Holiday Inn owner InterContinental hotels ditching plastic mini shampoo bottles

Hotel company InterContinental Group (IHG), which owns Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Kimpton, is eliminating miniature plastic bottles from all of its 843,000 guest rooms across the globe.

In a July 30 statement, the British-based company said that it will transition to larger, bulk-sized toiletries beginning in 2021.

“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,” CEO Keith Barr said in the statement.

IHG said it currently has an average of 200 million bathroom miniatures in use across its entire hotel estate every year, and that replacing them with bulk-sized accessories will lead to a “significant reduction in plastic waste”. More than 1,000 Holiday Inn Express locations already use full size bottles, the company said, along with some Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites properties.

“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,” Barr said. “Switching to larger-size amenities across more than 5,600 hotels around the world is a big step in the right direction.”

The decision comes as IHG undergoes a multi-year sustainability effort. IHG is removing plastic straws by the end of the year and is using duvet and pillow covers made with 100 per cent recycled materials in some of its rooms.