One can only imagine how the aristocratic travelers of 19th-century Paris would react if asked to wander into their hotel corridor, metal bottle in hand, to fill it from a communal water dispenser. These were guests accustomed to velvet-draped service, footmen, silver trays, and the quiet choreography of luxury performed entirely on their behalf. The notion of self-service hydration, queuing beside an anonymous fountain-machine, would have felt not merely puzzling, but almost comically at odds with the Parisian grandeur they considered their birthright.
This thought flashed through my mind this winter, moments after I checked into the Hilton Paris Opera, one of the city’s most elegant properties. A Belle Époque palace whose opulent lobby lounge still radiates aristocratic charm. After settling into my room, I began searching, with growing urgency, for the complimentary water bottle I routinely place beside my bed at night. None was to be found. A call to reception revealed the modern twist: the empty stainless-steel bottle in the corner was the amenity. Two quality recycled paper cups waited nearby. I was welcome to step into the corridor and fill the bottle at a dispenser.
Suddenly, the mental picture of myself wandering the hallway in my underwear at 2 a.m., clutching a metal canteen, became unintentionally comedic. And so the question formed – quietly, rebelliously: Is this a refill revolution… or a step too far? Or perhaps, I wondered, am I simply a narrow minded baby-boomer, clinging to a disappearing world?
What’s undeniable is that the planet is changing, and hospitality is evolving with it. Hotels today aren’t just offering beds; they’re redefining comfort through the lens of environmental responsibility. Across the globe, properties have begun phasing out single-use plastic bottles in guestrooms, replacing them with reusable glass alternatives. For most brands, glass signals a new era. One in which eco-responsibility and guest comfort finally coexist.
But is another phase arriving at our doorstep? Refill stations now appear in lobbies, gyms, pool areas, and increasingly on guest floors. Travelers are handed reusable bottles of stainless steel, glass, or durable composites, to top up at their convenience, eliminating single-use plastics.
The 2024 Green Lodging Trends Report, a global survey covering 20,000 hotels across 50 countries, highlights how rapidly the shift is happening: 67.3% of properties have already adopted alternatives to single-use plastic water bottles, ranging from refill stations to reusable containers. It confirms a clear direction: refill-based solutions are becoming mainstream.
'Sustainability integral in hotels in Europe'
It was in 2022 that a concept called “effortless sustainability” began appearing in global hospitality trend analyses. It described a simple but powerful idea: sustainable choices should feel seamless for guests, enhancing comfort rather than demanding effort. Though not coined by any single hotel group, the phrase captured a rising philosophy. Keeping the environment in mind should be woven into the guest journey so naturally that it feels like part of the luxury experience, not a compromise.
“Sustainability is indeed very strong in European hotels and has become an expectation among guests, as part of a hospitality experience that balances visitor needs with the preservation of the natural environment,” explains Dr. Eran Ketter (PhD), head of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Kinneret Academic College. “At the same time, most places today adopt effortless sustainability. Bottled water is replaced by staffed refill stations; single-use toiletries give way to branded dispensers; and guests can skip daily linen changes in favor of a simple refresh. This trend will only intensify. But placing empty stainless-steel bottles in guestrooms and expecting guests to fill them in the corridor – this is apparently a red line that should not be crossed.”
Yet not all hoteliers agree. Danny Tamari, owner of the 39-room Vera Boutique Hotel near Tel Aviv’s Neve Tzedek, believes the future of hospitality lies precisely in these thoughtful, sustainable gestures. For him, it begins with something as humble and essential as water. “At the Vera, complimentary filtered water in glass jugs is non-negotiable,” he says. “Every guestroom receives a daily refill during morning housekeeping, and guests can help themselves at the unbranded lobby station anytime. Many travelers choose the hotel because of our uncompromising sustainable approach. They understand this is the direction hospitality must go.”
Still, not every traveler views this shift as an upgrade. Research on service convenience shows that when people must take even a slightly longer step to obtain something that was once delivered effortlessly, the experience can feel like a downgrade. Luxury hospitality is built on ease. The absence of friction. When effortless perks vanish and are replaced by tasks, however minor, they can begin to resemble cost-cutting disguised as conscience.
This tension helps explain why, despite sustainability commitments, relatively few hotels have fully replaced in-room bottled water with refill-only systems. Consumer-psychology studies consistently show that even minimal “effort friction” can lower perceived luxury, especially in environments where comfort is the benchmark. And so my midnight bottle run might remain a rarity in classic hotels: for many guests, stepping into the corridor with a metal bottle simply does not feel like hospitality, no matter how noble the intention.
Confused, I turned for guidance to the man who, in my view, understands luxury hospitality better than most. Ronen Nissenbaum has led some of the world’s most prestigious hotels, including the iconic Plaza and the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, and today oversees development and operations for Fattal Hotels across the UK, Ireland, Benelux, Spain, Portugal, and the United States. “Luxury today is about giving guests the freedom to choose,” Nissenbaum explains. “Check-in, for example, can be done in luxury hotels with a human host, a mobile device, or a kiosk. The same applies to water. Some guests will opt for reusable metal containers, like those I recently encountered at the recently reopened Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan, while I was also offered water in glass bottles in my room. The definition of luxury is evolving with offering options to guests.”
A confession: after a day or two, once I accepted the idea, filling the stainless-steel bottle in the evenings in my Paris hotel corridor wasn’t so bad. To my surprise, I even felt a small sense of contentment. Perhaps even pride. I was making an environmentally friendly choice.
Will the majority of future guests feel the same? Time, and the tide of sustainability, will tell.
The writer is the Travel Flash Tips publisher.