China-Singapore Jingwei, May 2 (Wang Yuling, Lin Wansi) When checking out of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Ke Yu (pseudonym) looked at the large bottle of toiletries fixed to the wall and fell into thought. In the past, when she stayed in a hotel, she would pack a sample of the hotel's toiletries into a suitcase and take it away, but this time it was not so easy to get the hotel wool.
So, she drank the three bottles of mineral water from the bar and pumped the shampoo, shower gel, and body lotion into an empty mineral water bottle little by little. When it was all done, she felt like her thumb was numb. However, when she thought that the shampoo that was taken away cost more than 100 yuan on the e-commerce platform, she felt that it was all worth it.
In the well-known American drama "Friends", there are similar scenes. Ross and Chandler in the main group are trapped and book a suite for $600 a night, which is far beyond their budget. In order to "return to the cost", they collected large and small samples and free products from the hotel, even including apples at the front desk and light bulbs in the room, focusing on a "not let go of a stitch and a thread".
3000 a night of hotel rely on "wool" to return to the cost?
A month ago, when Xiao Lang (pseudonym), who lives in Guangdong, checked out of a five-star hotel in Macau, his suitcase was full of skin care samples, toothpaste, soft drinks, spicy strips, and instant noodles that he had "borrowed" from the hotel.
From the hotel's "wool" Photo courtesy of the interviewee
"I really have to bring a big box to stay in the hotel", "I haven't eaten up the food I brought back from the hotel until now"...... On social platforms, in addition to buying scratch tickets, saving gold beans, and being a tourist special soldier, young people have one more preference - staying in a hotel to "gather wool".
The "wool" here includes drinks and fruit snacks in the guest rooms, disposable toothbrushes and toothpaste, shampoo, shower gel, and hand cream in the bathroom.
"Meals and disposables can be wool when you check out, and you must have a thick skin, after all, it is impossible to give the used things to the next guest. It is more environmentally friendly to take away. Some netizens wrote.
Xiaolang told Zhongxin Jingwei that the reason why he took away a sample of shampoo conditioner and shower gel from the hotel was because the hotel said that the sample products were all imported from the "Pan Hailigen" brand, and the price of the brand's products was relatively expensive, and a 500ml shower gel cost 530 yuan.
When asked if the hotel staff would stop the behavior, Xiao Lang said that he would take it with him every time he went, and would explain to the waiter that he still wanted to bring some, and the waiter would pack it and send it over.
Sino-Singapore Jingwei noticed that many of the "hotel wool" groups are young people, and the target is mainly high-end hotels.
Some netizens shared that they stayed in a five-star hotel in Beijing for five days, and the room rate was 1,700 yuan a day. According to the pictures he posted of the items he took away, there were 5 mouthwashes, 20 samples of shampoo and shower gel, 10 toothbrushes, 8 pairs of slippers, 20 coffee capsules, in addition to cotton swabs, disposable razors, and some black rubber bands.
In addition, some netizens shared the "buying" strategy when leaving the luxury five-star Bulgari hotel, including how to take away Bulgari luggage tags, small bags and other items.
A netizen said that she booked a Bulgari exquisite suite, 5,000 yuan a night, and asked her friend to "drag a cart to move" when she left. The netizen's photo shows that a total of 35 cleaning and care samples, 8 sets of toothbrush, and 10 sets of care sets were taken away. Another netizen who has lived in Bulgari said that more than 3,000 room fees have been paid back to the wool. "Slippers, towels, toiletries and courtesy are all taken away, because they are all one guest and one change, and the hotel also encourages them to be taken away. ”
In addition to high-end hotels, some people also "open" in budget hotels. Potato chips (pseudonym) in Shaanxi told Zhongxin Jingwei that more than half a month ago, she stayed at the local all-season hotel and spent more than 300 yuan to take away pineapple cakes, slippers, paper towels, sanitary pads, earplugs and other products.
The purchase price of "Sheraton with the same paragraph" is less than two yuan?
As for the behavior of "wool picking", Zhongxin Jingwei called Bulgari, Ritz-Carlton, Hilton, All Seasons and other hotels as consumers, and found that different hotels had different attitudes.
The staff of Bulgari Hotel Beijing told Zhongxin Jingwei that if it is a guest, you can take away the toiletries in the room, and if it is not enough, you can also ask the front desk for a few more sets, but the toiletries and care products used by Bulgari are exclusively provided by the hotel and cannot be purchased through other channels.
The customer service staff of The Ritz-Carlton, Beijing Huamao and Beijing Hilton Hotel both said that the shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel in the room are fixed large bottles of toiletries, and guests are not allowed to take them away, but the toothbrushes, toothbrushes, soaps, combs, and shaving sets in the room can be taken away. The staff of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Guangzhou said that large bottles of toiletries cannot be taken away in whole bottles, because the products are to be recycled, they can be pumped away. The staff of JI Hotel Beijing Wangfujing said that the large jars of shampoo and conditioner in the room cannot be taken away, but the toothpaste, toothbrush, and shaving set can be taken away.
So, what is the value of the products that consumers spend a lot of time "wool"?
The price of shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and body lotion is about 20 yuan, the price of toothbrushes and toothbrushes, soaps, lip balms, combs and other products is 10 yuan to 30 yuan, the price of luggage tags and shaving sets is about 50 yuan, and the price of red envelope gift boxes and shampoo sets is about 100 yuan. As for the source of the product, some users said that they took it away after checking into the hotel.
Mu Mu (not her real name) from Beijing mentioned that she had taken a 22ml bottle of Gilchrist & Soames Body Lotion with her when she left the Sheraton Hotel. According to the second-hand platform, the price of a single bottle of 360ml Gilchrist & Soames shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and body lotion is between 40 yuan and 60 yuan.
Sino-Singapore Jingwei noted that Gilchrist & Soames is a lifestyle brand that belongs to Sysco Guest Supply, a supplier of products for the tourism industry, and that its wholly-owned subsidiary in China, called Shenzhen Pinying Trading Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Shenzhen Pinying), is mainly engaged in the provision of hotel guest toiletries and consumables.
According to the official account of Shenzhen Pinying, the company is the exclusive agent of Hermes, Salvatore Ferragamo and other well-known brand hotel product lines in China, and its cooperative customers include Hilton, Marriott and many other top hotel groups.
Regarding the Gilchrist & Soames brand mentioned by Mumu, Zhongxin Jingwei called Shenzhen Pinying as a hotelier, and the sales manager said that the brand has a product line exclusively for Sheraton and does not supply it to the public. However, the same brand has products with the same ingredients as Sheraton's product line and different packaging, so you can cooperate with other hotels.
The sales manager said that the purchase price of the same brand shampoo, conditioner and shower gel of the same brand of Sheraton with 22ml specifications is about two yuan, and there is no limit to the number of purchases, but the overall order cost of more than 13,000 yuan can be free shipping. The purchase price of 360ml shampoo and shower gel is 17 yuan, and the cost of body lotion is slightly higher, and the sales manager told Zhongxin Jingwei that the purchase cost of large bottles can be about 30% lower than that of small bottles, and they can also be fixed on the wall to avoid being taken away.
From the perspective of the dental product line, the sales manager mentioned that Shenzhen Pinying also acts as an agent for the toothpaste brand MARVIS, which is known as the "Hermes of the toothpaste industry", but the purchase price of the hotel product line of the product is very high, and the price of 10ml is 7 yuan. Other brands, such as colgate-like dental kits, have purchased prices ranging from one to more than three pieces depending on the specifications and packaging.
Sino-Singapore Jingwei noticed that except for some five-star hotels that have clearly announced the brands used in toiletries, most hotels do not have clear supply brands.
According to the procurement and wholesale website 1688, the wholesale price of 30ml of high-end hotel disposable shampoo shower gel sold by merchants is 0.4 yuan, the wholesale price of 300ml is 4.5 yuan, and the minimum batch is 1000 bottles.
The merchant told Zhongxin Jingwei that the sales of this product are very good, and even out of stock, which can be customized, plus the hotel's own logo and packaging, and the main customers are relatively high-end star hotels. "If you want to reduce costs, you can also buy large bottles and go back to filling, 25 kilograms are less than 200 yuan. The merchant said.
Screenshot of the e-commerce platform
For ordinary hotels and B&Bs, merchants mentioned that there are also lower-cost washing and care sets, and the price of 30ml is only 0.22 yuan. According to the e-commerce platform, more than 100,000 bottles of the product were sold within a year. However, the merchant repeatedly emphasized that these products meet the quality inspection requirements.
Expert: Actually, it's included in the room rate
Judging from the listed companies that provide hotel supplies, the overall number is not much.
According to the 2023 annual report of Double-sided Needle, known as the "first share of toothpaste", its daily chemical sector contributed operating income of 867 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 55.49%, and a gross profit margin of 13.74%, accounting for 87.13% of total revenue. In the daily chemical sector of the two-sided needle, it also relies on the tourism and hotel market business, and the main brands include the two-sided needle, Mulanze, Xiaoyao, Fangcao, etc.
According to the financial report, in 2023, the sales volume of two-sided needle tourism toothpaste will be 1.465 billion, a year-on-year increase of 57.34%, and the sales volume of household toothpaste will be 28.7743 million, a year-on-year increase of 14.36%.
According to the annual report of Liangmeizhen, the operating income and net profit of Liangmeizhen (Jiangsu) Industrial Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the hotel supplies business, increased significantly year-on-year. The two sides also said that from the analysis of many parties, Jiangsu Industrial Company has a stable market share and has firmly occupied the leading position in the hotel disposable products segment industry.
Ming Fai International has a hotel supplies business, an operating supplies and equipment business, and a health care and hygiene products business. According to the official website of Ming Fai International, the products cover hotel supplies and equipment, aviation and hotel service facilities, and personal care products, including guest room baths, guest room miscellaneous items, guest room electrical appliances, lobby supplies, etc.
明辉国际在官网介绍称，与Molton brown、Lanvin、Jurlique、AHAVA、Gentlemen’s Tonic、Lebon 等多个国际知名品牌建立合作关系。
According to the 2023 annual report, the global tourism industry showed a steady recovery trend in 2023, and the market demand for hotel supply products increased during the year. As of December 31, 2023, Ming Fai International's hotel supplies business revenue increased by 23.3% to approximately HK$1.697 billion (approximately RMB1.570 billion).
Wen Zhihong, an expert in the chain management industry and general manager of Hehong Consulting, said in an interview with Sino-Singapore Jingwei that most of the personal care products provided by hotels to customers can be taken away, especially some high-end hotels will take away the relatively high-end personal care products that can be taken away by consumers as a drainage strategy, so that customers have a strong sense of gain, as if "picking up wool" and picking up a small bargain. However, the hotel will also include the cost of these high-end personal care products in the room rate, so the customer's wool is within the affordable range of the hotel.
Source: Sino-Singapore Jingwei