Hotels worldwide have cottoned onto the benefits of not changing guest towels every day. Usually, there is a sign inviting us to join them in doing our bit to help the environment.
But are they really helping the environment? Or hoping to save money on their laundry bills?
I've been pondering this since reading about how hotels can make their 'towel reuse signs' more effective by wording them carefully. You can read about the study in the enjoyable and generally thought-provoking book Yes! 50 secrets from the science of persuasion.
Sure, less laundry is 'a good thing' -- it translates into less water wasted, less energy and detergents used, and less linen trucked around the place. But let's have a little honesty here.
I have yet to see a hotel announce that, thanks to guests reusing their towels, the company saved €xxx on its laundry bill last year, which it donated to a named environmental charity*, and with your help they'll save, or 'raise', even more this year.
Now, that's a wording that would really convince me not just to reuse my towels -- but even bring my own.
*With the receipt displayed proudly in the hotel lobby
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