Learn from the Best: Green Luxury, Franck Arnold, Managing Director, The Savoy

How to Make the Future of Hospitality Sustainable

Discover the insider strategies that make The Savoy a global sustainability leader in the hospitality industry with cutting-edge green innovations and food waste reductions. 

Franck Arnold, Managing Director of the Savoy in London, reveals his hotel's game-changing sustainability blueprint, transforming luxury hospitality!

This podcast will revolutionize your thoughts about luxury and environmental responsibility! 

Perfect for:

• Eco-warriors
• Business innovators
• Hospitality professionals
• Climate-conscious travelers

Takeaways

• All hotels have become single-use plastic-free.
• Sustainability is not a new concept for luxury hotels.
• Food wastage is a significant issue that needs addressing.
• Implementing AI to measure food waste is a game changer.
• Energy consumption must be reduced in older hotels.
• Investments in sustainability can ensure property value.
• Luxury hospitality is evolving to meet environmental demands.
• Guests are increasingly accepting sustainable practices.
• Educating guests on sustainability is essential.
• Sustainability is now a business obligation, not just a trend.

#SustainabilityRevolution #LuxuryHospitality #GreenInnovation #TheSavoy #FranckArnold #podcast #overhereoverthere

Are you ready to learn from the best? Watch the full-length video interview with Franck Arnold on the "‪@OverHereOverThere‬ website and on our YouTube channel: Insights from The Savoy, London, Interview with Franck Arnold, Managing Director 

And please don´t forget to like and subscribe - and comment!

Transcript

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Franck Arnold (00:03.246)
As a matter of fact, last year all the hotels became single-use plastic free There is no if there is single-use plastic then I'm a liar, but there is no single-use plastic in this hotel There's a bag, but it's not mine The so we eliminated debts that you know that's taken cost time effort innovation and risk to do it and Femont hotels did it and we were at the forefront of that. The Savoy was in the, was at the, my actually, my assistant, I call her my assistant, she's actually the director of sustainability and quality at the hotel. And she's been with us for 28 years. And she's been driving sustainability for 15 or 18 years. So it's not new. When the hotel was renovated, a lot of structural decisions were made to bring boilers to a standard that would be much more sustainable or environmentally friendly. We have eliminated all plastics. We have embarked now on a program to be compliant with BREEAM and CRAM, which are European standards of sustainability, which should enable us to avoid becoming a stranded asset. There is a business reason to be sustainable and to have a neutral carbon footprint. 

There are business reasons because I think society demands that customers will demand it, especially the younger generation, but also the authorities and the governments are all going toward different speeds at different depending on who gets to power but the commitment is there and I think that it is a must. It's an obligation; it's not just a cool thing to do. It is about contributing at our level to reduce the carbon footprint travel is a heavy consumer of energy and we have to develop forms of luxury travel, which I'm much more responsible. One of those items that you touched upon it is food. Food wastage is terrible. I don't know if it was the same with you, but when I was growing up, we were four siblings at the table and we could not leave the table without having finished our plates. And whatever we were helping ourselves with, we had to finish. It's a very different environment. I've got three and it's a battle. It's a constant battle for a number of reasons, but food wastage, imagine. 

So now what we do, we are implementing. We have just actually received those those pieces of equipment which will measure how much waste, how much food wastage, what kind of food waste are we producing in various kitchens, but also in the staff canteen, which we call backstage where we, so there's a system that identifies the quantity and the nature of the food and it's done with artificial intelligence and will give us report as to where we start, where we finish, which will give us the ability to actually on a live basis know what kind of wastage we have and where, and we're gonna compare and we're gonna establish plans to reduce, to reduce wastage by being more clever about the quantities of food served in various places, the nature of the food served. It will also help us being more clever about the menus because we can target things that are more easily consumed and less less thrown away. And gradually, we're going to become much more intelligent when it comes to presenting food choices, but also in terms of quantity, quality and waste management. I think

We go and so the waste management and then the next one is energy. And energy when I spoke speak about our boilers then we to think about the next generation. So we're looking at all kinds of most sustainable techniques and technologies to help us reduce our energy consumption. Because of energy consumption especially in a grand old dame like this one. I will say just grand dam it's not that old it's only 135 years of age. It is, you know, it was not built with modern standards. 

So we continuously need to invest and now we're talking millions. We're not talking about a piece of equipment that costs you a few tens of thousands. We're talking about millions. And so these are very, very important strategic decisions that we need to be conscious about and we need to work with our investors to make sure that we are aligned as far as environment and sustainability strategy is concerned and that we get their support and demonstrate that if it's not an operating loss or profits, it is a question of valuation and asset valuation. our property remains sustainable and is given a very good or excellent grade with the Brehm and Krem classification, it guarantees the value and the future value of the property. So it's also economical. So it sounds like leading-edge thinking, leading-edge policies that you're implementing into the future, which sounds like you're at the forefront of things here. We try as much as we can because it's always a fine balance because luxury is about choice.

and choice is about opulence and opulence is about quantity. So we need to operate that shift again gradually without shocking the systems, but bringing this to life. I remember possibly 10, 12 years ago when we started to offer the guests the possibility to keep their sheets at night not to having change, not to change them the next day. And that was a shock to certain operators and to certain guests. Now it is extremely natural that even luxury company, and also there's a cost associated to it. Of course, hoteliers are saving money, but we are also contributing on reducing the carbon footprint of the hotel operation.


And nowadays people have totally embraced it. If you wish you still can get your sheets changed every day, or if something happens and the sheet is not in good, clean anymore, we are going to change it automatically. But people have accepted the fact that, you know, no, it's not good for the environment. Even though I'm paying a thousand pounds, I don't expect that to be changed. has, so I think that by doing this, we are constantly educating our guests as well as to what is is better for the environment and for the planet.