Embassy Suites Wants To Sell You Bedding And Alarm Clocks

Embassy Suites plans to launch a site next month that will let people buy sheets, comforters, pillows, coffee pots, and alarm clocks just like the ones in their hotel rooms, reports national hotel paper USA Today. A Hilton executive in charge of the Embassy brand says the company doesn’t plan to make much money off of it and that the items will be priced below retail, but I’m not sure that means you’ll find any bargains.

Hilton’s Hampton Inn chain, which already sells its products over the Internet, sold $1.7 million worth of items last year so “it’s a drop in the ocean,” Holthouser told me. “You’re not doing this to make money.”

The bigger motive for Embassy Suites is to accommodate guests who want to buy these items, he said.

“For us, it’s not a revenue stream. It’s really just about taking care of guests who quite frankly want to engage with (the brand),” he said. “At best, for us it’s a break-even proposition.”

Since the Embassy store isn’t open yet, I visited the Hampton store mentioned above and comparison shopped. These aren’t exact duplicates, but a hookless shower curtain from the hamptonhomecollection.com website is priced at $45, while a similar item is listed on the not-exactly-cheap bedbathandbeyond.com website for $40.

“Embassy Suites chain to launch retail website” [USA Today]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.