Hotel Rooms Get Major Overhaul

The hotel room is getting one of its most significant makeovers in years. Having upgraded their old mattresses with name-brand replacements, a broad spectrum of hotel chains now are turning their attention to the rest of the room, getting rid of the clunky armoires and installing flat-screen televisions, high-design furniture and sleek floor-to-ceiling glass showers. Tacky watercolors are being replaced with more stylish-looking black-and-white photos -- even the minibar is showing signs of going the way of the coin-fed bed.

The hotel-room changes are happening partly as the big chains try to emulate the success of boutique hotels, which are winning the loyalty of Gen Xers and, increasingly, their parents, by emphasizing brighter rooms and improved in-room technology. It also comes as hotels try to shed their stodgy images by, for instance, replacing bedspreads with stylish duvets and adding "Euro shams," basically fancy extra pillows. The remodeling is being underwritten by the rebounding fortunes of the hotel industry. Many chains put off renovations in recent years amid the travel slump.

Source: Wall Street Journal 5-11-05