Journal

Mini Bottles Are Leaving Hotel Bathrooms, and Dispensers Are Taking Their Place

From Marriott and IHG to Waldorf Astoria, hotels are swapping small amenity bottles for wall dispensers and full-size bottles. Plastic is the main reason given, but not the only one.

4 min read

Three large pump bottles on a hotel shower shelf

In a report cited by NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth on 2 May 2018, The Wall Street Journal said Marriott International was starting to replace small shampoo and conditioner bottles with pump dispensers mounted on shower walls. The change was beginning at 450 hotels across five brands, with a target of 1,500 hotels in North America by the following January.[2]

Since then, several of the world's largest hotel groups have announced similar moves. Plastic is the reason most often given. Cost and regulation have played a part too, and so has the question of whether a wall dispenser looks luxurious.

What the big chains announced

In July 2019, IHG said all of its brands would move to bulk-size amenities, covering more than 5,600 hotels and almost 843,000 rooms, with the change finished during 2021. The company said it used an average of 200 million bathroom miniatures a year. Its chief executive at the time, Keith Barr, said IHG was proud to lead the industry by making the change a brand standard.[1] The same statement noted that Six Senses, IHG's luxury brand, already offered bathroom products in refillable ceramic dispensers across its hotels.[1]

A month later, Marriott widened its 2018 trial to more than 7,000 hotels worldwide, with a 2020 target. Guests would get either larger pump bottles or wall dispensers, and Marriott expected its annual plastic use to fall by 30 per cent. About 20 per cent of its hotels were already using large pump bottles in the shower.[3]

Small 40 ml amenity bottles and soap sachets on a bathroom shelf
40 ml amenity bottles, the size at the centre of the shift. Photo: Anne-Cécile Robert / Pexels

Then came the law

In New York, a law signed by Governor Kathy Hochul in 2021 bars hotels and motels from supplying small plastic bottles of personal care products, defined as containers under 12 ounces (about 355 ml). The ban took effect on 1 January 2025 for larger hotels and motels, those with 50 rooms or more, and on 1 January 2026 for smaller ones. A first violation brings a warning and 30 days to put it right, then a civil penalty of US$250, and US$500 if the hotel is still handing out small bottles 30 days after that.[6][7]

The start date moved. According to Fox 5 New York, the law was first due to take effect in 2023 but was delayed so hotels could use up stock they had already bought.[7]

Luxury, or cheap?

Not every guest agreed. Some customers told The Wall Street Journal in 2018 that wall dispensers looked cheap, and saw them as one more amenity cut after mouthwash, stationery and sewing kits.[2] The complaint suggests that how a dispenser looks matters as much as whether it is there.

The luxury end went another way. In August 2022, Hilton announced that Waldorf Astoria rooms worldwide would carry Aesop products in full-size 500 ml bottles made from 97 per cent post-consumer recycled plastic, replacing travel-size bottles.[4] Three months later, The Ritz-Carlton named Diptyque its bath amenity partner, with Philosykos as the signature scent.[5]

A look at the design

For hotels whose bathrooms are built from marble, wood and neutral colours, a style often labelled quiet luxury, one uniform shape is easier to match with the surroundings than a row of bottles from different brands. Housekeeping changes too: containers are refilled, not replaced one by one. This is our observation, not a research finding.

Bathroom with marble walls, a wooden vanity, a black basin and a tall plant

One dispenser replaces three or four bottles of different shapes and sizes.

A marble-walled bathroom in a neutral palette. Photo: Ela De Pure / Unsplash

What is still unanswered

The shift does not settle everything. Bulk bottles are still plastic, and dispensers have to be cleaned and refilled on a schedule. The sources we consulted do not say how much plastic is actually saved once a rollout is complete, whether guests are more satisfied, or what the extra upkeep costs hotels. The figures available are company targets and estimates, not independent audits.

Disclosure: Plus Minus Lab, which publishes this site, is a hotel amenities and body care brand. Readers who want to see formats for hospitality, from 30 ml tubes to 5,000 ml refills, can visit the About page and the SCENTS collection.

References

  1. IHG, “End of the road for bathroom miniatures as IHG opts for bulk-size amenities to reduce plastic waste”, press release, 30 July 2019.
  2. Tess Griesedieck, “More Hotels Getting Rid of Tiny Shampoo Bottles: Report”, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, 2 May 2018 (citing The Wall Street Journal).
  3. Chris Morris, “Marriott Doing Away With Those Mini Shampoo Bottles You Love So Much”, Fortune, 28 August 2019.
  4. Hilton, “Waldorf Astoria Hotels Announces New Partnership with Aesop for Rejuvenating In-Room Guest Experience”, press release, 22 August 2022.
  5. Marriott International, “The Ritz-Carlton Announces New Partnership with Diptyque”, press release, 17 November 2022.
  6. “New York to ban plastic toiletry bottles in hotels beginning next year”, CNY Central, 9 July 2024.
  7. “New York state bans small toiletry bottles in hotels”, Fox 5 New York, 11 July 2024.

Cover photo: oning / Unsplash. Links checked on 12 October 2026.