Why are hotel room shower doors getting smaller?

Condé Nast Traveler reports that shower doors in luxury hotels are shrinking, and minimalism is to blame.

Instead of hanging a shower curtain or providing a full shower door, many newer hotels opt for glass panels that cover only half the length of the shower. This has frustrated many travelers, who complained about the growing trend's inconvenience and slippery bathroom floors after showering.

According to Condé Nast Traveler, the half-door trend began in European hotels in the 1980s. "A lot of it comes down to people trying to design hotel rooms with limited space," boutique hotel designer Tom Parker told the magazine. "It has to do with the swing of the shower door because it has to open outwards for safety reasons, For example [if] someone falls in the shower. You have to figure out where the door swings to go and make sure it doesn't [hit] the door." According to the magazine, smaller doors also have the effect of making the space appear smaller. Extra benefits that are actually bigger.

The trend is also associated with the birth of minimalist "lifestyle hotels," which cater to a younger, hipper clientele who favor sleek lines and modern design. Additionally, half-size glass doors are easier to clean than shower curtains, which tend to harbor bacteria and require regular replacement, adding significant additional cost to the hotel.

Theoretically, even a half-door shower can minimize water spillage. Designers tried to level the bathroom floor so water wouldn't pool in random areas, and they placed shower heads and knobs in areas more protected by glass paneling. Where design doesn't work, hotels try to pick up the slack.

“Hotels tend to reduce risk by providing non-slip internal shower mats, cloth bath mats for stepping out of the shower, grab bars, [and] open showers or threshold-less showers to avoid undesirable Not climbing on the windowsill,” designer Douglas DeBoer, founder and CEO of Rebel Design Group, told Condé Nast Traveler.

But the half-door trend has yet to catch on with hotel guests. “Older generations really, really like having a shower door,” Parker told Condé Nast Traveler. "I'm like a 70-year-old man at heart anyway. I like [shower doors] if it's consistent with the style of the rest of the room."