Hotel Business Review Archives

With hotel executives discussing the newest updates to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating systems, LEED 2012, due to be released in November of this year by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), many are asking what this will mean to the hospitality industry. Trish Donnally, ForrestPerkins’ director of communications, talks to top hoteliers and sustainability specialists and reveals why LEED 2012 could be a game changer.

To green, or not to green? To pursue green certification, or not? Those are questions many hoteliers are asking themselves today. As more and more travelers claim they are aware of hotels’ environmental practices, and consider themselves environmentally conscious travelers, hoteliers should take note and respond accordingly. At the very least a hotelier can decide to go green and receive green certification, of which there are many types, in order to save money. There are other benefits to pursuing green certification, though; namely, enhanced image, expanded marketing opportunities, differentiation, and clarity.

Incorporating health and environmental performance criteria into both the product and service purchasing decisions, can be a significant way to ensure the health of your clients. In this article I will review the recent trends by the public sector to encourage businesses to adopt EPP practices and include a little background behind the benefits for hotels to join in these efforts. I will also highlight a few product and service categories in which there are a significant number of alternatives that can help your property protect the health of your guests.

Green policies and actions are no longer an option for hotels, but a condition for their very survival and success. In this article, UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, outlines why greening the hotel sector makes both environmental and business sense and draws attention to an initiative – Hotel Energy Solutions – designed to increase energy efficiency in European hotels by 20%.

In the United States, agricultural soil is lost 10 times faster than the natural replenishment rate. Business leaders must understand their environmental relationship because it provides insight into critical risks and opportunities. Companies like IBM, SAIC, Patagonia and Walmart are learning to consider and manage the risks and opportunities presented by their environmental relationship. Is your hotel ready to?

The InterContinental San Francisco opened its doors in February 2008 to much excitement and anticipation. Since then, guests have enjoyed four-star accommodations throughout 550-rooms, fine dining, a luxury spa, top service and more. These services and standards are something our guests expect when they check in to our hotel so when we made the commitment to be an environmentally sustainable hotel destination, we took great steps to find a balance between the two.

Many travelers are claiming that they have become more environmentally conscious when they travel and are seeking out hotels that have made commitments to protecting the environment. Hotels have followed this trend and are greening their operations in order to cater to these green travelers. What has been asked of many travelers is whether or not they are willing to pay a premium stay in such hotels. Some survey results indicate that they are; others say they are not, and still others want to pay less for a green hotel. If the results are so mixed, what is a green hotelier to do?

As part of their decision making, guests, meeting planners and travel agents now inquire about a property’s green efforts. They ask us upfront about recycling programs and energy saving initiatives, how we work with our clients to reduce food & beverage excess and waste, and how we will reduce the amount of paper that is often heavily used during meetings.

Meeting planners are upping the ante. To capture additional business, hotel executives must pay attention to their increasingly sophisticated green requirements, particularly in light of recent developments in three areas.

The movement to improve the environmental performance and image of the travel and tourism industry in the last decade and a half has taken root and built the foundation of long term sustainability. Hotels of all sizes and customer class, and in all locations, have joined the “green revolution”. A visit to the website of any globally recognized hotel brand or chain yields an abundance of information on that organization’s efforts to make its properties and services more environmentally sustainable. From guest room towel reuse programs to energy efficient and water conserving devices to commitments toward sustainability initiatives at the local and global level, consumer awareness has finally caught up with the industry’s leadership initiatives.

Golf courses have always been recognized for their natural beauty and serenity. Players feel as if they are worlds away from reality – with the silence broken only by the swish of a club or the warbling of a native bird. While it is often criticized for its abundant use of land and natural resources, the golf industry is answering back with sound programs that assist courses in measuring environmental sustainability.

No matter a hotel’s available resources for green initiatives, there is added value on many levels in implementing eco-friendly practices. In the short ten years our hotel, Kalahari Resort and Convention Center, has been in operation, we’ve learned three key lessons when implementing sustainability initiatives: go beyond the obvious, tap into partnerships, and celebrate your efforts. These serve as guidelines and simple reminders that corporate responsibility is attainable and pays off.

Green Hotels = Energy and Waste Efficiency through Sustainability Management, an article by Scott Parisi of EcoGreenHotel, discusses the cutting edge methods of energy conservation for the hospitality industry. The current financial incentives for sustainability projects by the federal government make this ever more relevant. Conducting a utility audit is the first necessary step for a successful energy plan. The article highlights the three “energy hogs” all hotels face – HVAC, lighting, & hot water production – and their related “cures.” Citing specific hotels’ actions, Parisi shows how these solutions can yield strong ROIs and in sum net a 5-year positive cash flow sustainability plan.

Memorabilia of our past is secured within our hearts and vaults, though the consequences of our economic activity will directly contribute to the behaviors and communities of generations forward. Read along with me as I listen, learn and begin to sew a thread of GREEN around the providers and processors of sustainability in hospitality. The brush and color does not determine the canvas, it is the thread that binds it all together to form patterns of culture in relationships of people and planet. Wisdom defines the learning and is shared as a common thread to each.

There’s proof that both business and leisure travelers are willing to pay for green hotel experiences. A recent study by MindClick SGM provides some insight on the growing market. Sixty-five percent of Fortune 1000 corporate travel executives responsible for over $10 million in annual travel budgets are in various stages of implementing green business travel guidelines. Representing a variety of industries -- ranging from technology and business services to manufacturing and financial services -- the majority of these “green” corporate travel buyers choose from mid-scale hotel properties.