Marriott International eliminating plastic straws from all hotels
Marriott International said it will eliminate all plastic straws and stirrers from its entire portfolio within one year.
It is the biggest hospitality player so far to pledge an end to some single-use plastics.
It has set a target of ditching the straws and stirrers in all 6,500 properties across 30 brands around the world by July 2019.
That will save about one billion non-degradable plastic straws per year, it says.
"Removing plastic straws is one of the simplest ways our guests can contribute to plastic reduction when staying with us—something they are increasingly concerned about and are already doing in their own homes. We are committed to operating responsibly and—with over one million guests staying with us every night—we think this is a powerful step forward to reducing our reliance on plastics," said CEO Arne Sorenson.
Numerous Marriott hotels had already diches single-use plastics such as straws including more than 60 hotels in the UK, The Los Sueños Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort in Costa Rica, the JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort, and the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa.
"By eliminating plastic straws, we have been able to create a substantive dialogue with our guests about the importance of protecting the ocean," said Tetsuji Yamazaki, general manager of the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa.
The plastic straw initiative will be phased in to enable hotels to source alternate straws and to educate staff.
Hotels will then offer straws only upon request.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025
U.S.A. and Israel attacks on Iran impact air movements in the Gulf (Update 1.00pm CET)
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism