Hotels Aim to Help Guests Travel Lighter

Trending To help guests ditch excess baggage, hotels are partnering with fashion companies to deliver Instagram-worthy outfits directly to their guest rooms. For many travelers, packing a suitcase is a stressful endeavor; packing light, a perpetual fantasy. To help guests ditch excess baggage, hotels are partnering with fashion companies to deliver Instagram-worthy outfits directly to their guest rooms. Last December, W Hotels teamed up with the subscription fashion service Rent the Runway to launch a closet concierge amenity at select hotels, including W Aspen, W South Beach, W Washington D.

C. and W Hollywood. Upon booking, guests at these hotels gain access to Rent the Runway’s more than 15,000 women’s styles, as well as an edited selection of clothing and accessories based on each destination. For a one-time fee of $69, guests can rent four items for up to eight days; everything will be pressed and ready-to-wear upon arrival.

When checking out, guests just return the rented items to the front desk. “It’s great for single-use pieces like winter coats or going-out gear in Aspen that is heavy and bulky to pack, expensive to buy and something travelers won’t likely reuse at home,” said Anthony Ingham, global brand leader at W Hotels Worldwide. (W Aspen rooms start at $299. ) While the initial concept was geared toward a leisure traveler, the demand has been great among millennial professionals on corporate business trips.

“This type of guest rarely checks a bag and has the tendency to blend work and play,” Mr. Ingham said. The fashion start-up Trvl Porter offers a similar service. Stefanie Nissen, a former stylist and designer, founded the company in part to address clothing overconsumption with a more circular approach to fashion.

“Renting instead of buying lengthens the life cycle of clothing and helps reduce waste going to landfills,” she said. Before a trip, Trvl Porter clients are asked to provide information — their style preferences, destination and type of travel — that a professional stylist uses to create a personalized look book. Customers then select two or more items ($65 each) from local and national brands for two-week rentals that are shipped directly to any hotel within the United States.