Traveler Launches Campaign Against Doorless Hotel Bathrooms

Sadie Lowell's website 'Bring Back Doors' calls out hotels for removing bathroom privacy.

Published on Feb. 22, 2026

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Digital marketer Sadie Lowell has launched a website called 'Bring Back Doors' to call attention to the growing trend of hotels removing doors from in-room bathrooms. Lowell was inspired to start the campaign after a frustrating experience during a trip to England, where she found her hotel room had an open-concept bathroom. Her website has since attracted hundreds of thousands of views and over 10,000 TikTok followers as travelers share their own experiences with doorless hotel bathrooms.

Why it matters

The lack of bathroom privacy in hotel rooms is a frustration that many travelers have experienced but haven't had an outlet to voice. Lowell's campaign has given people a platform to share their grievances and realize they are not alone in disliking this hotel design trend, which appears to be gaining popularity across various hotel chains and price points.

The details

Lowell's website, Bring Back Doors, serves as both a resource for travelers to identify hotels with doorless bathrooms and an advocacy effort to push back against the design choice. She has already cataloged over 1,000 hotels worldwide that feature open-concept bathrooms. While hotel developers may be driving this trend to save on construction costs or create the illusion of more space, Lowell believes the only way to stop it is for travelers to avoid booking these hotels and make it a financially unwise decision.

  • In January 2025, Lowell experienced a hotel room with a doorless bathroom during a trip to England with her father.
  • Lowell launched the Bring Back Doors website in the fall of 2025.

The players

Sadie Lowell

A Lisbon-based digital marketer and content creator who launched the Bring Back Doors website to call attention to the trend of hotels removing doors from in-room bathrooms.

Bring Back Doors

A website created by Sadie Lowell that serves as a resource for travelers to identify hotels with doorless bathrooms and an advocacy effort to push back against this design choice.

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What they’re saying

“For a lot of people, I pulled back the curtain on a frustration that they had been experiencing and made them realize they weren't alone. It's becoming a more normalized topic of conversation to have.”

— Sadie Lowell (Better Homes & Gardens)

“The only way to stop this madness is to make it a financially bad choice for hotels to do this. Avoid all hotels on the list, or any others that you see have improper bathroom doors before you book.”

— Sadie Lowell (Better Homes & Gardens)

What’s next

Lowell believes change could be coming, as she has received messages from industry insiders who agree with her campaign but don't have the final say on hotel design decisions. In the meantime, she encourages travelers to avoid booking hotels with doorless bathrooms to make it a financially unwise choice for hotels to continue this trend.

The takeaway

Sadie Lowell's Bring Back Doors campaign has given a voice to a widespread frustration among travelers over the lack of bathroom privacy in hotel rooms. By crowdsourcing examples and encouraging people to vote with their wallets, Lowell hopes to pressure the hotel industry to rethink this design choice and bring back proper bathroom doors.