Why Tiny Shampoos in Hotels Are Disappearing

While you may think those small, free shampoo bottles have been a hotel room staple for pretty much forever, the concept has actually been around only since 1970, when the Four Seasons London at Park Lane pioneered the trend of offering shampoo to guests. But in the past several years, you may have noticed an evolution. It’s not your imagination that these tiny toiletries aren’t showing up as frequently as you remember: Hotels have started to phase out single-guest-use amenities for a number of reasons. Let’s take a closer look at why all those tiny shampoo bottles are disappearing from hotel rooms.

In Some States, It’s the Law

As mandated by some local laws, hotels in certain states have no choice but to stop providing tiny shampoo bottles to guests. Some of these laws have already taken effect, while others are set to take effect in the near future. 

In 2019, California became the first state to ban travel-size plastic shampoo bottles as part of a larger effort to eliminate single-use plastics and cut down on unrecyclable waste. The bill took effect in 2023, applying to hotels or other establishments with 50 or more rooms; hotels with fewer than 50 rooms were forced to comply by the following year. Violators are subject to a $500 fine for a first violation and $2,000 for subsequent violations.

In January 2025, New York followed suit: Hotels with at least 50 rooms were forced to replace the tiny plastic amenities right away, and all other establishments will have to comply by the start of 2026. The ban applies to bottles sized 12 ounces or less, and includes hospitality personal care products such as shampoo, conditioner, lotion, liquid soap, and more. In Illinois, hotels are subject to the same schedule as in New York, with a statewide ban set to take effect in 2026 regardless of the total number of rooms.

Other states have either passed or started debating similar bans. Washington passed a ban that takes effect on January 1, 2027, while Hawaii debated the idea during the 2023 legislative session, though a law has yet to pass.

Hotel Chains Follow Suit

Even if not mandated by law, certain hotel chains have proactively eliminated tiny toiletry bottles from their chains worldwide. After testing out the decision at select properties in 2018, Marriott announced in 2019 that it was eliminating single-use plastic amenities at all properties by the following year. According to a press release, the program was “expected to prevent about 500 million tiny bottles annually from going to landfills; that’s about 1.7 million pounds of plastic, a 30% reduction from current amenity plastic usage.”

To make up for the loss of the tiny bottles, Marriott opted to provide guests with large, pumpable bottles of shampoo, soap, conditioner, and lotion, which are often mounted to the wall to prevent theft. Each larger, recyclable bottle contains the same amount of product as about 10 to 12 tiny, single-use bottles, according to Marriott.

Following Marriott’s lead, Hyatt made an announcement that it would eliminate single-use plastics in its hotels starting in June 2021. IHG made a similar pledge in 2019, with a goal to fully replace single-use plastics by 2030. According to a press release from IHG, this move would save 850 metric tons of plastic from going to waste annually, which is equal to the weight of five fully grown blue whales or 70 double-decker London buses.

Are There Other Financial Motives?

While many hotels claim to be making these changes for eco-friendly reasons, some experts argue that it’s primarily being done for cost-cutting reasons. Dan Bornholdt, founder of the company Green Suites Hotel Solutions, which provides reusable containers to hotels, shared in a 2023 interview with the industry news site Packaging Dive that hotels save between 30% and 70% if they forgo the single-use amenities and use larger, refillable dispensers instead. Bornholdt estimates that “maybe 20% of hotels are doing this for environmental reasons,” but that “everybody is doing it for environmental marketing.”

Whether these decisions are being made for environmental reasons or to protect the bottom line, the benefits for the environment are clear. In an ever-growing number of states and hotel chains, the days of millions of tiny, half-empty shampoo bottles ending up in a landfill are a thing of the past.

Are Bulk Toiletries Safe?

For all of the environmental and financial benefits to eliminating tiny plastic bottles from hotels, one question remains: Are these shared, bulk amenities safe to use? Some guests worry about the idea of these larger bottles being contaminated with bacteria or the contents being replaced with lesser-quality products or other fluids that should not be in there.

Studies have backed up some of those concerns. A 2011 study from the National Institutes of Health found that “bulk-soap-refillable dispensers are prone to extrinsic bacterial contamination.” And in an interview with Smarter Travel, Dr. Charles Gerba, a professor of virology at the University of Arizona, said, “Bacterial growth is an issue with refillable dispenser use for soap and shampoos. Most of our studies have been on hand soaps, but we also did studies on shampoos in hotels — all of which can grow bacteria to large numbers.” 

The unfortunate reality is that these bulk bottles may not be cleaned very thoroughly between guests, and there’s always a risk of tampering. If you find yourself worried, try bringing your own refillable, squeezable dispensers that are TSA-approved and fit into any travel bag. Before your trip, fill them up with your favorite shampoo, conditioner, or liquid soap — you won’t have to worry about throwing away the bottle at the airport, and you can rest easy knowing exactly where the products came from.

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