Whether people are booking a venue for their event or simply looking for a place to stay, hotels worldwide are looking to build green initiatives for their businesses. In a world where people are increasingly conscious about the environment, sustainable habits can give you an edge against the competition.
Sustainability benefits your hotel, cutting costs and reducing your carbon emissions. With the right habits, you can also use these initiatives to improve your occupancy. Here are five green practices that you could use.
Why Should Hotels Go Green?
We live in an age where being environmentally friendly is almost second nature. People actively look for sustainable practices when they book a hotel. According to a TripAdvisor survey, 57% of travelers are concerned about the environmental impact of their travel.
Green initiatives are about more than just being kind to the environment; they can be a significant competitive advantage for your venue. Neighborhoods are increasingly aware of their carbon footprint and how to lower it. Guests want to feel good about their choices while traveling, and green practices can convince them to stay with you.
Future travelers are also looking to adopt green habits, so becoming more sustainable will put you in a positive light. Whether you’re the owner or the general manager of a hotel, going green is the future.
#1 Utilize Green Initiatives
Food waste is a major problem for the hospitality industry. People might order too much or order food they do not like. This food is wasted, and hotels need to pay for hauling fees.
You can reduce waste by communicating with your guest. Encourage them to order smaller amounts of food. This decreases food waste and saves you money on catering costs. You could offer smaller plate sizes or suggest sharing food.
Another way that you could save food is by talking to your suppliers. See if you can negotiate deals where you get a discount for ordering less food. You could also work with them to reduce the number of items thrown away.
How can this increase occupancy? By reducing food waste, you’re telling customers that you care about the environment and you’re looking to innovate how you cook your food.
#2 Try Some Eco-Friendly Interior Designs
Hotels always look for new interior design trends to improve their venue’s ambiance. These designs can be anything from designing a room to be sleek and modern to achieve a whimsical look with bright colors.
You can build these designs to be more eco-friendly. Natural lighting is the best way to use less energy, so try to incorporate a lot of windows and skylights in your hotel. For lighting, consider using LEDs. They are much better for energy consumption than incandescent and fluorescent lights.
Depending on your venue, you can use processed rainwater or recycled water for your pool. This conserves water and reduces your utility bills. Plants are another great way to reduce your energy consumption. They give off oxygen when they live, reducing your carbon footprint.
You can try using recycled plastics in your interior design. These plastics are stamped to look like wood, stone, or metal. This is an eco-friendly design because it cuts the number of plastics in our landfills. Using green interior design can help you appeal to people seeking sustainable practices.
You can reduce waste by communicating with your guest. Encourage them to order smaller amounts of food. This decreases food waste and saves you money on catering costs. You could offer smaller plate sizes or suggest sharing food.
Another way that you could save food is by talking to your suppliers. See if you can negotiate deals where you get a discount for ordering less food. You could also work with them to reduce the number of items thrown away.
How can this increase occupancy? By reducing food waste, you’re telling customers that you care about the environment and you’re looking to innovate how you cook your food.
#3 Encourage Green Transportation
Encourage your guest to travel by foot, bike, or public transportation. If your venue is nearby public transportation, such as a bus or metro system, try installing a stop nearby (chat with Translink). This encourages guests to get to and from your venue using their own power.
Within your venue, you could build some sustainable transport options. You could use a bike-sharing program like Mobi Bikes to get people around your general area if they are coming to stay with you. You could also use an electric vehicle pool to reduce travel emissions and show off to potential customers.
If you use a lot of cars, you could build some electric vehicle charging stations. This helps both regular car owners and those who want to invest in an electric vehicle. An electric car charging station makes your hotel look more progressive and environmentally conscious.
#4 Add More Plants And Greenery
You could build green initiatives that are more than just your interior design. You could add more plants around your hotel. Use vegetation to frame your venue, or build a garden around your parking lot.
For guests, this increases the aesthetic appeal of your hotel. It also adds some shade and a place for people to walk. Plants use water, so this will help reduce your utility bills.
There are wither plants and bushes that can improve your outdoor design. For example, bushes with thin leaves, like lilac or boxwood, are cost-effective options. They require little water and maintenance, making them more practical to use.
You can install benches, tables, and chairs outdoors. The furniture should be constructed from eco-friendly materials. Bamboo is an excellent option because it is strong, durable, and grows much faster than hardwood furniture.
Try adding elements around your hotel that go above and beyond being sustainable. These elements could attract new or returning guests who will frequent your venue. A green initiative could also be a deciding factor for someone deciding between venues.
A Canadian company working with many hotels is Green Over Grey.
Lunch at Dockside Restaurant (Granville Island Hotel)
#5 Shop Local
One of the best ways to use green initiatives in your venue is by buying locally made products. People appreciate businesses that support their community. Guests can enjoy a nice local meal if your venue uses local food.
Your local producers are businesses that you want to promote. Whether they are selling local food or raw materials to use in your green initiatives, they are helping the environment. They have a smaller carbon footprint than a business that sources ingredients from another country.
Your local producers also support other businesses in your community. If you build a relationship with these producers, you might receive exclusive discounts for purchasing products. This helps you save money and put those resources toward other green initiatives. This also connects you with the community, which can help you get more recommendations.
Check out BC Buy Local to discover BC-based businesses and celebrate their contribution to our economy and communities.
The bottom line
By following these steps, you can build sustainable habits and initiatives for your hotel. Your initiatives will vary based on your hotel’s needs and location. Regardless, these green habits can improve occupancy, capturing the growing market of green travelers worldwide.
