The benefits of sustainable practices within the hotel industry are clear and more and more hotel companies and individual properties are establishing guidelines to help them become more eco-friendly. But designing programs that outline efficiencies and best practices is only the beginning. Turning theory into practice requires a committed, motivated partnership between hotel staff, guests, vendors and the local community. L'Auberge Del Mar, by Destination Hotels & Resorts has had great success implementing an effective sustainability campaign by getting the four partnership entities vested as outlined in this article by Vice President and Managing Director, Michael J. Slosser. READ MORE
HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW
May FOCUS: Hotel Sustainable Development
Hotel Sustainable Development: Integrating Practices and the Bottom Line
This month's feature articles...
The Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort in Fiji is one of the South Pacific's most renowned vacation destinations, distinguished for offering mindful and discerning travelers a five-star way of connecting with the ocean, land and local culture. Named for the son of legendary oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, the Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort is dedicated to preserving nature's balance by respecting and existing harmoniously with the natural environment and through involving guests in its preservation initiatives. "What is a scientist after all? It is a curious man looking through a keyhole, the keyhole of nature, trying to know what's going on" - Jacques Cousteau READ MORE
- Environment & Sustainability
- Delivering a Beyond Expectations Experience while Excelling in Sustainability Efforts
Kalahari Resorts and Conventions is committed to delivering a beyond expectations guest experience, and in addition to offering outstanding service, has introduced state-of-the-art green operations that protect the environment and reduce the resorts' carbon footprint. One of three recipients of the 2006 Partners for Clean Air Recognition Award, Kalahari Resorts and Conventions leads the hotel industry in cutting edge-initiatives for water conservation, recycling, lighting and climate control. These initiatives include, but are not limited to, high-efficiency water consumption pumps within the indoor and outdoor waterparks for extended life cycle, more than 4,160 square feet of rooftop solar panels, partnering with the renown Clean The World organization and much more. READ MORE
- Environment & Sustainability
- Green Machines: The Economic and Environmental Benefits of Sustainable Laundries
The hotel industry, like all industries, is being scrutinized for its sustainable business practices. As hotels take an active role in committing to sustainability, use of sustainable laundries for their towels and linens increasingly helps reduce carbon footprints as well as cost. Leading laundry services use certified green methods that create energy and water savings, reduce waste, improve quality and - through innovative microchip technology - reduce linen loss. Plus, sustainable laundries give hotels an additional way to market to consumers who list green practices as a leading determinant in hotel choice. READ MORE
Federal, State, and Local government agencies offer a number of incentives to businesses. Some incentives are put forward to guarantee that developmental benefits will be sustained, other incentives support decreased energy usage in buildings to encourage investment in underdeveloped areas and to reward environmentally friendly building practices. These incentives can not only encourage you to increase your overall efficiency, but can reduce your out-of-pocket expenses. It's imperative that owners, designers, and project managers don't overlook these incentives, as they can add up quickly. READ MORE
Like other industrial sectors, the hospitality industry can catapult its sustainability efforts forward through expansion of its initiatives to its own global supply chains through Sustainable Supply Chain Management. The unique characteristics of the hospitality industry require its supply chain practices to be modified from those of manufacturing or retailing. This article addresses these unique characteristics and also outlines how redesigning buildings, processes and products will be necessary for any seismic shift in sustainable supply chain practices. READ MORE
As a hotelier, I attend a lot of industry conferences which afford me the benefit of experiencing many other hotels throughout the Caribbean, Europe and North America. This allows me to experience hospitality from the other side, which lends insight into hotel practices that work - and even more importantly - those to avoid at my own property. Check-in lines, for example, are something we've done away with entirely, ensuring guests are able to relax from the moment guests arrive on property. Nonetheless, I often find myself waiting in line to check-in, and recall a particular instance where the guest in front of me complained about the hotel's lax environmental policy. READ MORE
To meet the challenge of competing for clients who prefer a boutique atmosphere, larger properties must offer one-of-a-kind venues that are memorable and encourage repeat stays. Architects and designers should engage the client in an integrated design process, arriving at a "shared lifestyle vision" for the venue. Using three examples — a nightclub, a restaurant and a retail confectionery — this article demonstrates best practices for boutique-ing big properties in ways that make a powerful impact without appearing out of place in the larger context. The process is also shown to deliver sustainable designs with high ROI. READ MORE
Legendary Hospitality with a softer footprint—that's the Xanterra Parks and Resort mission statement. The Softer Footprint, the commitment to environmental stewardship is a long-standing commitment of the company, and a never-ending journey of learning. Unlike other important hospitality disciplines like food and beverage, sustainability barely was recognized fifteen years ago. It is a complex puzzle balancing efficiency, environmental regulations and the right amount of guest engagement. Projects are often piloted, analyzed for their “stickiness", modified and then with the help of employees, deployed across the company. The following two stories illustrate how Xanterra strives to deliver sustainability throughout its operations--one invisible to guests and the other targeting guest awareness and actions. READ MORE
The World Bank estimates that global urban populations create 1.6 billion tons of solid waste per year, and more than half of that ends up in landfills. A mere fraction is composted or recycled. In the United States, the hospitality industry alone produces 1.9 billion pounds of waste annually. According the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), nearly 30 percent of all food produced in a year is thrown away, while more than 888 million struggle with hunger. That's 1.3 billion tons of uneaten food. And on a daily basis, 2.6 million bars of soap are discarded by the hotel industry in the United States alone according to the Global Soap Project. READ MORE
- Environment & Sustainability
- Staff Training to Enhance Profitability, Morale and Build Trust in your Brand
Do you want to increase the profitability of your business? How about improve the morale of your staff? Build trust in your brand? Even better still, how about all of the above, whilst also enhancing customer satisfaction? Does it sound too good to be true, while it isn't! Believe it or not all of the above can be yours through the simple expedient of delivering really good quality responsible business training to your staff. READ MORE
Hotels in many locations have adopted sustainable practices, and many have achieved certification through such programs as ISO 14001 and U.S. Energy Star. At the same time, some industry practitioners remain concerned about the cost and market acceptance of sustainable practices. Researchers investigating these issues have found that guests are, on balance, responding favorably to hotels' sustainability practices—albeit not always by paying higher room rates—and certain aspects of sustainability certification are beneficial for hotel operation and finances. In particular, ISO 14001 certification has been found to be useful as a tool that improves hotel efficiency. READ MORE
With all due respect to my favorite Muppet, being green has never been easier. Whether its single stream recycling hitting your neighborhood or building and operating greener hotels, green is the new black when it comes to colors that make everything appear slimmer. Some of my colleagues in the hotel industry will likely insist that green development fattens the cost of construction, but frankly, the argument is as old and out-of-date as the mullet some of us sported in the 70s. Truth be told, green building practices and attaining LEED certification is reasonably easy, cost effective, forward thinking and simply the right thing to do. READ MORE
Sustainability. Reducing Your Carbon Footprint. Greening Your Property. Environmental responsibility. No matter how you phrase it, the movement to embrace environmentally conscience practices is no longer a fad; it is a fact, that almost no lodging facility can continue to ignore. As conscientious hospitality professionals, we must make changes to our operations that ensure our business is environmentally friendly. Most hotel companies large and small started these efforts years ago. Towel and linen reuse programs, recycling plans, energy efficiencies, and other simple steps to show our guests that we were mindful about how our company affects the world. As time passes and we need to deeply ingrain these programs to reduce our carbon footprint into our operations, how do owners and operators ensure that they are seeing the greener $ide of sustainability? READ MORE
All hotel owners and operators are interested in cutting costs without compromising on guest satisfaction, and many of them also have adopted or are considering sustainability programs. A focused effort to reduce energy and water consumption and costs is good for the planet, good for the bottom line of a hotel or portfolio of hotels, and is the aspect of a sustainability program that typically delivers a measurable ROI. An energy or utilities portal is a web - based information and reporting platform that brings cost cutting and sustainability tracking together. This article will help hotel executives and general managers think about their utility information in a new way, a way that can provide meaningful insights into improving their profitability. READ MORE
- Environment & Sustainability
- Innovation Models to Help Drive Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry
Innovation has always played a significant role in making Wyndham Worldwide a leader in the hospitality industry, and has been behind much of the growth across the Company over the past few years. The continued dedication, ingenuity, and tenacity of our associates has helped drive us forward. In fact, our chairman and chief executive officer Stephen P. Holmes, leads an Innovation Council that recognizes and rewards individuals and teams for their achievements in developing new initiatives that advance the Company. READ MORE
Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favorite authors. As I recall, I was wandering around an airport one day with some free time (as a frequent flyer this happens on just about every trip) when I picked up a copy of The Tipping Point. After reading The Tipping Point it became imperative that I read Blink, Outliers, and What the Dog Saw. I have recently added David and Goliath to my "to read" list. But, this isn't a book review. It's really a discussion about a Tipping Point that (in my humble opinion- IMHO) has been reached in the lodging industry. A definition for a Tipping Point is as follows: The point at which the buildup of minor incidents reaches a level that causes someone to do something they had formerly resisted READ MORE
Sustainability is a prerequisite for the continued growth and profitability of the hospitality industry. Most hotel companies today have integrated operational practices to reduce their carbon footprint, realizing economic and marketing benefits. Efforts to reduce water, waste, energy and chemicals are now an industry standard. However, for long and short term financial success the industry needs to go beyond these reductions and create sustainable initiatives and programs that support and preserve local communities and traditions, and regional icons as well as the natural environment. READ MORE
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December 2013