Hotelier Marriott International Inc., which operates dozens of brands and thousands of properties around the world, now expects to completely eliminate the use of those little plastic bottles in guest bathrooms.
The company previously signaled a move away from the amenity bottles with about 1,000 locations in North America currently using larger, multi-use bottles.
Now Marriott expects most hotels in the company's portfolio will switch to larger bottles by the end of next year.
The decision will eliminate some 500 million little plastic bottles for products such as shampoo, conditioner, lotion and shower gel.
Marriott expects to cut plastic use by 1.7 million pounds per year. That's about 30 percent of the company's plastic consumption.
"It's a huge priority for us," Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson said in a statement. "This is our second global initiative aimed at reducing single-use plastics in just over a year, which underscores how important we believe it is to continuously find ways to reduce our hotels' environmental impact."
Marriott indicated more than 20 percent of its more than 7,000 locations now use pump-top bottles that contain 10 to 12 times more product than the smaller single-use bottles.
Marriott, in 2018, moved to the larger bottles at its Courtyard, Springhill Suites, Residence Inn, Fairfield and TownePlace Suites properties. They joined four other brands, Aloft, Element, Four Points and Moxy that previous made the switch. Another brand, AC, "is well on its way to making the change," the company said.
More than 1 million people stay at Marriott hotels each night.
"In addition to allowing guests to use as much of a product as they need, the larger bottles are also recyclable along with other basic containers, such as plastic soda bottles," Marriott said in announcing the broader initiative.
Marriott also said it has eliminated the use of more than 1 billion plastic straws by moving to an "on-demand approach" at its properties and using alternative products.
"Today's announcement won't eliminate our use of plastic, of course. Large toiletry bottles eventually have to be recycled too. Our guests have made it clear they want us to maintain toiletries in their rooms. That is the quality and service level they are accustomed to. Shifting to pump dispensers is a smart change," Sorenson said on his LinkedIn page.
The change comes about a month after competitor InterContinental Hotels Group, the owner of Holiday Inn hotels, announced it would eliminate the small toiletry bottles.