Welcome products reveal their personality

Shower gel, bubble bath, shampoo, cream rinse, body lotion: the best-selling welcome products that may be found lined up in hotels’ bathrooms are invariable. But within this classic framework there are only changes! After the revolution of the amenities that has led to the spread of this custom to all levels of the hotel industry, the time has come to improve this range with a broader offer in terms of welcome products. “Everything is on the rise: both volume and quality,” observes François Marchand, president of Aficom, one of the sector’s leaders. Hotels that once offered small soaps wrapped in paper now offer their clientele larger bars in plastic boxes. Properties that once offered small bottles now want larger ones. In general paper wrappers have given way to cellophane, which is more valorizing for products.In addition to welcome products, specialists also supply all the accessory products that participate in the client’s wellbeing: slippers, sewing kit, manicure kit, cotton swab case. These account for a source of non-negligible revenues. “These complementary products make up 50% of our turnover,” recognizes François Marchand. Signed slippers generate a high volume of business and are increasingly in demand, even in the mid range, whereas the price tends to drop under the combined effect of market growth and Chinese competition. But for François Marchand, these complementary offers must also convey the hotel’s personality: “we are working to make our range of hangars, pens, umbrellas match the welcome products so that they combine to make a coherent whole.” Today, the concern for personalization is being pushed to extremes.The same is true for formulations that are ever more subtle, and greater efforts are being made with regard to presentation. Why this great leap in terms of both quality and quantity? Hotels are all evolving towards major concepts in...