February 18, 2016 on Creator by WeWork || Travelers who checked into certain Holiday Inn Express, Hilton, and Marriott rooms have been noticing something different recently. The desk in their rooms is missing.
Well, “missing” depends on whom you ask. The furniture choice was intentional, as many hotels have introduced desk-free rooms and more communal working space. The thinking is, millennial travelers don’t want clunky desks.
But sportswriter Dan Wetzel wasn’t pleased by the lack of a traditional desk-and-chair setup when he checked in. He blogged his frustrations, and the post, Who Took the Desk from My Hotel Room, went viral, sparking a passionate outcry in defense of the hotel desk.
Okay, so it wasn’t “The Dress” level Internet drama, but it showed that travelers feel pretty passionate about what hotels are offering. On the flip side, lodging companies are constantly tweaking their amenities to keep up with what they think we want. Minibars are now stocked with locally sourced products, concierges chat with travelers via text message, and some rooms even have a discrete stash of condoms.
Some of these features may seem over the top, but others can really fix the pain points of being away from home. If you’re hitting the road soon, here are seven hotel features you probably never asked for, but could really start to love.