There will be a change in what amenities hotels are allowed to provide for guests without a charge in South Korea, effective March 29, 2024.

Many hotels have already moved away from single-use bathroom amenities, such as shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel, but now, in Korea, other single-use amenities, such as dental and shaving kits, are banned and only available for a charge.

You can access Conrad Seoul here.

Conrad Seoul’s Email To Guests:

Warm greetings from Conrad Seoul!

In addition, please kindly note Korean government has announced that the guestrooms more than 50 rooms in the lodging business will be prohibited to provide the complimentary single-use amenities effective March 29, 2024.

Please refer to below; 

Name of the new regulation: Resource Saving and Recycling Promotion Act

Effective date: Starting from 29th of March Friday, 2024

Prohibited complimentary offers: Razor, toothbrush/toothpaste and shampoo/conditioner

The items listed above will be placed in the drawer near minibar with price list.

o    Toothbrush and Toothpaste: KRW 1,000

o    Shaving Kit: KRW 1,000

o    Kids amenities (Wash and Soap): KRW 2,000

Inclusive 10% Tax

We thank you for your reservation and look forward to welcoming you soon!

Conclusion

I sometimes ask for a shaving kit or toothpaste, so it would be unfortunate if these become chargeable items in more countries.

There was quite a bit of resistance, from myself included, when many hotels moved away from single-use bathroom amenities to these pump bottles, but overall, I think that they have been quite well received (if only they would always work without issues, like this morning at one Marriott hotel).

If the price of these amenities is reasonable and they are better quality than what you often find at hotels, this is not an issue, but perhaps sometimes a small annoyance.

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