Hotel colossus bins bathroom miniatures

Intercontinental Hotels Group is to ditch all small amenity bottles in favour of bulk-size bathroom products, in what could be a game changer for the industry.

The world’s fourth largest hotel group will switch its entire estate of almost 843,000 guest rooms to bulk amenities by 2021 as part of its efforts to reduce plastic waste.

[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”15046″ align=”left”]IHG is the first global hotel company to commit to removing bathroom miniatures, estimated to make up more than ten billion pieces of discarded packaging annually. IHG alone sees 200 million miniatures in use across its entire inventory every year.

The company’s CEO, Keith Barr, said: “It’s more important than ever that companies challenge themselves to operate responsibly – we know it’s what our guests, owners, colleagues, investors and suppliers rightly expect.

“Switching to larger-size amenities across more than 5,600 hotels around the world is a big step in the right direction and will allow us to significantly reduce our waste footprint and environmental impact as we make the change.

“We’ve already made great strides in this area, with almost a third of our estate already adopting the change and we’re proud to lead our industry by making this a brand standard for every single IHG hotel.

“We’re passionate about sustainability and we’ll continue to explore ways to make a positive difference to the environment and our local communities.”

In Australia, the company’s voco hotels have offered bulk-size Aveda amenities since launch, and IHG properties have begun using sunscreens and bathroom products sourced from renewable plant-based origins, including within the sensitive ecosystem of Hayman Island.

Worldwide, its Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas offer bathroom products in refillable ceramic dispensers across the entire luxury portfolio.

IHG also provides an online sustainability programme which recommends ways for its hotels to manage their waste more effectively, with several properties currently signed up to track, measure and reduce food waste for more sustainable restaurant and bar operations.

It has pledged to remove all plastic straws from its hotels by the end of 2019 and signed up to working with industry partners in the push towards greater sustainability.