Are plastic cups a dealbreaker for anyone?

Since I've seen real glasses with greasy fingerprints and lip prints that are on the tray as if they were clean, I almost prefer the plastic ones. I now always wash the glasses before I use them.

It's not a dealbreaker for me although I do prefer to have proper glass. It has nothing to do with hygiene but all about cost. What's the hygiene issue? Glassware gets washed just like it does in restaurants and bars. Glassware costs money to wash and replace when broken, disposable plastic is cheaper but at what cost to the environment?

I recently spent a night at one of Marriott's Towneplace suites where they provided complimentary breakfast yet despite Marriott's claims about caring for the environment, reusing towels etc, here they were serving breakfast with paper plates, plastic cutlery and plastic cups all of which were being placed in the bin afterwards. An incredible waste and in the current focus on the plastic problem, quite damaging for a company. The same goes for the huge waste in plastic bags for grocery shopping here in the US. Despite trying to pack my bags myself to avoid one bag being used for one item I have never been able to do so and neither has my attempt to reuse the bags from the previous shop been accepted. It's a shocking waste and I would like to see charges for plastic bags introduced as it has in the UK and elsewhere, that'd soon bring the waste down.

That's not to say I wouldn't stay at a hotel simply because they have disposable cups in the bathroom but I'd certainly raise it with the company (as we did with Marriott).

I’ve seen news reports and articles about hotel room glasses just being wiped down and not removed from the room and cleaned properly. I for one do not like drinking from a glass that has only been wiped down. It’s a health issue.

I ’ve seen news reports and articles about hotel room glasses just being wiped down and not removed from the room and cleaned properly. I for one do not like drinking from a glass that has only been wiped down. It’s a health issue.

I usually just stick my mouth under the tap a la water fountain, been doing it ever since I was a child, we weren't posh enough to have glasses in the bathroom.

I am always wary of glasses because just like the previous poster said, there may be fingerprints, or lips on them. Plus think of it - how many people have been in and out of the room, doing whatever business, with glassware sitting around. I feel the same about towels. Just because they look well folded doesn't mean the previous occupant didn't do whatever near them or even touched them. I wouldn't give a negative review over glasses vs plastic cups though!

Perhaps I'm too much of a germaphobe!

On the subject of reusing towels, it has nothing to do with the hotel's environmental responsibility but directly to do with cutting hours of the lowest paid workers. Same with the little cards you can put out declining maid service during your stay. Each morning the hotel will dole out hours, or lay off, depending on how many people have declined service.

Hopefully we’ll slide past summer into fall and meaty topics.

I don't get too many plastic bags anymore, as we've been using fabric bags for years now (it's really been drilled into our brains)...some places (cough - Walmart - cough) charge .05 PER BAG! It's pretty much automatic now to grab the fabric bags. And what plastic bags I do get - most of them are used to clean up after my dog, unless they are flimsy or have a hole in the bottom. The rest go in the blue bag with the rest of the recycling.

If you're truly scared the real glasses aren't being cleaned between guests (not a serious risk to you though surely), surely you can just wash it yourself before using. Seems more practical than wanting disposable plastic cups which are only creating more unnecessary plastic waste.

I try to go counter the flow of average people. I'm trying to live forever by inoculating myself with every possible germ, thus building resistance to whatever disease will ultimately wipe everyone out. I hate when hotels take away my choice by using disposable cups. What's next, disposable remote controls? ;-)

I've had rooms with no cups in them at all. Simple, just "borrow" one from the bar or restaurant.
Individual portions of butter, jam, salt, sauces etc. packaged in plastic, that is wasteful

I go shopping with a backpack. Stuff everything in, very common in Switzerland.

I'm poor so every hotel I'm at has plastic cups wrapped in plastic, which we reuse. I wouldn't trust the cleanliness of glass. I'd wash it before using.

We reuse towels for several days so we're very good people, Mary and I, or Mary and me. Can't keep that straight.

At home we wash towels once per week.

Oh, you people...

I bring my own from home: collapsable food-grade silicone cup.

"Dealbreaker?" Puh-lease... (combined eyeroll and facepalm...)

On the subject of reusing towels, it has nothing to do with the hotel's environmental responsibility but directly to do with cutting hours of the lowest paid workers. Same with the little cards you can put out declining maid service during your stay. Each morning the hotel will dole out hours, or lay off, depending on how many people have declined service

Not sure where you came up with this but hotel staffing is based on occupancy not how many people put out their "do not disturb sign. "

Not changing towels or linen daily saves the hotel money by not having to wash as much. That helps the environment by lowering the use of water and power.

In most cases, linens are folded after washing so clean sheets should have fold marks. (Not all the time.)

Sadly, I have witnessed housekeepers just use a cloth to clean glasses and in one case, in Paris, use the same cloth to wipe down glasses that had just been used to wipe down the entire bathroom. I always wash everything before use. When at an extended stay property, everything goes in the dishwasher prior to using.

It's not a dealbreaker for me although I do prefer to have proper glass.

My sentiment too, at least in hotel rooms. But where it is a dealbreaker is serving wine. I've walked out of some wine tastings where plastic cups were used.

A dealbreaker? Never. Plastic cups are often what I see in my hotel rooms when I travel on business domestically. I PREFER them if they are individually sealed.

Read enough TA posts and it’s amazing some of the silly things people complain about. There are many legitimate reasons a place could get a bad rating, but that isn’t one of them in my opinion. It’s those type reviews that give TA a bad name and why one needs to read multiple reviews and do other research to form an informed opinion. I’d prefer a sealed plastic cup over a glass one that’s been in the bathroom for god knows how long. I will sometimes go to the hotel restaurant or bar to get a glass that should actually be clean.

Whenever I stay at a Marriott chain hotel, I always look for the Book of Mormon in the room. It's always there somewhere, even at Marriotts in the UK.

Yes but where's the relevance to plastic cups?

At my stay in the aforementioned Towneplace Suites I was looking for the guide that provides information about the hotel, its amenities etc but there wasn't one to be found, nor a pad for writing phone numbers, notes and so on, in fact there was nothing useful that you normally find in a hotel but they made sure there was a copy of the Book of Mormon and The Bible in each bedroom, not much use if you want to find where the laundry room is located or what time the gym opens or even what to expect when you roll up for breakfast in the morning.

Take glass or coffee mug. Use provided soap or shampoo to wash. Wipe dry with Kleenex (but always remove the first one and toss) or supposedly clean hotel towels. Then use glass or mug. Why is this an issue or any different than cleaning a glass at home?

The reason there is a copy of the Book of Mormon in every Marriott hotel is because the Marriott family belongs to the Mormon church. It's company policy.b

For years, Hilton used to place the autobiography of Conrad Hilton--founder of the company--in every room.

a few years ago, my first trip to paris with couple friends, decided to celebrate with a bottle of champagne at the eiffel tower. no glasses at apartment so we bought plastic glasses at a local liquor/gift shop, took the rest back to apartment. we laughed so much about our fancy "champagne glass"! and memories till today.
a well known low price hotel? should have been happy they're were cups in the room. hope it didn't ruin their holiday. people can be so petty, look on the bright and fun side, enjoy the positive.
aloha

I don't use the plastic cups provided in the room. If they are the soft plastic kind they are durable but squishy and I don't like that. If they are the crisp plastic kind they crack and I don't like that. And I really object to single use non-recyclable and non-recycled plastic of any sort.

I wander down to the bar and ask for a couple of large glasses with ice. Never fails. Or at least has never failed for me. Usually wind up with something between 400 ml and 700 ml.

No worries.

Maybe the Bible and Book of Mormon are the only real guides you need in life.

As for glasses, if there's a fancy piece of paper on top I'm reassured it's sterilized. Or something.

The carpeted floors in hotel rooms skeeve me out much more since it is unavoidable during ones stay. I was once told to never use the coffee maker in hotel rooms since it was common knowledge that people pee in them. I have gotten a combination of plastic cups wrapped in more plastic or glass. I typically use my water bottle for non alcoholic drinking, and will wash out the glass (if one is there) if we've brought some wine back for the evening. Do you get a sense that the plastic cup issue was one example of a bigger issue they had with the hotel? It is silly, but their review, so I guess you read it and decide if it is of any use to you when making your decision about staying there.

Maybe the Bible and Book of Mormon are the only real guides you need in life.

I don't need any guide in life, just common sense and good morals. If you need your book take it with you. As someone who detests religion and finds parts of it offensive I see no reason why it should be in the room.

Frank II, that is exactly what is happening at the Sheraton on Queen in Toronto. They provide cards in the room that allows you to decline maid service, and if you do decline, they rebate your room rate $5CAD per night. Each morning, cleaning staff report for duty and are sent home or have their shifts reduced depending on how many people opt out.

This is directly from the workers' mouths to the organizers of the (many) conventions and educationals I've attended there.

I can't imagine that the Sheraton is the only one with this business model.

Andrea, I have worked for many years in the travel and tourism industry and have only heard it once before when a union was trying to get into a hotel.

I have stayed in a hotel where if you decline housekeeping you get frequent stay points. When I asked why, they said for the environment. When pressed they admitted they had a hard time finding good housekeepers and hoped it would mean not having to use bad ones.

Of the dozens of hotel I stay in every year that was the only one that had the decline offer.

I didn't think of the environmental issues until later, but the tone of the review was very much about plastic cups being low-class, not that they were environmentally polluting.

Everything is relative. I stay in city center, yet budget friendly accommodations. I don't complain much when I'm abroad, I want to make a good impression. I do travel with plastic cups of my own, mostly to have for picnics, but could be used in the hotel. Unfriendly staff or dirty is my dealbreaker. If you stay at a 5 star property at a 5 star price and get plastic cups, probably a deal breaker. I'm not saying OP is doing this, but I'm always amused when I read something like, the room was small, the soap was stingy, view of an alley, etc.., when the traveler choose a 2 or 3 star property at an inexpensive rate.

and I was sad to read that my choices made in deference to the environment (towels, sheets) negatively impacts local workers. I had never thought of that and I'm unsure of how I'd want to behave in the future. I still think it is wasteful to get new sheets/towels daily. Maybe I should be more sloppy in my room? ;)

I prefer plastic disposable cups that are sealed in plastic for use in the hotel room. Yes, it is environmentally insensitive if the hotel chooses not to properly recycle. But the fingerprints on the inside of glassware as well as lipstick on the rim and seeing hotel cleaning staff wipe down the glasses with the same cloth they just used on the toilet, I can live with it. If I do end up in a hotel room with glassware, and I'm too lazy to go to the bar for other glasses, I use either the hot water pot or the coffee maker to heat some water which I then use to pour all over the glasses I have washed with the available soap in the room. Maybe not sterile, but much better than otherwise.

Yes, reusing your towels and refusing maid service can impact the salary of the cleaners. If management determines they don't need the entire crew, some do get sent home without pay or all of them work until done and then all get sent home early also without full pay for the day since they are hourly in most locations. So it not only save the hotel in soap, water, and electricity costs to wash and dry those linens, it save on their salary expense as well.

My local grocers are happy to let you use whatever bags you bring with you to pack your purchase in. The have their own tote bags you can buy, and occasionally have give away days for them where you can get one free if you purchase enough. I often use the bags I got from Foodland in Hawaii with their cool sushi diagrams and other Hawaiian related prints. No complaints.

I've seen the plastic cups in Ibis hotels which are all over Europe. While I prefer glass, it isn't a dealbreaker nor would I leave a one star review just because of that.
I think it is good to be environmentally friendly, but perhaps I'm jaded by too many US companies using 'going green' as a way to save money.

Well, so as not to leave the OP in a boat by themselves...yes, I've seen some pretty stupid and petty reviews. Namely the Chalet Fontana in Murren got a low score because Denise made the coffee too weak (insert eye roll here). Yes - there are such things as stupid reviews. But those are also the ones that get ignored by well traveled people.

Plastic is an environmental disaster. We should be more concerned about the planet than selfish interests.

Yes, very petty, but then what do you expect? . Another reason I don't bother with Trip Advisor.

Have I encountered disposable plastic cups in hotel rooms in Europe? Yes, the 2 star hotel I stay at in Paris, Gare du Nord, offers such disposable ( sealed ) plastic cups, at least one, may be two.

In Germany if you're staying in a "low priced hotel" or in Pensionen, you're lucky even to get a plastic cup, not disposable and sealed, or anything , if your room is not en suite, only a sink, ie, described as "mit fließendem Wasser." and two towels.

If the hotel/Pension offers plastic cups, sealed, disposable or unsealed, non-disposable, it's all irrelevant.

I don't find glass cups in Germany on the hotel room table unless the hotel is a three star and en suite.

We do our best to run a low energy use and low trash bin use home. I figure I get a decent offset from that behavior so I'll buy a plastic bottle of water on trips in many locations (exception: National Parks where we do pack in reusable water bottles) and such and not feel guilty about the occasional bit of preferring convenience on the road.