The Real Reasons Hotels Are Removing Dressers From Rooms

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Ever notice something missing in hotel rooms lately? Dressers are quietly disappearing—and it’s not by accident.

When you check into a hotel room nowadays, you have a few things you hope for. A comfy bed. Decent Wi-Fi, a TV you can override out of “hotel mode”, a thermostat that works (or, again, that you can override) and enough plugs (maybe even some USB ports).

A chest of drawers? Don’t count on it. They’re becoming more and more rare, depending on where you stay.

Why? Blame changing traveler preference

No, seriously. According to CNTraveler, hotels are noticing that a minimalist look is more attractive to younger guests. They’re not looking for bells and whistles and are absolutely happy with a clean and efficient space. So, in hotels that cater to adults in their 20s or so, dressers are out, and shelves and/or hanging hooks are in.

There are other reasons too. Newly built hotel rooms are getting smaller and a lack of a big piece of furniture like a chest of drawers makes the room feel bigger. Plus, people staying just a night or two, especially solo travelers, reportedly tend not to use the dresser. So why supply one?

Travel + Leisure also suggests another reason to not have dressers in the room – they can be a hiding spot for bed bugs. (here’s how you can check to see if your hotel has been reported for bedbugs)

But that’s not all. Laminate floors are replacing carpets, which are much easier to clean. Tubs are being ripped out and replaced with glass-walled showers. And if you want a desk, well, you might be lucky to get a table. Otherwise, there’s always the lobby (or use this hack). I guess they’re using the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) design methodology.

Meanwhile, hotels offer other storage solutions to replace the lack of drawers, such as installing hanging rails, hooks, shelving, open wardrobes, and even drawer space under the bed.

Over the past couple of years, we’ve stayed at several places with these more modern designs.

• When we stayed at the Moxy in Phoenix Tempe a few years ago, there was no chest of drawers. As you can see in the photos in that post, we had a small closet for hanging things and there were some hooks on the wall. We only stayed one night, and we didn’t miss having drawers at all. Our stayOur stay at another Moxy, this time in NYC, also had no dresser.We didn’t really miss it during our 2-night stay.
• When Joe went on his first business trip, he spent a week at the Hilton Garden Inn in Charlotte. As shown in that post, the room had a long table that acted as a desk, TV stand, table lamp holder and about two feet for putting stuff down. Several shelves and metal wire pull-out bins were across from the bathroom, where a closet would normally be. Joe said he didn’t really miss having drawers; the bins and shelving were enough for his 1-week visit. But storage space did start getting cramped when I surprised him by showing up for a long weekend (that was SO MUCH FUN!) and there were now two people in the room. He also said that since the bins were just wire, it made it hard to store smaller items.
• Our rooms (we stayed in two different rooms, one night each) at the TWA Hotel at JFK also used the long table design. The room had a small closet but no drawers.
• When we stayed at Motel One in Munich in late 2019, I think that’s when I really felt the downside of “small, clean and efficient.” The room was very small – no more than 10′ x 20 ′ (not uncommon in Europe), including the bathroom. As you can see, instead of drawers, there were 2 small areas for hangers and 3 shelves. And the “desk” was a table with an ottoman. There was also minimal space for our luggage. Overall, not ideal for a 3-night stay. But the lobby was great if we wanted to hang out there.

A few other hotels we’ve stayed in recently have these newer setups without drawers, but I think you get the point.

For hotel guests in their 40s, 50s or older, there are still plenty of hotel chains with drawers and computer desks. Families can still find rooms with tubs to give their kids a bath, and carpeted rooms are still out there to muffle sounds a little.

For now, there are still plenty of hotels that offer traditional setups. But as brands continue to lean into smaller, more minimalist designs, dressers may keep disappearing.

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