Holiday Inn will remove miniature toiletries from its 843,00 rooms by 2021 for environmental reasons – replacing them with bulk dispensers, instead.
InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG), which owns Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, has already begun the process of cutting down its single-use plastic consumption across a third of its estate.
It’s said to be the first hotel group to introduce such a change. IHG chief executive, Keith Barr, said: “We, collectively as an industry, have to lead where governments are not necessarily giving the leadership to make a difference.”
“Five years ago it was a tick-the-box exercise,” he told the BBC. “Today it’s follow-up meetings going through in detail what we are doing about our carbon footprint.”
The next big thing the hotel group will look to tackle will be plastic plates and cutlery used for their breakfast services.
“Great to see a large group reducing its single-use plastic.”
The response has been positive on Twitter: one person said it was “great to see a large group reducing its single-use plastic”, while another called the news “brilliant”.
The move follows IHG’s commitment to decrease its plastic pollution by reducing the use of plastic straws by the end of 2019. IHG’s high-end resort, Six Senses, has also pledged to be plastic-free throughout its supply chain within three years – its “Plastic Free 2022” strategy includes opting for glass bottled water and transitioning to “natural compostable materials”.
If you need inspiration on travel-friendly toiletries, you’ll find the best solid swaps to make in place of plastic-heavy, liquid products in our guide here.