Crabtree wins Hilton toiletries contract

Crabtree & Evelyn has won a significant contract to supply a range of luxury toiletries to the Hilton Hotels, in what is continuing to be a buoyant sector, reports Simon Pitman.

Hilton Hotels & Resorts aims to bring the spa experience into every one of its guestrooms by introducing the new Hilton Serenity Bath Collection, which features Crabtree & Evelyn's La Source bath amenities as well as the company's custom-designed hammered stainless steel accessories.

Jeff Diskin, senior vice president, Hilton brand management said he was looking for a sensory experience for his guests. "The answer is that by making these high-end, spa-quality bath amenities standard across all of our hotels, we can help our guests achieve rejuvenation and serenity," he said.

The new Crabtree & Evelyn's La Source collection includes shampoo, conditioner, body wash, body lotion, mouthwash, shower cap, sewing kit, vanity kit, aqua brush with pumice, shoe mitt and shoe horn.

According to Crabtree & Evelyn, the La Source line was created to provide an in-home spa experience. The emphasis was to provide natural active ingredients, which is why they include aloe vera and marine extracts. To give the product line further soothing properties it has also been infused with herbal extracts and peppermint to revitalize.

The custom-designed brushed and hammered stainless steel accessories will include an amenity tray, soap dish, tissue box cover, trash can, ice bucket, ice bucket tray, memo pad and pen holder.

Hilton Hotels says that the three-step launch of the new collection starts with the immediate phase-in of the Crabtree & Evelyn La Source products packaged in temporary bottle design, followed by the stainless steel accessories later this summer, and then full roll-out of the collection, complete with new custom-designed flip-top bottles, in the fall.

In 2003, Euromonitor estimated the US market for hotels to be worth approximately $70.5 billion, a rise of just 0.5 per cent on the previous year. Although the market performance has been relatively flat in recent years, there has been a distinct move at the upper end of the market, with many hotels increasing their budgets to improve room specifications.

Likewise, there has also been a significant increase in the rise of the smaller hotels market. The increasing popularity of the boutique hotel boosted the size the value for hotels with 75 rooms or less by 10 per cent over the five years to 2003.

In line with this move towards luxury, there has also been an increase in the expenditure on hotel toiletries, with luxury lines, such as Crabtree & Evelyn's La Source showing increasing popularity.