With more than 7,000-properties around the world and around 30-brands in its portfolio, Marriott International is the world's largest hotel chain.

Some of the most well-known and popular hotel brands are now under the Marriott International umbrella including Sheraton, The Ritz Carlton, Le Meridien, Westin, St. Regis, W, ALoft, and Renaissance.

A million guests a night

Between them they welcome over a million guests per night, so when the company decides to go green the impact is significant and the numbers become surreal.

Marriott's latest eco-friendly policy will effectively ban single-use toiletries in all of its properties around the world by replacing small plastic bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and bath gel with larger pump-topped bottles, which the company believes will prevent around 500-million plastic bottles going to landfills every year. That translates to around 1.7-million pounds of plastic annually.

The W Bali in Seminyak is one of Marriott International's Luxury Collection and one of 20+ Marriott International properties in Bali. Image courtesy of W Bali, Seminyak.

This latest eco-friendly move follows a 2018 initiative to start replacing single-use shower toiletry bottles with larger bottles and pumps dispensers and according to the Washington Examiner, will be fully rolled out globally by the end of 2020.

Reducing environmental impact

The Marriott International website claims that a typical large, pump-topped bottle contains the same amount of product as about ten to twelve small, single-use bottles.

And because these small bottles are not usually recycled, they end up in the hotels’ trash bins, generating refuse that never truly decomposes in landfills.

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.

“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. It’s a huge priority for us,” said Arne Sorenson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Marriott International, according to the company's website.

“Our guests are looking to us to make changes that will create a meaningful difference for the environment while not sacrificing the quality service and experience they expect from our hotels.”

Serve 360

Marriott International’s commitment to reducing its environmental footprint is part of its Serve 360: Doing Good in Every Direction platform that addresses social and environmental issues. As part of this the company is working toward several sustainability goals such as reducing landfill waste by 45-percent and responsibly sourcing its top 10-product purchase categories, including guestroom amenities, by 2025.

'Feed Goby The Fish' at the W Bali in Seminyak is part of an initiative to raise awareness and help reduce plastic pollution in Bali's oceans. Image courtesy of W Bali, Seminyak.

This recent global shower amenities initiative comes just over a year after Marriott International began phasing out disposable plastic straws and stirrers. The company claim this has resulted in a reduction of more than 1-billion plastic straws from landfills.

More expansion across Indonesia

Marriott's Chief Operating Officer Asia Pacific, Rajeev Menon recently told The Jakarta Post "Indonesia is one of our key strategic markets and by the end of this year we are targeting to have 53-hotels operating there.” He went on to say Indonesia was the company's third-biggest market in the Asia Pacific after China and India.  

According to The Jakarta Post, Marriott International plan to undertake a massive expansion across Indonesia by building 33-new properties in strategic locations including Jakarta and Bali.

The company currently operates and manages more than 20-hotels and resorts in Bali.

Sources: Washington Examiner, Marriott International, Washington Post, The Jakarta Post, W Bali Seminyak

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