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Home » Hyatt » Brilliant: Hyatt Hotel Warns Of $100 Charge For Removing “Toxic” Body Lotion
Hyatt

Brilliant: Hyatt Hotel Warns Of $100 Charge For Removing “Toxic” Body Lotion

Matthew Klint Posted onJanuary 17, 2024January 17, 2024 37 Comments

a black and white body lotion bottle

A Hyatt hotel in California is very serious about you removing body lotion from the room. If you do, you’ll be hit with a $100 charge, despite the unclear warning affixed to the bottle.

Like That Hyatt Body Lotion? It Will Cost $100 For The Bottle…

A friend of mine recently stayed at the Hyatt Centric Mountain View in California’s Silicon Valley. In his room he found a bottle of BeeKind body lotion, with a warning label wrapped around it:

“$100 will be room charge if taken.”

a black bottle with a label on it

Upon digging a bit, he discovered that the BeeKind body lotion is manufactured by Gilchrist and Soames, a New Jersey-based company owned by Sysco, one of the largest food distributors in the world. This particular bottle retails for $28 on Amazon. This particular product has a troubled past, per Wikipedia:

On December 7, 2015, in cooperation with another enforcement action of the FDA, Gilchrist & Soames initiated a worldwide voluntary Class II recall of a wide range of different products due to microbial contaminations. The forty-four different products included shampoos, body washes, body lotions, mineral baths, and numerous other types of products, amounting to more than two million items. They included Gilchrist & Soames pseudo-brands, such as Spa Therapy, Verde, and BeeKind, and they also included custom products produced for such hospitality properties as Gaylord Hotels and Hyatt. The affected products were produced from June 2015 through September 2015. The contaminated products were distributed in the United States and worldwide, including in Canada and Australia.

On March 16, 2016, the United States Food and Drug Administration, responding to recalls of contaminated products sold by Gilchrist and after inspecting its plant, issued a warning letter to the company noting violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and mandating extensive corrective actions, resulting in a temporary shutdown of parts of Gilchrist’s manufacturing plant.

What a steal! A $100 bottle of moisturizer produced by Sysco that has been recalled in the past…

The Warning Label

While I think we can understand what that $100 warning label means, it literally says that your room will be $100 if you take the shampoo, which would be a great deal.

For kicks, my friend sent the following text message to the front desk:

“I’m very excited! According to the moisturizer in my room proudly produced by Sysco, if I take it I get my room for $100. The wording, “$100 will be room charge if taken.” That’s awesome. I can imagine you want to get rid of crap Sysco products for hotels that have been recalled in the past for contaminants. I would like to take advantage of this offer.”

To which the hotel responded:

Good evening, Thank you so much for your message. Unfortunately, this offer is not working like that. The statement, “$100 will be room charge if taken,” implies that taking the moisturizer will result in an additional $100 charge added to your room bill. Let us if you have any questions. Thank you, Front Desk

Lol.

CONCLUSION

I think one of the downsides of bulk dispensers is that it encourages more waste of the actual product, even if it reduces the use of disposable plastics. Here, I just have to chuckle at the audacity to charge $100 for a cheap bottle of body lotion at the Hyatt Centric Mountain View. No thanks. And to the hotel: you might want to redo those labels to make the warning a bit clearer…

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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37 Comments

  1. Santastico Reply
    January 17, 2024 at 3:22 pm

    This product is probably mass manufactured and sold under private label everywhere. It may cost a few cents to make it. Staying in hotels in the US is becoming depressing. Who really wants to deal with this crap? Just booked my summer vacation in Europe. Amazing local hotels, breakfast included in all rates, no resort fees, no BS hidden fees, etc…. I avoid staying in hotels in the US unless it is a business trip.

    • Alert Reply
      January 17, 2024 at 7:22 pm

      @Santastico … yep . How about the Goldener Hirsch in Salzburg ? The breakfast was perfectly huge .

      • Santastico Reply
        January 17, 2024 at 8:18 pm

        Don’t know about this hotel but I have been going to Europe for summer vacation for the last 10 years and 90% of my hotel stays are local properties and the breakfast is always included in the rate and perfectly fine with great local ingredients instead of all the crap they serve at a Hyatt Place for example.

      • Patrick Reply
        January 19, 2024 at 1:16 pm

        @ Alert… I stayed there a few years ago! what a great place!

    • Jesda Gulati Reply
      January 25, 2024 at 1:05 am

      There are tons of resort fees in Europe. They’re supposed to list them explicitly but enforcement varies.

  2. Stuart Reply
    January 17, 2024 at 3:41 pm

    Hilarious!

  3. ptahcha Reply
    January 17, 2024 at 4:55 pm

    By the same token, you should avoid any items that have been recalled in the past, that include every automobile brand, Tylenol, Quaker Oats, and so on.

  4. Wes Reply
    January 17, 2024 at 6:33 pm

    An interesting blog post would be about hotel shampoos/soaps/lotions/etc and where they come from/who manufactures them. I love hotels that have good quality amenities…Aesop, Aveda, Kiehl’s, Le Labo, etc.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      January 17, 2024 at 6:52 pm

      Maybe a future post.

  5. Maryland Reply
    January 17, 2024 at 7:21 pm

    This lotion is a soy product. Soy contains a plant based estrogen, when applied to the skin is absorbed. As this is a body lotion, a good amount of estrogen could affect one’s hormones. And I also would have never applied this lotion on children. I’m surprised they still allow this.

    This is why complimentary products should be examined before using. Just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it’s healthy!

    • DC Reply
      January 17, 2024 at 8:25 pm

      LOL. You had me going for a minute! Thought you were being serious about having a health problem from estrogen in the lotion. Laughed at myself for a bit when I realized you totally had me!

      • Maryland Reply
        January 17, 2024 at 9:02 pm

        Sorry. Not my health problems but totally true. Back in the day, they used to sell OTC soy estrogen creams for women ( a little dab on the inside of the wrist ) was found to change hormones. This is why soy products are avoided by men and women. And that was a dab. Full body moisturizer no thank you, unless you are looking to buy a new bra. ; )

  6. PM Reply
    January 17, 2024 at 7:32 pm

    I would never take such a bottle with me. Too bulky for carry on. I will however admit to occasionally refilling my 90ml bottle of hair conditioner at hotels with large dispensers, as airport lounges and cheaper hotels often don’t include it in shower amenities and I don’t want my hair making me look like I’ve just been electrocuted.

  7. Dom Reply
    January 17, 2024 at 7:43 pm

    And if you’re not able to steal some from your hotel room, eBay has got you covered…
    https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?item=325960215282&rt=nc&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l170197&_ssn=hondahappyguy

  8. FrequentWanderer Reply
    January 17, 2024 at 7:52 pm

    I thought bulk size toiletries just encouraged people to place bodily fluids into the product bottle?

    If it’s not sealed when you get it, don’t assume the label matches what’s inside.

    • Santastico Reply
      January 17, 2024 at 8:21 pm

      That why I bring my own small bottles of toiletries if a short trip. Another huge problem of these big bottles is that many times the housekeeper does not check them and when you go to use they are empty. It happened to me a few times at Hyatt Place where the bottles are not transparent and when you are already in the shower you have the unpleasant surprise they are empty. It is all about cost savings and the stupids think they are saving the planet.

    • Stuart Reply
      January 17, 2024 at 9:17 pm

      @Frequent Wanderer

      Oh no, A Gary Leff reader! Trust me, there are more hospitality workers doing crazy things to you than the random guest peeing in a shampoo bottle. Best you stay home and never leave the house if you can’t handle it. I promise that you don’t want to know what happened in the kitchen of a restaurant you ate at this month.

      • Maryland Reply
        January 17, 2024 at 9:29 pm

        @ Stuart

        Maybe they aren’t peeing into the bottle, but I had one at a Bethesda Marriott that was not soap. Wrong color, wrong slime that housekeeping could not identify. Now how do you explain that.

        • Stuart Reply
          January 17, 2024 at 9:55 pm

          @Maryland

          I don’t explain. If it looks suspicious, I just don’t use it. You should be far more afraid of what’s on the throw pillows and sofa cushions. The bottom line being, I much prefer the obvious. You should be more afraid of what you can’t see. And there is plenty.

          I choose to just accept that it’s par for the course in traveling around the world. I am certainly not going to obsess about the Gary Leff Paranoia of Shared Bathroom Amenities. That’s the least of your exposure out there. If you ever worked in college in the restaurant industry, as another example, you know full well the stuff that goes on.

          • Maryland
            January 17, 2024 at 11:07 pm

            @ Stuart

            Yes darling, I avoid touching a whole lot of stuff in hotel rooms. And yes dearest I was a waitress in college (probably the worst ever) at a place that one short step above a gentlemen’s club. We made salad dressing in trash cans, My parents while supportive, didn’t support all the horses. I also repossessed vehicles in DC to pay board bills. So get back to me when you aren’t complaining about being served a drink with lipstick and a hair.

            Still love and respect you, but I am not a whiner.

          • Stuart
            January 17, 2024 at 11:22 pm

            @Maryland I guess I’m confused. Was I complaining about lipstick on a glass? In fact I was saying all of this is just the norm and to be expected. Now I’m confused, lol. Adore you as well!

      • Santastico Reply
        January 17, 2024 at 9:51 pm

        I don’t disagree with you and you cannot get crazy about what you don’t know otherwise you won’t leave home. However, I think these large bottles of toiletries is the biggest BS ever invented. They used this planet saving brainwashing to simply cut cost and put whatever crap they want into those bottles. I actually haven’t seen a big bottle that has anything with quality inside. The little bottles used to be branded and you could verify they were the real deal by the scents but not these private label ones. Also, it adds complexity to housekeeping. Little bottles were easy to just place them inside the bathroom. Now, if doing their job, they have to check every single bottle in all bathrooms to make sure they are full. They need a tool to unlock the bottles and then fill them up one by one. Talk about adding labor to a place where labor is crumbling. No, I am not concerned about someone peeing on the bottles but they are a terrible idea.

        • Stuart Reply
          January 17, 2024 at 9:56 pm

          Of course, we all know it’s nothing but a cost saving move disguised as environmental. It’s absurd.

  9. Christian Reply
    January 17, 2024 at 9:07 pm

    Props to your friend for having the patience to sit on this story for so many years.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      January 17, 2024 at 9:14 pm

      I don’t get it. It was for a stay two days ago.

  10. Flieger Reply
    January 17, 2024 at 9:24 pm

    Yea, sure. Why not charge $100.000 or a million?

  11. Taxi Reply
    January 17, 2024 at 9:59 pm

    Centrics seem to be increasingly the brand to avoid for Hyatt

    My past experiences with nearly all of them are very nice properties that the owner doesn’t want to maintain or provide a certain level of services. There’s no wonder so many of them are ex-Andaz/Thompson/non-Hyatt luxury brand

    • Stuart Reply
      January 18, 2024 at 7:55 am

      +1

      It’s a brand that is honestly and completely unsure of itself. Most are nothing more than a dressed up Hyatt Place with a kitchen for full breakfast. Yet charge often twice HP. Many are just a couple of years old and already are showing a lot of wear to the rooms as you say. A few good ones, surprisingly the FLL property is fairly decent downtown, but is an outlier.

      Andaz is also increasingly becoming a problem. A dressed up Centric. It’s really losing its luster while charging obscene rates in places like Napa, Scottsdale, NYC and Maui. The Napa and NYC properties are abysmal and you often pay over extraordinary rates. It would be fine though if they would jut scale the rates to what you are getting. Scottsdale is fine, nothing bad, nothing good, but is often over $600, and frequently the same rate as the Four Seasons a few miles away. Craziness.

      Thompson and Park Hyatt are the two sweet spots. Frankly, I wish Thompson would take over the better Andaz properties like Scottsdale (as well as Alila in the U.S. as they are never going to catch on here). Thompson is Hyatt’s future in upscale lifestyle. FYI, the Alila in Encinitas parted ways with their GM at the end of the year, as well as the executive chef, and brought in a “fixer” from Thompson. Nice bloke, met him last week. I’ll bet anything that property becomes a Thompson later this year. The brand is on fire.

      • FrequentWanderer Reply
        January 18, 2024 at 10:55 am

        So you’re saying Centric is the Hyatt answer to Doubletree? As in, we had to call it something, but it doesn’t fit anywhere, so here’s the general purpose brand name.

        Except no cookies!

  12. Tony N. Reply
    January 18, 2024 at 10:16 pm

    I would not take any lotions, I don’t even use any of them. I use my own and I also bring my own bed sheets.

  13. Josh Reply
    January 19, 2024 at 5:23 pm

    How do I subscribe to this blog?

  14. dee Reply
    January 19, 2024 at 7:00 pm

    PS: soy and it byproducts seem to be in every processed foods!!!

  15. Liam Reply
    January 20, 2024 at 8:01 am

    I mean, if you’re so desperate to have the stuff, go to a dollar store and buy an empty bottle or container of some kind (even a bottle of water, drink the water and use the bottle) and fill it up.

    Problem solved and the they probably won’t bat an eyelash.

  16. Droopy Dog Reply
    January 20, 2024 at 3:01 pm

    I cannot imagine ever using those nasty things. You know regardless of the label, whatever is inside is going to be the lowest quality product that they can legally purchase. I always bring my own products….

  17. DT Reply
    January 20, 2024 at 5:02 pm

    Deal alert: Hyatt regency Bellevue square only charges $40 for the same bottle

  18. Miamiflyer Reply
    January 21, 2024 at 9:54 am

    A) the label is intended to prevent the bottles from disappearing from the room – not to sell them
    B) the recall was in 2015.. the story in 2024.. relevance?
    C) someone at Hyatt needs to proofread communication that goes to guests (GM, Housekeeping manager) – preferably someone who speaks English

  19. Josh Reply
    January 21, 2024 at 4:35 pm

    At least the label is big enough to read. I’m getting tired of bottles mounted to the walls (which I support) that have silver text on a white background in 9 point font. Come on – I’m in the shower without my glasses. How hard is it to put “Shampoo”, “Conditioner” and “Soap” in 36 point black type?

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