Hotels skimp on toothpaste as AAA Diamond Ratings brush aside its importance

Why has toothpaste in hotel rooms been relegated to a supplementary status? I asked this question of executives at 18 North American hotel chains, and most provided the same pair of explanations. First, they said their in-room amenities are chosen based on extensive consumer research. In other words, if the hotels aren’t giving you toothpaste, it’s because you don’t really want toothpaste.

“If such requests did begin to trend,” explained a representative from the Wyndham Hotel Group, “we would evaluate our brand standards and offerings.” (Update, July 3: There is at least one major exception to the rule. A Hyatt spokesperson reports that all of that company’s hotels in North America offer in-room tubes of Aquafresh toothpaste.)