New at Westin Hotels: Communal Sports Bras

With precious little room in their carry-ons, many travelers are willing to leave their sneakers at home and skip their workouts while traveling—but are they also willing to wear communal sneakers and sports bras? The Westin thinks so, and it's launched a free "gear-lending" program that does just that in each of its 174 hotels. Female guests can now borrow New Balance-brand Capri pants, sports bras, shirts, socks, and sneakers, delivered directly to their room; men will get a shirt, shorts, socks, and shoes.

As for all the sweat and germs, the Westin says the clothes will be washed in the same hot-water laundry process that its sheets and towels undergo; the inner soles of sneakers will be replaced between uses. The new program reflects a larger fitness-focused trend within the hotel industry, notes the Wall Street Journal: Fairmont Hotels has launched a similar program, though only for its most loyal guests, and often at a fee. But not every brand is keen to follow: "How comfortable are you going to be wearing somebody else's shoes?" asks a senior VP of Marriott.
(More Westin stories.)