NEW YORK—Barclay the Bee has landed in the InterContinental New York Barclay’s guestrooms with a question—“to wash, or not to wash”? The hotel’s friendly messaging mascot is highlighting an important aspect of the InterContinental New York Barclay’s sustainable initiatives—water savings—with a new “Don’t Wash” symbol and fun in-room message delivery.
A Bee-shaped cut-out sign designed to sit in a holder on nightstands features Barclay the Bee holding a message advising guests of the hotel’s commitment to every-other-day sheet and towel washing. Guests who desire every day service simply remove the bee card from its holder and place it on the table.
The cut out sign features InterContinental New York Barclay’s specially-designed “do not change linen/towels” symbol. This symbol was created as a new standard to help hotels in water policy communication. The design combines internationally recognized sustainability icons.
“We felt that the message card we had, which sat on the bed, was being overlooked, mainly because many of our guests are foreign and not necessarily fluent in English,” said Hervé Houdré, regional director of operations and general manager. “We hope by creating the do not change linen/towels symbol we simplify the communication, and maybe other hotels around the world will find it useful in their own conservation messaging.”
The symbol is available and free to use. Contact Barbara.bahny@ihg.com for the logo file.
