The miniature bottle of hotel amenities is set to be removed from IHG Brand hotels as the group follows through with its decision to remove them. To aid them, IHG will work with Unilever to swap them out with bulk dispensing items.
The move will see over 4000 hotels have their miniature amenities swapped with bulk-pack versions, with Dove being offered as the primary brand amenity in a move to eliminate single-use items by 2030.
Hotels will feature full-sized Dove hand wash, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion to IHG Essentials and Suites Collection hotels, including:
- Holiday Inn (in the Americas, Europe and the Middle East)
- Holiday Inn Express (in the Americas, Europe and the Middle East)
- avid hotels (Americas Only)
- Staybridge Suites (Americas Only)
- Candlewood Suites (Americas Only)
The rollout of full-size Unilever products across IHG’s mainstream brands making up 80% of IHG’s property portfolio. The InterContinental Hotels properties have already migrated over to bulk producgts.
The switch to full-size formats is expected to save at least 850 tonnes of plastic annually in IHG’s Americas region alone.
In Quotes
Yasmin Diamond, Executive Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs, IHG Hotels & Resorts, commented: “
IHG has pioneered the move to minimal waste in the hospitality industry and we’re excited to spell the end of bathroom miniatures through our collaboration with Unilever. Our guests are increasingly mindful of the impact their travel choices have on the environment and our colleagues, investors, owners and suppliers all expect us to act responsibly. Transitioning to bulk amenities across our global estate was one of our first significant steps towards eliminating single-use items throughout the guest stay by 2030. We’ll continue to find innovative solutions for operating more sustainably to deliver our purpose of True Hospitality for Good.”
Umesh Shah, CEO of Unilever International, added:
“Unilever is committed to making sustainable living commonplace, and we have ambitious targets across every part of our business. We are pleased to partner with IHG Hotels & Resorts to help extend sustainable living into the travel industry by providing bathrooms with bulk amenities. Through this collaboration, IHG’s guests will enjoy a range of products from Dove during their stay, while reducing their use of plastic.”
Reducing plastic one step at a time
Whilst we reduce weight in the air, reducing waste on the ground is a priority too – and reducing the plastic used to create all those little amentiy bottle adds up (although bigger bottles will no doubt add to savings on the bottom line too).
With companies being pushed to address environmental waste in their systems, there are easy public ways to make a visible difference – and amenities are one of them.
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Although I enjoy the small bottles of shampoo and such which I usually take home and use over and over in some cases I can live with the bulk containers in the shower. I do question if it actually saves anything since they don’t actually refill those bottles at IHG. They simply replace them as they go empty. The one thing I hate about this new IHG plan is that they are removing bars of soap from properties. The hotels I’ve been at lately that have already moved to the Dove products have the bulk hand soap containers screwed to the wall by the sink. I use a bar of soap in the shower instead of a washcloth (that would have to be washed by the way) and I also shave with the bar of soap which saves small metal containers and other plastic bits so there are no savings in removing bar soap. I’m not happy about this situation. I would pack a big bar of soap but it is so very messy to do so.