In Response To TSA’s Peanut Butter Rule, Holiday Inn Express Provides Carry-On Size Packets

When the Transportation Security Administration went viral for declaring that peanut butter is a liquid, and had to comply with the 3-1-1 rule, IHG Hotels & Resorts came up with a suggestion that could be safely spread to their guests.

Through their brand Holiday Inn Express, IHG Hotels & Resorts is encouraging its guests to take their single-serving peanut butter packets with them.

The gesture is through a new “Carry On Peanut Butter Program” that offers these small packets during their hotels’ breakfast hours.

Announcing their program via their Instagram account, the initiative will be offered only through their Holiday Inn Express properties. These single-serving peanut butter packets can be picked up only during the hotel’s breakfast service hours. They will be available while supplies last.

“Holiday Inn Express is built on the concept of simple, smart travel,” explained Jennifer Gribble, SVP, Global Marketing Mainstream Brands, for IHG Hotels & Resorts. “When we saw that the TSA announced that peanut butter was officially considered a liquid, it sparked an idea. We wanted to spring into action to respond to a potential guest need.”

Gribble explained that the Holiday Inn Express hotels are stocked with single-serve packets of peanut butter that comply with TSA’s liquid guidelines. The packets are at a size of .75 ounces unlike an average jar size of peanut butter that is at about 16 ounces.

TSA’s official guidelines on peanut butter are listed via the federal agency’s website. TSA classifies peanut butter as a liquid, not a solid. In this Instagram post, peanut butter is defined as “a liquid [that] has no definite shape and takes a shape dictated by its container.”

TSA permits airline passengers to have peanut butter as a carryon only if it’s in a container less than or equal to 3.4 ounces. The ruling falls under the agency’s “Liquids Rule” policy, which was established in 2006 after a plot to bring down planes from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada by detonating liquid explosives brought on board.

When word got out about this stance on peanut butter, the Internet had many thoughts. Read some of them via TSA’s Instagram page, Facebook page, and Twitter account. Through their social media, TSA has also provided instruction on traveling by air with other food-related items such as cakes and pizza.

Nonetheless, Holiday Inn Express hotels seem to help find a solid solution for traveling with peanut butter. The American-based mid-priced hotel chain has over 2,000 locations across the United States, with their properties offering free breakfast during scheduled morning hours.

“Guests can simply fuel up on breakfast – I recommend our signature pancakes, a favorite to pair with peanut butter – and take a single-serve cup on their way out,” said Gribble.

However, if a guest staying on property has addressed a related medical or safety concern, then that Holiday Inn Express hotel will not be serving peanut butter. If that is not the case, then the packets would be available.

“So, you can keep calm and carry on peanut butter,” said Gribble.