Luxury hotel rooms will typically feature specific high-end brands of designer soaps, shampoos, creams etc. These brands are prominently mentioned in hotel marketing material and in the rooms. I would like to know what typical deal terms of these product placements is. By this, I mean, do the hotels buy the soaps or do the soap companies provide them for free (or even pay the hotels) in order to gain exposure to thousands of affluent potential customers.
Some of these products aren’t available retail, so there’s no point in drumming up retail demand. Molton-Brown Lili-Pili shampoo, for example.
I’d guess one of two things- either the personal care brand provides them for free to the hotels, as a sort of advertising scheme, or they provide them at a discount to certain hotels.
I suspect the second is the case; for example, Bliss stuff doesn’t really need to give their stuff away to the W hotel chain, but it does benefit both parties if the hotel uses that brand exclusively (W gets top-notch stuff, Bliss gets exposure to the W’s clientele, and association with their brand), so I suspect they sell it at a discount to the W chain.
The hotels buy them.
Here is one article about it:
There is considerable competition among hotel chains to offer ‘exclusive’ brands. In the end, it’s the customer who pays, whether they take them home or not.
Hotels Clean Up On Soap (no subscription required)