EXCLUSIVE: Green products favored by corporate travel execs

San Francisco, Calif. — Purchasing sustainable furniture, fixtures and equipment is among the most important criteria for evaluating the sustainability of a hotel, according to a MindClick SGM study. The study pulled results from a pool of corporate travel executives from Fortune 1000 companies.

The corporate travel executives were asked to evaluate two recently renovated mid-scale name brand hotels, both of which used sustainable operating practices to minimize their environmental impact.

One of the hotels renovated with sustainable furniture, fixtures and equipment. That hotel outlined the health, well-being and comfort benefits of the sustainable equipment.

When asked which hotel they would select for their employees, 80 percent chose the hotel with sustainable furniture, fixtures and equipment. Additionally, 75 percent would be willing to pay a price premium of as much as 5 percent if they knew their employees experienced more restful sleep at the hotel.

“Given that travelers are willing to pay a premium for extra leg room when flying, it makes sense they would pay more for a better night’s sleep,” said JoAnna Abrams, CEO of MindClick SGM.


Of those corporate travel executives, 65 percent reported they are in various stages of implementing green business travel principles. The majority of the executives who were green travel buyers usually choose between mid-scale hotel properties. One interesting finding was that just 2 percent outhouse surveyed mentioned LEED certification as a defining factor in hotel sustainability.

"LEED certification is an important and highly valuable contribution to the building and operating performance of hotels, however, the average guest has no idea what LEED is or what benefit it has on their hotel experience," said Abrams.

No brand in particular emerged from the study as the leader in the sustainability field.

“With significant growth in hotel renovations anticipated for 2011, hotels have an opportunity to achieve industry leadership, improve the guest experience, and gain share through sustainable FF&E purchasing,” Abrams said.