Sustainability efforts within the hotel space have become ubiquitous, especially as large and small businesses implement environmental, social and governmental policies that require their traveling employees to stay in hotels that meet certain criteria.
This, in turn, has pushed hotels to launch ESG initiatives of their own, and for hotels to join collections that emphasize sustainable and responsible stays. Ahead of Earth Day on April 22, hotels are sharing details on their environmental actions, making it easier for travelers, agents and corporate booking specialists to find hotels that meet their values.
By the Numbers
There is solid data driving these efforts: According to a recent poll from Booking.com, 70 percent of U.S. travelers say they want to travel more sustainably over the coming 12 months. More than half (52 percent) of U.S. travelers believe more sustainable travel options are too expensive, in contrast to 42 percent willing to pay extra for travel options with a sustainable certification. A study from Expedia.com found that 40 percent of respondents “stayed in lodging that’s actively lessening its environmental impact,” and that 47 percent want information on sustainability efforts from their lodging providers. More than half said they would be willing to pay more for sustainable lodging options.
As Daniel Luddington, VP development, Small Luxury Hotels of the World, told Forbes last year, nearly two thirds of the 1,500 Invited loyalty program members the company polled believe sustainability is more important now than before the pandemic hit—an increase from 16 percent. More than half—58 percent—intend to make more sustainably minded choices when they travel, Luddington added, but he noted that 57 percent pointed out how hard it can be to find the information they need to make an informed choice.
Brands Step Up
Hotel companies and associations have taken action. In December, the American Hotel & Lodging Association launched Responsible Stay, an industrywide commitment that aims to make meetings, events and guest experiences in America’s hotels more environmentally and socially responsible. Less than six months later, more than 75 AHLA members have endorsed the Responsible Stay principles. IHG Hotels & Resorts committed to replacing bathroom miniatures with full-size amenities across all brands. The switch to full-size amenities is expected to save at least 850 tons of plastic annually in IHG’s Americas region alone. MGM Resorts are saving more than 5.6 billion gallons of water from going to waste through its conservation efforts, including water optimization systems, water efficient operations and water recycling. Hilton is recording more than $1 billion of cumulative savings in energy costs since 2009 by measuring and monitoring demand-side energy management in its proprietary environmental and social impact measurement platform, LightStay. This is used across all the company's franchised and managed hotels worldwide. And as part of Marriott International’s Serve360 impact goals, the company is aiming to ensure the furniture, fixtures and equipment products categories sourced are in the top tier of the MindClick Sustainability Assessment Program by 2025. In 2020, 94 percent of FF&E was purchased from suppliers that reduce, reuse or recycle packaging.
According to the "Choice Hotels International 2022 Environmental, Social and Governance Report" released earlier this month, 70 percent of Choice’s midscale domestic hotels have eliminated the use of polystyrene products, putting the company on track to meet its goal of phasing out single-use polystyrene products across its domestic brands by the end of 2023. The company also is launching Commitment to Green, an initiative to provide sustainability training and resources to Choice hotel owners, including an automated system wide utility tracking dashboard to enable hotels to identify electricity, fuel, and water reduction opportunities
Staypineapple, the Pacific Northwest-based boutique hotel brand, recently announced several plans to improve sustainability. The company is looking to completely eliminate all single-use plastic water bottles from its operations by the end of 2023. Instead of offering unlimited bottled water as a guest perk, the hotels will offer a complimentary reusable water bottle and water refill stations with still or sparkling and hot or cold water. The brand also committed to increasing the percentage of renewable energy used in operating its hotels from the current 70 percent renewable energy to 90 percent renewable energy by 2026. It also committed to increasing its recyclables and compost diversion from the current 30 percent to 50 percent by 2024. Beyond bringing recycling efforts back to pre-pandemic levels, by 2027 Staypineapple has committed to a 75 percent recycling rate throughout its portfolio. For in-room Keurig machines, the company has started the process of sourcing a 100 percent compostable K-Cup option with a plan to replace all previous K-Cups nationwide by the end of 2023.
Earlier this week, KSL Resorts launched a new sustainability program, On Purpose, that will be rolled out at its 11 hotels and resorts. Steve Siegel, partner and chief operating officer, KSL Capital Partners, recently told Hotel Management that many target demographics, such as millennials and Gen Z, are increasingly factoring in the ESG values of a company before making their final purchasing decisions. “When acquiring a property or looking toward capital investment, adopting newer technology or making what may seem like relatively simple improvements can have a significant and often rapid impact on financial returns," he said. "ESG initiatives can both directly and indirectly enhance employee recruiting and retention as well.”
Preferred Travel Group launched Beyond Green in late 2020 as a portfolio of sustainable hotels. In March, five new member properties in Miami Beach, Fla.; Lake Tahoe, Nev.; Maine; and Italy joined the collection for a total of 31 hotels, resorts and lodges across 18 countries. Most recently, the collection has launched a series of “Sustainable Adventures” to emphasize the balance between environmental awareness and luxury.
Property Level
Hotels are also making changes at the property level. The Hyatt Centric Key West in Florida recently launched the Infinite Bottle Project with Proud Source Water and Replenysh. This initiative will reclaim and recycle aluminum collected on the property and the surrounding Key West community. The resort will donate 100 percent of the aluminum recycling proceeds received through their collection efforts to Reef Relief to aid in their mission to protect and preserve the Florida Reef (also known as the Great Florida Reef), the only living coral barrier reef in North America. The hotel now serves only Proud Source Water in its infinitely recyclable aluminum packaging. Through The Infinite Bottle Project and its collaboration with Replenysh, the property can now also track and ensure all aluminum cans and bottles collected are sorted properly so they can be recycled and reused. To date, the effort has already collected nearly 400 pounds of aluminum for recycling.
In Victoria, British Columbia, the Fairmont Empress has the Bee Sustainable initiative, which aids in habitat protection and the pollination of the property’s Centennial Gardens and the herbs grown on the rooftop garden. The hotel’s restaurants utilize regional ingredients from local farmers, fisherman and artisans as well as herbs and vegetables grown on property. The hotel also actively reduces and lessens the impact of greenhouse gas emissions through monitoring, measuring and reporting their greenhouse gas emissions, while actively focusing on diverting waste from landfills, recycling and donating or selling used cooking oil and grease to be turned into biodiesel.
In Mountain View, Calif., The Ameswell Hotel launched a plan to become carbon neutral by 2024. Following a greenhouse gas emissions inventory assessment by Zenith Energy, a company specializing in energy procurement, The Ameswell is looking to reduce Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions with respect to its 2022 baseline. In an effort to reduce carbon emissions, the property has made a commitment to zero single-use plastic (eliminating 96 percent of single-use plastics on-site since opening). The hotel uses solar panels that power its LED lighting and has 12 electric car charging stations. New practices to reduce carbon emissions include limiting the amount of hotel deliveries per week to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, along with planting a new herb garden on April 21 in celebration of Earth Day. The hotel also uses technology at its bar and restaurant, Roger, to reduce food waste, while partnerships with local farms, ranches and dairies reduce gas emission of long-distance food transportation. In the kitchen, the team has partnered with FiltaFry Service to lower their cooking oil usage and recycle into Biodiesel, significantly reducing their environmental impact. In a three-month period alone, The Ameswell’s reduced cooking oil usage saved 1,850 pounds of oil, reducing 7,040 pounds of greenhouse gases. High-tech cooking equipment is also utilized from prep work to finished dishes, with machines assisting with knifework in the form of rotary slicing and dicing, while a series of conveyer belts and timers limit the overcooking of food items, which allows for a high level of accuracy and rids the kitchen of any waste. The property also features hyper-efficient heating and cooling; LED lighting throughout; and organic soaps, shampoos and lotions. The outdoor event lawn is covered in AstroTurf, eliminating the need for excessive watering.
And late last month, The Radisson Blu Mall of America in Minneapolis installed a carbon-capture technology unit, CarbinX, developed by CleanO2. The Radisson Blu is the first hotel to use the CarbinX system, which captures greenhouse gas emissions from heating equipment. The CarbinX device is connected directly to the flue of the hotel’s natural gas water heating equipment, where it captures carbon dioxide and converts it to a nontoxic carbonate powder known as pearl ash. CleanO2, the manufacturer of CarbinX, collects the pearl ash and recycles it as a key ingredient in commercial products such as soaps and detergents.