It’s a Dove deal for IHG hotels

The owners of the Holiday Inn group – IHG Hotels & Resorts – has announced a worldwide partnership with Unilever to replace bathroom miniatures with bulk amenities in over 4,000 hotels.

Three years ago IHG became the first global hotel company to commit to all of its hotel brands removing bathroom miniatures in favour of larger-size amenities by 2030. All of IHG’s operations are now covered by bulk bathroom amenity contracts, In some markets hotels have a choice of supplier so a different full-size amenity brand may be adopted.

Unilever’s largest brand, Dove, will supply full-size hand wash, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion to IHG Essentials and Suites Collection hotels, including Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, avid hotels, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. The roll-out accounts for some 80 per cent of IHG’s portfolio, following the recent launch of larger-size bathroom amenities at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts properties.

The switch to full-size formats is expected to save at least 850 tonnes of plastic annually in IHG’s Americas region alone – the equivalent weight of five fully-grown blue whales or 70 double-decker London buses.

Yasmin Diamond, Executive Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs, IHG Hotels & Resorts, commented: “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.” The latest announcement is part of IHG’s 10-year Journey to Tomorrow responsible business plan. As well as switching to bulk amenities, the group is working to eliminate single-use items, minimise food waste and adopt circular solutions for major hotel commodity items by 2030.

Unilever’s 2025 plans to help create a circular economy for plastic, includes commitments to halve the amount of virgin plastic it uses in its packaging and achieve an absolute reduction of more than 100,000 tonnes; collect and process more plastic packaging than it sells; ensure all of its plastic packaging is designed to be reusable, recyclable or compostable; and to use 25 per cent recycled plastic in its packaging.

In some markets, hotels have a choice of supplier so a different full-size amenity brand may be adopted

***Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express: In the Americas and EMEAA only; avid Hotels, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites: In the Americas only