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 crisis,” arguing that such layouts may look sleek but do not adequately shield guests during bathroom use.
Traveler reactions on Reddit echo those concerns. Guests said they were often surprised by bathroom layouts that lacked solid doors and noted that booking listings rarely disclose these design details in advance. Several travelers mentioned now contacting hotels directly before booking to confirm whether rooms include fully enclosed bathrooms, citing past experiences where visibility and noise made stays uncomfortable.
The “Bring Back Doors” Movement
Traveler dissatisfaction with the loss of bathroom doors has transcended casual complaints, evolving into an online backlash that includes social media campaigns and community-driven tracking projects. One prominent example is the digital initiative “Bring Back Doors,” created by a traveler who encountered multiple hotel rooms lacking solid bathroom doors and began cataloging properties based on their bathroom designs. This site has grown into an informal reference for travelers seeking accommodations that still offer full privacy, categorizing hotels that use solid, closable doors separately from those that use partial or transparent alternatives.
