5 Things You Need To Know About Sustainable Hospitality

In this short, 20-minute chat Amy Wald host of the Sustainable Hospitality Podcast breaks down the most important updates you need to know to keep top of mind as you navigate the quickly evolving landscape. 

Key Takeaways:

• Traveler sentiment 
• The AHLA and the Hospitality Show making waves in sustainability 
• Why certifying your hotel now will allow you to capitalize on the true business case of sustainable practices
• How Google, Booking.com, and Expedia are making it easier to find sustainable hotels 
• How your sales and marketing team’s benefit 
• How corporate travel buyers are viewing sustainable practices 
• Key trends we will be seeing 
• The quickest way to benefit from your efforts

Quote: 

One of the overlooked bi-products and the positive outcomes of a sustainability journey is the true departmental synergies that result. 

Show Notes:

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Transcript

Transcript:

You know, every time we kick off a new sustainability project for a hotel, I'm so excited to look down the road and have a conversation with the managers, the hotel owners, and even the associates to find out how different the journey and the impacts really were to the organization. A few weeks ago, we were kicking off a green team training for a hotel and I stood back and I watched all of the individuals from the different departments huddled together, sharing ideas and talking about what each of them could do in their department that was different, that would help propel their sustainability journey and impact. And it's just really exciting because Studies have shown and proof has shown that of course you reduce operating costs and you attract travelers and you even have buy-in from staff. But, you know, I think one of the overlooked byproducts and the positive outcomes of a sustainability strategy and journey and implementation is the true departmental synergies and operational efficiencies that come from a sustainability endeavor. And that is one of the many things that excites me so much about taking on this journey. Hi, I'm Amy, your host today on the Sustainable Hospitality Podcast. And today we are going to have a little bit of a different format. Usually we're interviewing guests, but today I'm just going to talk to you about some of the latest developments and ripple effects of sustainability in the hospitality industry. I'm going to give you a brief overview of the state of hospitality, sustainable hospitality in 2024. We're going to discuss things like the Global Business Travel Association's new RFP guidance. We're going to talk about the EU green claims. We're going to talk about the upcoming AHLA hospitality show, and then what some of those trends are as we look forward. But to kick it off, let's talk about some of the things that have happened over the past couple of years, just since COVID. The World Travel and Trade Council launched their hotel sustainability basics, and over 5,000 hotels have adopted those. The Global Sustainable Hospitality Alliance membership has grown 250% in the past year. And if you're not familiar with the Global Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, it's a mouthful. They are a platform providing training and resources for hotels and organizations to go and share and collaborate on ideas, moving this and driving this momentum. As I mentioned, AHLA have their second inaugural hospitality show, but this year it's going to take a little bit different of shape. They are partnering with the Global World Hospitality Alliance. And they're going to team up to have a co-location for not only the hospitality show, but the Alliance's Autumn Summit. So you are, of course, going to see a large sustainability program at the show this year. That's going to include their responsible stay, along with Green Key Global, who they have recently partnered with in order to get funding. adoption at scale for their hotel certification. If you want to know more about that, we're going to link all of this in the show notes. But that is really exciting because Green Key Global makes it very attainable, low barrier to entry and to obtain that certification and really gives you a roadmap on how to then deepen your commitments in the future. We're going to talk about that more. But let's get to some statistics, you know, some statistics that were derived by Booking.com and Expedia and Travelist. 76% of travelers want to travel more sustainably over the coming 12 months. That's pretty incredible. 246 million have selected lower emission flights on Skyscanner since 2019. And then seven out of 10 Consumers feel overwhelmed by starting the process of being a more sustainable traveler. And I think this is our indicator and really our signal in the industry that they are looking to us to make changes. Thrillist did a study on millennials and Gen Z's desire for travel to define who they are. Women are the primary travel decision makers and their inclination towards sustainable options, 80% of their travel decisions are made based on sustainability. really about gearing those sustainability efforts to attract those travelers. Then the luxury and business travel markets are really adopting that sustainability mindset and framework. But where we're kind of seeing it for the first time is the leisure market is willing to pay for sustainability. And then last, and I think one of the most important indicators, which is employees are interested in working for industries and companies that are doing more than just giving them a paycheck. They are standing for something with a bigger impact. So that is definitely a reason to dig your heels in. But now that we've explored some of the consumer sentiment, let's shift gears a little bit and talk about some exciting industry developments. So as I mentioned earlier, the Global Business Travel Association has launched their newest release of sustainability RFP requirements. And their RFP guidance have questions, for example, like, Does your hotel or parent company have a formal sustainability or ESG policy in place with specific and trackable goals and measurement? Does your hotel or parent company have an industry certification, verification or labels to environmental protection and sustainability? And then does your hotel offer plant-based meal options? Now, those are just three out of about 50 questions that are going to be asked on these new RFPs. But in GBTA, the Global Business Travel Association's 2023 State of Climate Action Report, travel managers indicated that they are using their purchasing power as a lever for change. 76% of survey respondents are or planning to integrate sustainability questions into supplier RFPs and 63% are selecting or planning to select suppliers Based on sustainability criteria. So if you are in that meeting and conference and convention space, this is something you definitely want to keep top of mind and make sure that your sales and marketing teams are aware of it. And more importantly, that your hotel knows. can answer those questions with confidence and back them up. Business travelers spend more money on hotels than any other vertical in the travel supply market. Something that you really want to keep your finger on that pulse. With all these changes, how do you verify those claims? How can your hotel effectively communicate their sustainability efforts? And the EU Green Claims Directive is out there and it seeks to curb greenwashing by mandating that companies substantiate their environmental claims with robust evidence. And that is really important when you think about telling your sustainability story in order to gain trust. But you may be thinking, well, that's in the EU. That doesn't have anything to do with my hotel or my organization. But if you are marketing to European travelers, if you have a subsidiary or a parent company in the EU, you are going to have to abide by these rules as well. And one of the ways that you do that is through measurement and verification. That is what enables effective storytelling. So this is where those certifications come in. Obtaining those third party certifications, for instance, The Green Key Global Framework that has now partnered with AHLA not only organizes your efforts, which is half the battle with some of these initiatives, but it's designed to give you that credibility to your sustainability initiatives that your property is already undertaking. Because a lot of the roadblocks and the barriers we see out there is many of you are doing great things and accomplishing so much, but you have no way to really not only quantify that, but verify it. And so they are going to give you that framework and then allow you to kind of put that stamp of approval on there. Now, in addition to the EU green claims that is out there trying to eliminate greenwashing, Google and other OTAs now have made it mandatory in order to talk about sustainability when it comes to your hotel and your organization. and advertise all of those accomplishments, you are going to need to have a third-party verified certification. And the reason they're doing this is they want to make it easier for eco-conscious travelers to find your hotel. They also want to make it easier for the traveler to discern between who is doing you know taking on these sustainability initiatives and these projects as we talked about in the beginning travelers are very confused and they don't know how to weed out the green washing from the people that are really making making strides. So as I mentioned, you know, for instance, on booking.com parties that have achieved an independent third party certification will receive a clear label on the platform. This is going to allow travelers to have the option to filter certified properties. And 59% of global travelers want to filter their stay options with those sustainability certifications the next time they book. So two reasons to do that. You want to stand out to travelers looking for more sustainable stays, and you want to be able to receive the recognition that you deserve for your sustainability efforts. And that's how you're going to do that. And again, we're going to make sure that we link how to find Green Key Global and some of those other certifications in our show notes so you can start getting that information that you need. Now let's dive in to our final topic for the day, which is the evolution of sustainable hospitality. And as we look to the future, I really want to empower all of you out there to remember that sustainability is not a destination, it is a journey. So as we see things standardized more and more frameworks come out, It's important that you know you have to start somewhere, but it is the constant evolution. And some of those things that we're going to see in the future is something called net positive hospitality. And that is really a way of not only doing less harm, but doing more good, making sure that you are thinking about everything in a holistic manner. And Net Positive Hospitality was created by the Global Sustainable Hospitality Alliance. You can find it on their website. One of the big trends I really think we're going to see moving forward is nature-based hospitality and tourism. And this is not to be confused with ecotourism. That is definitely a specific type of travel. But nature-based hospitality is really going to be something that is a framework that is a individual, even an urban hotel could adopt. So it's about looking into your local surroundings, the nature, the biodiversity, the weather patterns, your community, your culture, the history, and adopting practices that really align with those. And what I think is really exciting about this is this is how, you know, we don't want sustainability to be a competitive element. However, this is the way that you can really stand out to a traveler because what you're going to do is you're going to take that great culture that you have already cultivated and created in your organization and And you're just going to enhance it more. So it's really about your unique value proposition and using sustainability as a way to do that. And then we're going to see things like climate travel. So travelers are now starting to choose destinations based on the temperature and the type of weather that they have. We all know we've all been experiencing these really, really high temperatures. And so people are now looking to travel in areas that are a little bit of a cool cation, as they're calling it, which I think is incredibly interesting. So that's something you're going to see. And then, of course, as we all know, wellness has been such a hot topic. in the past, you're going to continue to see the fusion and the embedding of wellness with sustainability because they truly just go hand in hand. So if you have a spa in your hotel or you are a resort, you really want to see how you can enhance that wellness offering with sustainability initiatives, because that same traveler that values wellness and is going to be looking for those sustainability attributes as well. So in conclusion, just to summarize, sustainability is not going anywhere. It's an imperative for how we are doing business today and in the future. But it is your way of telling your unique story. From regulator to community to traveler and even the employee, that is who's driving all of these changes. Make sure you're telling that story though authentically and make sure you can back it up with claims and with certifications. Travel buyers are prioritizing companies that can provide sustainable accommodations. So give your sales and marketing teams the tools they need to win those RFPs and answer those questions appropriately. Again, sustainability is not a journey, or I'm sorry, it's not a destination, but it is a journey. And once you have that foundation in place, think about how you can propel it further. If you've had a memorable, sustainable travel and hospitality experience, we want to know about it. We would love if you would share it with us on the Sustainable Hospitality podcast, socials, LinkedIn, Instagram. and let us know what did that look like what made it unique and what made it stand out and we're going to start highlighting those special experiences that really are making travelers more loyal to brands and independent sustainability experiences. Don't forget, we have a really exciting survey happening right now, which is for the modern traveler. So if you are a traveler out there, we are encouraging you to please take part in this survey. It'll be linked in the show notes. You have an opportunity to win a beautiful piece of jewelry from Anna Lucia Beltran Diamonds. That is a lab grown, sustainable, beautiful, Beautiful jewelry diamond brand. I used to work with her on cruise ships. And you will be one lucky winner if you get to wear this piece of jewelry or maybe give it as a gift. And this survey is really going to help us create some incredible engagement at the Independent Hospitality Show, which is coming up in mid-September. So we really need you. We need your feedback. If you are a traveler, we want to know what your sentiment's on. sustainability are, and it won't take any more than three minutes to fill out. Don't forget to continue to listen. We are going to have David Leventhal on our next podcast. He is the founder of Playa Viva, which is an incredible resort in Mexico, and he's also the co-founder of Regenerative Travel. So we've got a lot of great information from him. He is a pioneer and we're going to talk a lot about what the differences between sustainable hospitality and travel is and regenerative hospitality and travel. So as always, we thank you so much for tuning back in. We can't do it without your support. So if you would like and share and subscribe and leave us a comment, we would be so grateful. Until next time, we will see you soon.