcounscious. It's not about being ashamed or inhibited or in pathological denial of biological realities. It's about being fucking minimally considerate and just the tiniest bit self-aware.
It's not, but I prefer not being heard and not hearing over being heard or hearing.
Just make an even louder jungle cat snarling noise.
But it is a good argument for privacy.
I recently stayed at a hotel in San Francisco that had no bathroom door. I'd even upgraded to the queen size room specifically because their layout map showed a door while the smaller rooms did not. I was pretty annoyed by that.
Happy to see someone is trying to fix this trend.
Me neither, but I remember that when searching for hotels and Airbnbs, I only filter for hotels that are 8+/10 domestically and 9+/10 internationally, which filters out many of the hotels that have those kinds of issues (and score doesn't affect budget much).
Really? I stayed in far fewer and maybe 10% have no doors. And then another 30% have no locks or doors that don’t close all the way (barn doors)
It's not about saving a few bucks on a door. It's about discouraging you and your friends from sharing a single room. Hotel sees the money they're leaving on the table and will trade you for it for the low price of watching your buddies do their business.
It's far more likely to discourage me and my friends from staying at that hotel entirely.
How many people consider what a bathroom looks like before booking a hotel room? I can't say I've ever done so.
Until recently, you never had to think about it. But as it becomes more common it will become something you might want to consider.
It sometimes feels like hotels are taunting us: "we're behaving like a cartel, whaddaya gonna do? Regulate us!? We've already tricked you into thinking that's socialism!"
New business idea... set up a truck with automated lockers on it next to the hotel and rent folding doors to the occupants for $20/night.
Oh wow, I actually never realized this was the motivation. I thought there was just a hotel convention somewhere and they decided bathroom doors don't look good on social media so they're not gonna do them anymore.
This makes much more sense.
Maybe, and also 100% guarantees I’ll never stay there with my family.
But do you check if the hotel has bathroom doors? If yes, where? You call up and ask? And trust the person on the phone is honest?
Most people would assume bathrooms have doors. It is just exhausting to have to check for every small, commonsensical, super basic detail
I honestly think it's more about "things that look better on instagram" that has infected virtually every hospitality related experience I've had in the last few years. A room that photographs well or a meal that looks ridiculous are more important than a room that's actually comfortable or a meal that tastes good.
When I stayed in the Dubai airport hotel not only was it $550 a night for a basic tiny room and there were there no bathroom doors but there was a GIANT painting of the king of dubai both in the bathroom and the bedroom! The one in the bedroom was almost floor to ceiling size. I hung a towel over him. It was super creepy and felt like his eyes were watching you as you walked around the room.
Impossible to sex near that painting as the speaker will begin talking at you half way through!
"To sex" is to determine sex (gender.)
If someone says "I am sexing your mom" on the internet, that is definitely not what they mean.
It could be, from a certain point of view.
Not me. I’m definitely checking your mom’s gender.
> I hung a towel over him.
Be careful, that's probably a felony.
In The Good Soldier Svejk, the tavern keeper Pavilec is arrested for taking down his portrait of Emperor Franz Josef, because the flies were shitting on it.
A toilet door is a basic no brainer. Unless you want any others to watch or - if travelling alone - you want your bedroom area to smell the same as your freshly shat-in toilet...
But then hotel do dumb things like fully enclose a barfridge in a cupboard too.
It’s also a hygiene issue. Bathrooms are notoriously covered in fecal particles, one of the reason why flushing with the lid up is not a great idea. Having a door at least provides some protection against your bed also being covered in them.
I hate to say it, but lowkey airflow is not stopped by doors.
There’s a big difference between a ocasional whiff and a massive stinker.
It probably is.
Door closed + extractor makes gaps have negative pressure, no way anything goes into the room.
Extractor, what I’d call a bathroom fan, fair, I’ll go with “close enough to negative pressure for civvies that they fool themselves” (I.e. ain’t actual negative pressure like a cdc lab)
Doorway? No.
WSJ did a good explainer on hotel room design anti-patterns: https://youtu.be/116cwKs2XQs
I watched this and it doesn't seem like anti-patterns to me? I spend more time in hotels than most and ironing boards, closets, minibars, and "bigger rooms" are not things I care about. I don't hang out in the room; it's a box I enter to shower and sleep.
Kendra Gaylord released a video on the topic yesterday too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFPGUTyo9Yk
I’m glad that someone has built this and made it their personal crusade, but this is a problem that I can’t relate to having. I find it far more uncomfortable/intimate to sleep next to someone (even if in separate beds) than to shower or use the toilet in front off someone. Snoring, farting, dream talking, morning erections, etc.
Somehow I seem to be in the minority with this opinion. But if we’re sharing a room we’re probably pretty comfortable with each other.
The purpose of no bathroom doors is to limit their use to single people or couples. They want business travelers to get a separate rooms or upgrade.
I can assure you not even single people nor couples want doorless bathrooms.
Couples that poop together stay together.
Why? I'd prefer a doorless bathroom.
One of my bedrooms at home opens into an open concept bathroom. No doors, vaulted ceilings, open.
I really don't get this.
I don't want to feel claustrophobic.
Edit: Like these -
https://34stjohn.com/blogs/inspiration/how-to-pull-off-an-op...
You have the choice to open the door if you wish. This choice has been removed from those who prefer privacy if the door doesn't exist.
From your link:
Making Privacy Work
Make sure to address the elephant in the room - privacy. Consider installing electrochromic glass panels that switch from clear to opaque. Or take inspiration from Japanese architecture with sliding wooden screens that double as art pieces.
Your sample link's examples seem conspicuously toilet-free to me.
But even without talking about toilets, I don't like airy/drafty feelings when I'm wet, so I'd hate most of those designs, myself.
I love pooping and having my dog visit. A little someone to talk to rather than scroll.
apparently not having doors prevents hemorrhoids.
So you can take a dump with some privacy, obviously.
There must be two types of people/couples.
Those that prefer privacy and those that don't care.
A door has two states to choose from, so having a door covers all use cases.
I would be surprised if private defecation is not a majority preference among couples.
Even if I'm alone in a hotel room, I'd prefer to contain the odor to the bathroom.
And a third type, people who have had children so have gone through the toddler stage where a toddler would literally chainsaw and burn down a locked door before they let you have 3 seconds of peace to take a shit.
That's actually a very valid point I hadn't taken into consideration.
If you're single or have a partner that you're comfortable with, open concept bathrooms feel luxurious. But if you need sanctity and salvation from the kids, I can get it.
I’ve actually ended otherwise decent relationships early because the other person was way too coy/upset with bodily functions like farting and pooping. If we’er sleeping together I expect us to be farting together. And if we are living together I expect us to be using the toilet in front of each other. Anything less is both inconvenient and reflective of deep personality conflicts that will never be resolved.
I have never in my life imagined that someone might break up with another person for the sole reason that the person refused to poop in front of them. That is honestly wild to me, but I appreciate your perspective, thanks for sharing.
I don't want a room to smell literally like shit.
You live alone?
No. I think some couples are just more private than others.
I don't think there are any couples who prefer the bedroom to smell like the toilet.
If you flush the toilet at precisely the moment after you take a shit, the vacuum force of the toilet venting down the waste line will pretty much keep that from happening. That's basically prison rules.
Where is this magical prison where nobody farts?
I'd imagine that most couples would still want to be able to close a door when they're on the toilet.
I'd rather sleep in a shared room at a hostel and use a toilet in a stall in a communal bathroom than in a hotel room without a proper door on the bathroom.
I'm in a committed long term relationship. I absolutely do not want to shit in front of my partner (nor do they have any desire to watch).
Basically, just like the airlines, the hotels are saying if you are such a broke destitute to be able to upgrade to our premium tier, then go suffer in the smell of your own shit.
Only once have I seen anything like this. The room had a bathroom door, but also a giant hole cut out in the wall so that everyone in the room could peer into the bathroom for some reason. We demanded a different room with a complete wall separating the bathroom and got one (a nicer one at their expense too).
The Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata (just outside Ottawa), Ontario has bathrooms with windows in them.
There's a shade inside the glass, but still... did I really need to open the blinds to my bathroom?
https://www.brookstreethotel.com/rooms/double-queen
This is a thing? I've only stayed at Premier Inns (a budget UK hotel chain) and have never heard of anything like this happening.
I've seen it in the US in smaller dense urban rooms and it's honestly something I've never thought about.
It's honestly something it would never occur to me to write a blog post about. But I guess it's one of those things that some people are sensitive about.
I first encountered it at a Hotel du Vin (UK) about 10 years ago.
I noticed in East Asia, they also have some tendency to have floor to ceiling windows through the whole bathroom to the bedroom, sometimes with no curtain either. I am not sure who this is for
I've seen that in japan, but they had a switch that would electronically switch off the window (it would become opaque white).
Love this. I was super scared the first time i was booking travel to Europe with a newish girlfriend.
On insta I'm seeing more stories about people reviewing/mocking OPS (Open plan shi.tters) on rental websites like rightmove.
Boldest choice thus far was the one with the OPS next to the kitchenette.
There are some very strange people out there...
isnt the compromise usually that the stalls have fully enclosed doors if the bathroom doesnt?
Personally I like having both. Doors are great for a variety of reasons, not just privacy.
We need to raise the price of our rooms. Take the doors off the hinges in half, call them 'standard', and the rest are now 'premium'.
Also bring back brighter lighting?
Is it just me, or have hotel rooms gotten dimmer?
It seems less cheerful.
Related:
What happened to bathroom doors? [video]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFPGUTyo9Yk
(https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46062242)
had no idea this was a 'thing' .
I'm interested to see where zoning laws permit this kind of stuff.
My state does not require a door on a guest bathroom in a hotel. A bathroom serving employees and the public in a hotel is required to have a self-closing door, but the law does not say anything about doors on guest only bathrooms.
I couldn’t find anything in the International Building Code about bathroom doors aside from minimum opening width, but I don’t have access to the full code. I’d have to ask an architect or GC to verify.
> 4625.1200 TOILET REQUIREMENTS.
> Every hotel, motel, and lodging house shall be equipped with adequate and conveniently located water closets for the accommodation of its employees and guests. Water closets, lavatories, and bathtubs or showers shall be available on each floor when not provided in each individual room. Toilet, lavatory, and bath facilities shall be provided in the ratio of one toilet and one lavatory for every ten occupants, or fraction thereof, and one bathtub or shower for every 20 occupants, or fraction thereof. Toilet rooms shall be well ventilated by natural or mechanical methods. The doors of all toilet rooms serving the public and employees shall be self-closing. Toilets and bathrooms shall be kept clean and in good repair and shall be well lighted and ventilated. Hand-washing signs shall be posted in each toilet room used by employees. Every resort shall be equipped with adequate and convenient toilet facilities for its employees and guests. If privies are provided they shall be separate buildings and shall be constructed, equipped, and maintained in conformity with the standards of the commissioner and shall be kept
> https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/4625.1200/
Not sure why it would be a zoning thing.
Likely for the same reason that fans are often a building code requirement.
Is that actually common? My house has no built-in fans much less AC.
Zoning does a lot of weird things. My zoning laws require me to put immediate hot water at every faucet. there is no code requiring it. There is zero safety issue.
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