The brief bathroom check upon entering a hotel room usually presents the hotel guest with a familiar picture. They find shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and body lotion in small plastic bottles or dispensers. So every day, countless plastic bottles, still well filled, end up in the rubbish. For us, this is an absolute no-go. We have therefore turned down numerous requests from hoteliers for our Saint Charles care products in smaller, disposable plastic bottles.
We help reduce waste in hotel cosmetics
In the end, we decided to rethink the issue. The result is a completely new concept and a rethink for the hotel industry. Instead of using disposable containers for hand soap, shampoo and the like, we rely on a refill concept. Large dispenser bottles in pharmacist style are refilled by the hotel staff in the course of room cleaning, in compliance with strict hygiene guidelines. While our Saint Charles products are almost exclusively packaged in glass, shatterproof containers must be used in wet rooms. Recycled PET bottles with a recycling rate of up to 90 percent are used. For us, this is a perfect approach, because "A 300 or 500 ml bottle can be used for a longer period of time and is also made of recycled plastic. This results in an enormous overall saving in plastic waste, up to one tonne per year for a hotel with around 100 rooms," says Saint Charles Managing Director Richard König.
Special care products for special partners
Specially for the hotel industry, the well-known product lines "Private Blend" and "Wild Roots" were developed. Both natural cosmetic care lines use only organic essential oils as fragrance and active ingredient components, largely from regional sources. The result is a refreshingly eye-catching experience for hotel guests and is well received by premium hotel businesses looking for special concepts. We are particularly proud of our newest partner - the Loisium Wine & Spa Hotels in Langenlois (Lower Austria) and Ehrenhausen (Styria). In 2020, in the midst of the Covid crisis, the Loisum has further developed its claim to sustainability. With the Saint Charles care line Wild Roots, they are now focusing on high-quality natural cosmetics for their guests. Wellness lovers, business travellers or athletes can enjoy the new care products scented with rosemary and fine citrus notes. And with a clear conscience. Because the refill solution has also significantly reduced plastic consumption here. This makes hotel operator Mustafa Özdemir, his guests and the environment happy.
Wild Roots and Private Blend already present in 50 hotels
Our Saint Charles Refill care products were developed together with the international premium hotel supplier La Bottega and distributed exclusively through our partner Puro Hotelkosmetik. In the meantime, our Saint Charles care lines are a small success story and can be found in around 50 premium hotels in the Alpine region, including Schloß Fuschl, Natur- und Familenhotel Forsthofgut in Leogang, in the Hotel Stein in Salzburg, in the Großarler Hof or in the Hotel Andaz Belvedere in Vienna. In the spirit of a holistic approach to health and wellbeing, we have now expanded our range for the hotel industry and, in addition to products for the guest rooms, also offer products for the spa area, healthy additions to the breakfast buffet and even ingredients for signature drinks in the hotel bars. With the new facial care series "Herbal Apothecary Facecare", a new active ingredient cosmetic that relies entirely on the power of regional alpine herbs, we will also offer our hotel partners a special treatment programme for innovative spas from 2021. Picture: Loisium Wine & Spa Hotels in Langenlois (Lower Austria) 2021, Richard König (l), Mustafa Özdemir (r)
