Le Labo lament: Travelers say bon voyage to mini shampoo bottles at hotels

13.07.2024 - 11:12 / thepointsguy.com

Consider this the summer of soap slashing.

The membership base of Equinox practically stormed the Bastille, er, shampoo closet with pitchforks earlier this year after the luxury gym chain ended its 13-year relationship with Kiehl's in favor of one with Grown Alchemist. TikTok erupted with disgruntled members taking to video and threatening membership cancellation over the soap switcheroo — and to pour one out for the golden days of pumping Kiehl's Creme de Corps into small bottles for later use. (We at TPG do not advocate this behavior, but keep in mind that Grown Alchemist is just as much a luxe skincare and bath product line as Kiehl's.)

But as the dust settled in Equinox locker rooms, the state of New York unfurled its own bit of toiletry tomfoolery this week. Hotels with 50 or more rooms can no longer offer mini bottles of soap, shampoo, conditioner and lotion beginning next year, according to the state's Department of Environmental Conservation. Smaller properties with fewer than 50 rooms have until the beginning of 2026 to comply with the new law.

This means, depending on where you're staying, you can expect to see more wall-mounted soap, shampoo and conditioner dispensers — or at least very decorative bottles holding toiletries.

This also means the lights are dimming on the era of pilfering an unattended housekeeping cart or, say, banking on an upgrade to a suite with two full bathrooms at the Hyatt Regency JFK Airport just to have access to multiple complete sets of Le Labo Hinoki products. I'm only speaking hypothetically, of course. What kind of person would do that?!

Yes, the travel orbit more than understands this is the right thing to do from a sustainability and waste management standpoint. Further, it's not like the New York law is forcing something new on travelers: Most hotel companies are already moving in the direction of refillable bottles meant to stay in one's hotel room rather than mini bottles that find their way into a guest's luggage.

Related: Hotel CEOs on price gouging, daily housekeeping and mini bottles of shampoo

IHG Hotels & Resorts partners with Dove's parent company, Unilever, for larger-sized amenities across its mainstream brands like Holiday Inn Express and Candlewood Suites. But IHG's ultraluxury Six Senses brand led the charge in the high-end hotel space, moving toward larger dispensers over mini bottles. It's becoming more of a rarity to find mini bottles these days than not across each of the major hotel companies.

"It's the right thing to do from a waste management standpoint," said Nicolas Graf, associate dean and clinical professor at New York University's Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality. "We need to educate travelers as to what really makes sense