IRVINE, CA—Freshends flushable towelettes are looking to wipe the floor with conventional amenity competition. “As a guest, I know that I’m going to see shampoo, conditioner, lotion and maybe bath salts, but it’s nice to find a new amenity,” said Jill Beck, principal and co-founder of Freshends, based here.
“We’re always looking for amenities that will leave a lasting impression on our guests, and we’ve found this in Freshends,” stated Jeremy Dougherty, resort manager, Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa in Paradise Valley, AZ. “Both practical and luxurious, Freshends elevate the bathroom experience.”
Beck found inspiration for Freshends in bidets, the product’s European counterpart. “Originally, the concept came from my husband, based on a visit from a relative from France,” Beck explained. “He asked my husband how you freshen up, and my husband said we take a shower. Since they use washlettes in Europe, he didn’t understand that we were willing to freshen up with dry toilet tissue.”
When her husband, a commercial mortgage banker, was too busy to carry out the concept, she developed Freshends. Now, with co-founder Ann Rommel, Beck is ensuring that guests of luxurious, upscale resorts won’t have to ask that same question. Resorts such as the Grand Del Mar and various Ritz-Carlton properties are making sure no guests are left behind, stocking bathrooms with the individually packaged wipes.
Made here, Freshends are alcohol free and feature natural ingredients such as aloe, Vitamin E and cucumber extract. The 100% biodegradable towelettes are made of non-woven paper, ensuring flushability, said the company.
Freshends markets the product to luxury venues, and the hospitality market was a perfect fit for the burgeoning company. “Our main focus has always been to market Freshends to hotels and resorts,” said Rommel. Beck added, “The typical guest staying at an upscale resort is accustomed to a higher level of cleanliness and comfort than a dry tissue. They might be used to having flushable wipes at home.”
The Inn at Palmetto Bluff, A Montage Resort in Bluffton, SC, offers Freshends, and David Smiley, director of guest services, stated, “For many hotel guests, their room is their home away from home. Having Freshends in the bathroom has added a new level of comfort and guest satisfaction.”
However, hotels weren’t always on board with the growing trend. “We definitely had to reach out to them, getting the word out on the product,” Beck said. “Now, we’ll be speaking with hotels and they’ll mention to us that they saw it at another hotel. A gentleman that we worked with at a Ritz-Carlton in California had just moved to the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, and he requested Freshends samples so he can introduce it to his team there.”
Moreover, the product can be tailored to a particular lcoation. “We do custom orders, so we’ll put the hotel’s logo on the packet, but that requires a minimum order,” Beck said.
In addition, hotels can purchase Freshends at a wholesale to sell them on-site. Rommel said, “Hotels can offer them in their gift/sundry shops and spas. That’s an option available now.”
Freshends aren’t only used for the obvious, either. “They’re really good hand to toe—you can use them as a nice cleansing towlette,” Rommel said. “Some hotels present guests with Freshends towelettes upon arrival as a way to freshen up. Also, A properties will use them in F&B, room service, fitness centers and conference rooms. It’s not just a flushable wipe.”
Still, the topic of a flushable wipe is a sensitive one, the women observed, with guests too embarrassed to request the wipes and hotels too shy to talk about them. “We will get general managers and housekeepers who will quietly admit to the fact that they use wipes at home,” said Beck. Compared to when Freshends was founded four years ago, wipes are more open to discussion.
Rommel noted, “Often, when we call a hotel and we start talking about the topic, we hear them say, ‘I use products like that at home.’ So it’s not so unusual now. Now, every grocery store has multiple brands. Maybe it was a fad when I started but now it’s a trend. We think if guests travel with it, you should provide it.”
Both Rommel and Beck stress that Freshends is just as much for men as it is for women. However, women will be taking advantage of Freshstarts, the company’s new foray into makeup remover towelettes. Rommel noted that the new product was the result of hotels requesting a makeup remover wipe. “We had enough requests to research it and we came up with a product that’s appropriate for hospitality,” she noted.
And the product couldn’t have come at a better time, said Rommel: “Right now, one of the issues with hotels is with TSA regulations; people aren’t traveling with their own makeup remover liquids, and they don’t remember to bring makeup remover wipes, so offering it to your guests is really nice.”
Though the product is a guest amenity, Rommel observed that hotels will reap the benefits, too: “With ladies wearing long-lasting mascara and lipstick, makeup can really stain linens—and they’re expensive,” she continued. “Freshstarts help keep washcloths clean.”
“We found that Freshends and Freshstarts complement each other,” Beck said. “Some of our existing clients added Freshstarts as soon as we sent out samples to them; they immediately placed their order. We’re also gaining new clients that, at this point, have just chosen to add Freshstarts. We feel this will circle around in the long run and, hopefully, we’ll get Freshends in their hotels too.”
Additional products are also being taken into consideration, as Beck explained: “While we have hotel clients utilizing Freshends for other purposes, we do feel it would be nice to market a freshening towelette where it doesn’t say flushable on it. We’re always open to the wishes and demands of our customers and we definitely want to listen to what they want and need.”