How do you encourage more romance in hotel rooms?

If it is up to entrepreneur Viviane van den Bichelaer from Heerhugowaard in the Netherlands, the concept of experience in the hotel industry will gain real meaning. "I am convinced that room turnover can grow creatively if the experience for the guest is made personal and surprising," she says. Viviane seems to have a cryptic start to her story, but nothing could be further from the truth. "A couple stays overnight in a hotel also to be able to pay mental and physical attention to each other again. More love, in other words. With certainly also a sensual angle."

Viviane has been with Personal Care Concepts, which manufactures cosmetic products based on its own recipes, for several years. The company does this for large chains that market private labels. "We are a supplier of everything in the field of skin and hair care. In recent years, I expanded those activities and that resulted in a separate company: Love Business. How it ever started? During an overnight stay in a hotel, I found a bag of love products on the sideboard. A toy, some condoms, a bit of lubricant, ... But basically it was cheap rubbish. We could do a lot better, I thought. So we set out to develop a more inspiring and romantic alternative with a better look-and-feel."

Romance and excitement

That the initiative has worked out well is proven by the large number of Dutch hotels where Viviane and her colleagues now supply. They also export to Curaçao, Germany and Belgium. More and more countries seem ready for love and good conversation in hotel rooms.

"We developed luxurious, beautifully designed black boxes with exciting contents to encourage love and togetherness in hotel rooms," says Viviane. "From a soft romantic touch and products to make foreplay more exciting to the more exciting stuff. You may interpret that from the innocent rose petals to beautiful vibrators, cock rings, handcuffs, massage oils and even whips. The goal? To offer guests much more fun in a hotel room. We also let them get a step closer together mentally. Each box, for instance, contains fun assignment cards with naughty questions that couples can ask each other, such as "What turns you on?" or "What grade do you give for....". Fill in further yourself (laughs)."

A good conversation follows

From the start of these love boxes, many hotels showed a healthy curiosity. This immediately translated into successful pilot projects. "For example, the boxes are offered in several hotels as a choice option when booking," says Viviane. "Even the more conservative general manager changed his mind and saw the commercial opportunities and added value of our products. Everything is done discretely. That way, as a hotelier, you discover how many guests like the box. For example, some hotels put a specially designed leaflet on the hotel room sideboard. The guest then decides which box to order and have it delivered to the hotel room."  

Different versions

Of course Viviane understands that her products arouse curiosity. "Sex sells," she says. "Fortunately, I see that since the corona era, there are fewer taboos around this subject. People dare to experiment more and talk about it more often. Therein lies the opportunity for the hotelier who understands that experience is also about creating memories. Why not give a guest that exciting retrospective of their stay at the hotel?"

Several versions are available. From the 'Key to Start' (discreet way to provide the guest with condoms) and the 'Key to Love' (a wonderful foreplay) to the 'Key to Romance' (helps housekeeping to fill out the romantic package), the 'Key to Experience', the 'Key to Adventure', the 'Key to Heaven' and the 'Key to Wellness'. "Ultimately, every hotelier wants to pamper their guests," Viviane concludes. "That is possible now more than ever."■