New Delhi: Agitated by disappearing bathroom doors from hotel rooms, a digital marketer has categorised properties based on the kind of doors installed by the owners. She has meticulously divided the hotels based on privacy level.
The latest ‘redesign’ or upheaval in hotels across the globe is traditional hinged bathroom doors being replaced with sliding panels, frosted glass, curtains, or, in some cases, no separation at all between the bathroom and sleeping area. Customers have not taken well to this change. Many now specifically call and check if the hotel has bathroom doors, which can ensure privacy.
“Finding a hotel that has a proper bathroom door shouldn’t be a challenge. I’ve vetted each of the hotels on this list and confirmed that every room has a real bathroom door,” reads a description on Sadie Lowell’s website.
The category ‘0 per cent privacy’ is for hotels with no doors, no walls, or walls that have windows. See-through glass doors are reviewed at 50 per cent, while 80 per cent privacy is for barn-style doors, doors with slats, and similar options that visually block the bathroom but don’t provide complete privacy.
The website has listed hotels from London to Paris to Rome, which have traditional doors. It also has an option for hotels to submit their information to get listed on the website, provided they have a solid bathroom door.
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Lowell’s TikTok page
The shift to non-traditional bathroom doors or no bathroom doors at all comes as mid–price hotel chains face pressure to cut costs. Traditional doors are expensive to install and maintain, require wider ADA-compliant frames, and block natural light, all of which increase energy costs.
Hotel conglomerates such as Marriott have also opted for doors that allow a person in the bedroom to look inside the bathroom.
Some hotels have also used other methods, such as moving the sink and shower into the bedroom and enclosing the toilet in glass or placing it in a cubby-like space to make the room look more spacious.
However, these changes are less likely to be found in a heritage hotel, including those that may have been renovated extensively.
Lowell’s website describes her as a ‘freelance digital marketer, bathroom door enthusiast, travel and running content creator’.
She started her TikTok page, Bring Back Bathroom Doors, with a viral video that got over 36,000 likes in October 2025. In the video, Lowell compared the hotel industry with the airline industry. She mentioned how airlines have introduced design changes, such as seats with less legroom and smaller overhead compartments, without changing the price of a ticket. According to Lowell, the hotel industry is following suit.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)