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.
