The hotel room perk that’s disappearing

A MAJOR change is coming to two of the world’s biggest hotel chains and many travellers are sorry to see it.

WHO among us has not checked out of a hotel with a stash of mini bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash in our luggage?

The freebie toiletries have long been a cherished part of staying in a hotel.

Bad news, guys — it looks like their days are numbered.

Major hotel chains are ditching mini toiletries in favour of large, refillable bottles or dispensers that are fixed to the bathroom walls and can’t be pocketed (or tampered with) by guests.

READ MORE: Nine surprising hotel freebies

Farewell, sweet friends.

The pump-style dispensers of shampoo, conditioner and body wash have already replaced minis at a range of Intercontinental Hotel Group properties and Marriott hotels across North America.

Marriott will be scrapping the complimentary minis at 1500 North American hotels by January.

A sad farewell to ol’ friend mini hotel shampoo bottle. Outsourced by your larger & more economical cousin the locked-down pump bottle. Marriott shareholders celebrate; I have only desperate grief. pic.twitter.com/wOLF984N3O

— Steve Hartman (@AKPsiCEO) May 12, 2018

The fixed dispensers have already been a staple in some hotels in Australia and the Europe — but the hotel giants may have started a trend that sweeps the rest of the globe.

The hotel chains said the decision was a move to cut down on plastic waste and save money.

Billions of half-full bottles get thrown away every year, the Wall Street Journal reported. When Marriott’s switch to refillable dispensers is complete in January, it may spare about 170,000 kilograms of plastic from ending up in landfill a year.

The refillable dispensers will stop a lot of plastic waste from ending up in landfill.

But not everyone is happy.

Dennis Lennox, a strategic communications consultant from Detroit who spends more than 200 nights a year in hotels, told the Journal he collected the mini toiletries to donate to a homeless shelter.

“What’s next, getting rid of the packs of coffee and making us scoop out of a can?” he said.

“I think it’s cheap, incredibly cheap.”

No, thanks. Some jackass is going to “There’s Something About Mary” the creme rinse dispenser. Ew.

And ... WTF, Marriott? I’m paying you $400+ a night for a bed, toilet and shower. You can frickin’ spring for the mini shampoo bottle. https://t.co/4ECwLGHHsw

— Elle Chestnut 😎 (@CopperSorrel) May 8, 2018

You mean I’ll have to start buying my own shampoo, conditioner, and lotion for home use?

— Adam (@adam212121m) May 1, 2018

Just bring an empty full size shampoo bottle and pump as much as you want. Then maybe they will bring back the mini ones😂

— Caitlin Hodges 🥀 (@WithHodges) May 11, 2018

Anne Smith is the vice president of brand management and design for small hotel chain Choice Hotels, which will continue using the bathroom minis.

She said guests didn’t always trust the contents of the dispensers were clean and full.

“Guests really want to get to their hotel room, including their bathroom, and not see any evidence of anybody else having been there,” she said.

These beloved freebies are disappearing from hotel rooms.