Eco-friendly as it pertains to lodging has been segmented into eco-hotels, eco-tourism and eco-resorts and eco-lodging.

Eco friendly lodging can also be segmented by settings, e.g., coastlines, mountains, forests, jungles, and then more traditional lodging settings, urban, suburban, airport, metropolitan and more.

Eco-friendly hotels as a concept are also integrated with sustainable tourism and lodging practices. In this channel, eco-tourism and sustainable hotels are concerned for the environment, for the communities they operate in and the businesses they operate.

Additionally, studies have shown that travelers prefer environmentally responsible hotels, and some are willing to pay more for a hotel's environmental practices (Balaji, Jiang, and Jha, 2019). Eco-friendly hotels are those operations that make business decisions that are beneficial for the hotel, the community, and the environment.

For example, vendor ideas that that reduce costs could include:

  • Reduce plastic waste, starting with keycards
  • Automate energy control
  • Cut food waste
  • Save water
  • Switch to sustainable mobility
  • Support the local community (Operto, 2021)

An eco-friendly hotel also works to reduce its environmental impact by employing sustainable best practices in maintenance, services, and supply chains, e.g., reducing energy and water consumption, aiming for zero waste generation, and using environmentally friendly products (Operto, 2021).

Hotels can view their role in this process from a marketing perspective by examining their 4 P's, product, place, promotion, and price. Their product, the hotel must integrate eco-friendly into their operating plans and decision making. The hotel's distribution and or setting (place) must also be part of the decision-making processes. From a promotion perspective eco-friendly is not greenwashing and the effort must be more than LED (Light Emitting Diode) light bulbs and recycling (though those efforts are important). Price must provide guests both value and quality, which is the biggest hurdle for some hotel properties.

Eco-friendly has historically meant more expensive and therefore, guests must be on board to make this work. Eco-friendly, sustainable, and green practices can have limitations and be costly for set up, have continuous training required, can be time consuming, may have a limited range of products, require a leadership level of expertise, and can be impacted by location. A true eco-friendly hotel effort requires research, planning, training, and education for stakeholders and making sustainability part of a hotel's strategic efforts. Eco-friendly efforts may save money overall, and therefore position a hotel as a community, environmental and guest connector (Adapted from Jishi, 2021).

LaCalle (2021), suggests that operational themes are important for hotels to operate in an eco-friendly manner. For example, eco-friendly themes in a hotel include, energy conservation, amenities selections, waste reduction and efficiency, promoting sustainable means of transportation, choosing cleaning products wisely with minimum impact on the environment, selection of local food products at the hotel restaurant, promoting eco-tourism, water conservation and encouraging guests to make sustainable decisions like reuse of towels, not requesting daily housekeeping and more. Operational themes tend to be consistent from hotel to hotel and the biggest challenge for a hotel is engaging employees and engaging guests in the eco-friendly and sustainable practices of a hotel.

Tied to these themes are daily actions that can be implemented in a hotel such as turning lights off, checking for leaks, buying water efficient equipment, and as promoted by green hotel efforts create a "Green Team" of employees. A "Green Team" can focus on a hotel and its departments, such as rooms division, building maintenance, food and beverage service, outdoor efforts including having a garden, composing etc., and purchasing efforts. Hilton (2022) notes that as the hotel industry reduces single-use plastics, travelers are embracing changes that provide access to innovative, sustainably minded solutions, such as reusable water bottles, digital keys, and bulk bathroom amenities. Therefore, the focus may be to ensure that guests and potential guests are engaged in eco-friendly decisions and their implementation.

Research notes that multiple hotels have switched at least portions of their energy usage to alternative sources, with impressive results. For example, the Willard Intercontinental in Washington D.C. is now running on 100% wind energy power, resulting in a 12% decline in energy consumption, according to the Green Hotels and Responsible Tourism Initiative. Additionally, other hotels, particularly those in warmer climates, are making use of solar energy for signage and water heating. Also noting, as the market for alternative energy increases, more solutions will arise (Xerostech, 2022).

When eco-friendly hotels create jobs, it becomes a source of hard currency, providing local peoples with a financial stake in in the lodging and tourism community (Oceanic Society, 2022). For ecotourism/lodging to be successful, residents must benefit directly from tourism as a sustainable source of income. Working with local businesses whose practices are in keeping with eco-friendly criteria help to create a lodging eco-friendly ethic (Adapted from Oceanic Society, 2022). Additionally, many hotels have adopted environmentally friendly practices to cater to their guests' pro-environmental attitudes (Xu and Pratt 2018). Merli et al, (2019) noted that travelers' perceptions of a hotel's commitment to sustainability refer to the extent to which travelers feel that the eco-friendly hotel is committed to sustainability practices. The question then is, how can hotels convey that commitment?

Looking Forward: People, Business, and the Environment

Sustainability and sustainable development are about creating balance. The balance here is recognizing that development and growth can be good, but not if it's at the expense of future generations (EETST, 2022). Hotel owners and managers could develop their own Eco-Friendly / Sustainable Code of Ethics. Or hotels could work with their associations to create an eco-friendly and sustainable code. The American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) has a sustainability resource center on their website (https://www.ahla.com/sustainability). These resources include sections on advocacy/public policy, data benchmarking, procurement and sourcing, energy efficiency, water stewardship, food waste, human rights, and other resources. The hotel industry needs to take advantage of these and other resources to create a code of ethics/conduct for eco-friendly and sustainability practices.

It has been noted that codes of conduct have been produced for tourists/guests to educate them about societies they visit. A code of conduct for eco-friendly and sustainable lodging could be developed to communicate to guests and potential guests the properties commitment to the environment, the community, and their lodge as an employer. A code of eco-friendly and sustainability could be used as a tool to educate guests to behave in a more responsible way. If a code were developed it would be logical to have lodging guests provide input and feedback. Additionally, groups representing all potential stakeholders, the local population, local tour operators, and local government officials can be asked for input, therefore embracing sustainable practices for local communities, overall tourism, and specific properties (Adapted from Cole, 2007).

Benchmark Eco-Friendly Success

Hotel operators, via their (Green Teams) should identify hotels that have embraced eco-friendly practices and create a data base of resources of eco-friendly and sustainable hotels and benchmark their practices for consideration and fit in their own operations. For example, the Proximity Hotel in North Carolina has been widely recognized for their sustainable practices and have achieved the highest level of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

Proximity Hotel is one of the first hotels in America to receive the LEED Platinum certification from the U.S (United States). Green Building Council. Their design and construction follow guidelines of their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System,™ the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings. The Proximity Hotel may represent the high end of sustainability and eco-friendly and not every property will do as they do, however, they can provide an example for the lodging industry to consider. Additionally, the large U.S. lodging brands, (Marriott, Hilton et al) have sustainability and or eco-friendly policies and web pages that can be accessed and reviewed for ideas and eco-friendly opportunities.

Target: A Lodging Sustainability/Eco-Friendly Code of Ethics

Planning for the future hotels (independents or brands) should consider creating their own hotel Code of Eco-Friendly-Sustainable Ethics. This effort would be for all stakeholders, employees, vendors, the local community, and guests. A code of conduct (ethics & sustainability) can serve as a vehicle of communication between agencies, industry sectors, community interests, environmental and cultural stakeholders (Adapted from Cole, 2007). As a point of reference, an existing code, for example, using the World Tourism Organization (WTO), the principles of the WTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism include:

  • Tourism's contribution to mutual understanding and respect between peoples and societies
  • Tourism as a vehicle for individual and collective fulfilment
  • Tourism, a factor of sustainable development
  • Tourism, a user of the cultural heritage of mankind and a contributor to its enhancement
  • Tourism, a beneficial activity for host countries and communities
  • Obligations of stakeholders in tourism development
  • Right to tourism
  • Liberty of tourism movements (WTO, 2022)

For lodging, these principles (articles from the code) will be adapted, applied, and connected to and for hotel sustainability efforts in lodging operations. Tourism is a broad term, however, the eco-friendly and sustainable intent can be adopted for hotels, as key players in community tourism infrastructure. There is a need to apply these types of principles and community goals to align them with a "livability and visitation" theme. Hotels operate in diverse locations with diverse populations.

The effort is to optimize the hotel's operation in a sustainable way to benefit community, environment, and its own sustainability as a business. The geography will differ location to location and the focus should be on sustainable development with consideration of all sustainable factors. For example, hotels should be good employers and benefit the local workforce and by doing so, advance their own human resource sustainability and operational staffing needs.

Tied to this effort will need to be, eco-friendly and sustainable research and recommendations, promotion of a hotel's sustainable efforts and strong encouragement of employees and guest's participation. For employees, this effort will require continuous training. One idea may be to attach recognition via hotel certifications or the awarding of badges for achievement, creating a professional designation like "sustainability champion" for employees. Badges in this framework represent a way of acknowledging achievements or skill acquisition at a more granular level. As credentials, badges continue to gain traction as a method to acknowledge achievement and establish qualifications in various professional fields (ECU (East Carolina University), 2022). Eco-friendly and sustainable goals framed by a code of conduct may be an optimal method for hotels to pursue.

For guests, this type of recognition program needs to be promoted for optimal engagement. Lodging operators cannot force the adoption of a sustainable code of conduct, however, they could entice potential guests and returning guests to engage in hotel sustainable practices by tying guest eco-friendly and sustainable hotel actions to the hotel code of conduct and loyalty programs. It is not up to me to decide criteria for guests benefits but given travelers affinity for sustainable efforts in today's traveling world, a program that provides education, recognition and guest rewards could also provide guest loyalty, and result in optimal hotel eco-friendly and sustainable efforts. The guest, for example, could earn an eco-friendly and sustainability badge that is connected to their loyalty program and provides additional benefits for them during their stays.

The lodging industry, through their own education and training efforts, research and promotion can adapt and progress as part of business eco-friendly and sustainability practices moving into the future. It is noted that there are numerous resources and research efforts available online focused on eco-friendly and sustainability ideas, examples, and recommendations. A hotel's efforts should include benchmarking, research, promotion, training and education, guest input and the creation of a Sustainable and Eco-friendly Code of Conduct for all hotel stakeholders. This can result in a more sustainable environment, community, and business.

References

Reprinted from the Hotel Business Review with permission from www.HotelExecutive.com