A. Familiarise yourself with the items in a borrow kit
A Guest Borrow Program centres around a Guest Borrow Kit that you will provide to your guests for the duration of their stay. Typically placed in guest rooms, each kit contains a reusable cup, reusable water bottle and a reusable bag.
Guests are able to take these reusable items with them on outings outside the hotel. Items should be selected for durability and ease of cleaning, and you may also like to choose items that align with your hotel’s aesthetic. Take a look at the examples of good reusable design that we’ve provided at the bottom of this page.
At the end of their stay, guests leave the reusable items in their room for cleaning and reuse.
If you find these items are popular, it can be a good idea to stock some that can be purchased by guests.
B. Decide which items to provide to guests
What you decide to stock in your Guest Borrow Kit is up to you! It will depend on your location (i.e. proximity to cafes), whether you are self-contained or embedded in a wider community, and your guest preferences.
To get an idea of what your guests would use most, you could conduct surveys either onsite, or via your newsletter.
We’ve developed an Action Plan template to help you make decisions and plan out your Guest Borrow Kit.
C. Source items
Reusable cups, water bottles and bags are all widely available through suppliers, online or in retail stores. They come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, materials and price points. Some can even be branded with your hotel’s logo.
It is recommended that you prioritise durability and cleanliness when sourcing these items. Refer to our examples of good reusable design for help with this.
D. Put up signage
A common barrier to guests using reusable items can be that they don’t know they are there, or they don’t know how the system works. Signage is a great way to overcome this.
Be sure to include instructions on how the program works on signage in your guest’s room. It is also a good idea to have this information available virtually prior to your guests’s arrival and during their stay - this can be done via booking confirmation emails and on your internal entertainment system.
There are some good examples of signage and flyers provided at the bottom of this page.
E. Develop cleaning and stocking protocols, and staff responsibilities
The items in your Guest Borrow Kit will need to be cleaned at the end of each guest’s stay. This may be an additional task for your housekeeping team, and it’s important to make sure they receive training and support for this additional step.
Occasionally, reusable items may get broken or lost. Ensure that protocols are put in place for checking the state of reusable items at the end of each stay, and putting in orders for new items with your procurement manager.
F. Implement borrow program
You’re now ready to implement your program!
Be sure to regularly check-in with your staff for feedback and improvement suggestions, making changes as required along the way.
