The Real Cost of Disposable Hotel Supplies Per Occupied Room Night

The direct answer: list every consumable placed in a room, multiply by your occupancy, and price each line at landed cost (unit price + freight + clearance). A 200-room property at 75% occupancy runs about 54,750 occupied room nights a year, so a difference of 0.05 in POR cost is a difference of about 2,700 a year.

1. A worked POR budget

Indicative structure for a midscale property (use your own quotes for real numbers):

Bottled toiletries and slippers together usually account for half the budget. That is where specification decisions pay back — not in trimming the garbage bag line.

2. Where the money leaks

• Bulky, low-density packing: two suppliers can quote the same unit price while one ships 30% more pieces per carton.
• Over-specification: 50 ml bottles and boxed kits in rooms where guests stay one night.
• Everything-in-every-room placement: shaving and vanity kits used by 20-30% of guests still cost 100% when pre-placed.
• Emergency air freight when stock runs out mid-season — typically 5-10× sea freight per carton.

3. Cutting cost without guests noticing

1. 1Consolidate: one dental kit specification across all room types instead of three variants.
2. 2Right-size: match bottle size and packaging tier to average length of stay.
3. 3Move low-usage items (shaving kit, vanity kit) to on-request cards or front-desk pickup.
4. 4Consolidate suppliers: one vendor for slippers, kits and bottles aligns cartons, MOQ and shipping.
5. 5Buy on carton math: compare quotes on pieces per carton and cost per carton, not unit price alone.

4. A quarterly review routine

Every quarter, compare actual housekeeping consumption against the plan (see our amenities consumption formula), re-check the two largest budget lines against a fresh quote, and walk two rooms with the housekeeping manager — the cheapest consulting you will ever get.