No Door, No Privacy: Travelers Are Fed Up With Hotels’ Open Bathroom Trend
No Door, No Privacy: Travelers Are Fed Up With Hotels’ Open Bathroom Trend
https://travelnoire.com/travelers-call-out-hotels-bathroom-doors-removal
Publish Date: 2026-01-28 10:22:00
Source Domain: travelnoire.com
Many travelers are raising concerns and openly criticizing hotels that are redesigning guest rooms by removing traditional bathroom doors. The trend has sparked widespread frustration across social media and travel forums. In place of hinged bedroom-style doors, several hotels are installing sliding panels, curtains, frosted glass, or no physical barrier at all between the bathroom and the main room. These new designs emerged as hoteliers aim to reduce construction and maintenance costs and create more space through modern designs, according to The Wall Street Journal.
However, guests say that the shift comes at the expense of basic privacy, especially on shared stays with partners, family members, or friends. Travelers have taken to Reddit and other online platforms to share experiences of arriving at properties only to find bathrooms that offer little protection from sight or sound, often with no advance disclosure during booking. The backlash has included calls for better transparency from hotels and even initiatives to document which properties still offer traditional bathroom doors.
Why Hotels Are Removing Bathroom Doors
Coverage in multiple outlets on hospitality design has linked the removal of traditional bathroom doors to broader trends in hotel construction and room layout strategies. The Wall Street Journal reported that many hotels are replacing standard hinged bathroom doors with alternatives perceived as easier to install and maintain, while giving rooms a more open feel. The outlet notes that these layouts are often presented as contemporary upgrades but have drawn pushback from guests who say they reduce privacy and comfort, particularly in shared rooms.
House Beautiful highlighted that frosted glass doors and partial enclosures frequently fail to provide meaningful separation between bathrooms and sleeping spaces, allowing sound and movement to carry through the room. The publication described this trend as a “bathroom privacy…
