Effectiveness of the Ways Hospitality Businesses practice Sustainability
The hospitality businesses use different strategies to be sustainable and achieve numerous benefits that identify the effectiveness of those strategies. It can be ascertained by the example of Greek eco-friendly hotels. They focused on the sustainability by initiating the energy saving programs and reduction in solid waste. In turn, the hotels not only saved money but also experienced reduction in satisfaction in level of operating costs and increase in reservations. Furthermore, green programs led to upgrading of environment and society. The benefits gained by the hotels indicate the effectiveness of the strategies (Kapiki, 2012).
Bruns-Smith, Choy, Chong and Verma (2015) provided a notion of the key initiatives the hospitality businesses are practicing for the sustainability along with their effectiveness. They studied the resorts of the U.S. and analyzed sustainability practices in relation to lodging industry. The results indicated that the resorts in the U.S. that focus on the sustainable activities like waste reduction and energy efficiency achieves the benefits of customer satisfaction and increased level of profits. Waste reduction is linked to recycling and energy efficiency is associated with the use of LED lights or LEED certification and solar photovoltaic.
In turn, the resorts in the U.S. enjoy market and revenue benefits that identify the effectiveness of the initiatives. Hilton’s Scandic has focused on the waste management and energy efficiency by branding a 95-percent biodegradable room and charging a 10% higher room rate. The demand of the customers for the room is higher than standard rooms. Moreover, Scandic expanded the environmental efforts to every person for efficient management of the water, energy and waste. Accordingly, the activities led to marketing of room and hotel by customers and increase in revenue through increased guest participation. The use of the LEED certification by resorts contributes to better financial performance. Another effectiveness of the sustainable initiatives like waste reduction, water reduction, energy efficiency and sustainable resources is that they facilitate high level customer satisfaction. The hotel like Statler Hotel guests, Susskind and Verma used reduced power television LCD displays in guest rooms and installed light emitting diaodes lamps and enjoyed high level profits and customer satisfaction (Walsman, Verma & Muthulingam, 2014).
Learning from Case
The key lesson learned in relation to case study is that sustainability practices in the hospitality industry are needed to be linked to the strategy and operations. The main reason is that sustainability efforts like energy efficiency, sustainable resources, and waste management cannot be successful without a linkage between strategic and operational level. In addition, it is learned that high performance construction and operations are key to sustainability and provide competitive edge to the companies in terms of cost saving and value creation. For example, Orchard Garden’s site is located closer to public transportation i.e. meeting consumers’ needs. In addition, the company had taken into consideration the issue like soil erosion and dust during construction. Moreover, the company is involved in recycling of materials, use of local materials, and energy efficiency. In relation to energy efficiency, the company developed central hydronic heating and cooling system and albedo roof coating. Water management is associated with the bulk washing, low-flow bathroom and no outside irrigation. In turn, the company has received the benefits of high level customer satisfaction, brand reputation as green hotel, and high profits (refers to case study). Another lesson learned through business case is that it is a key to develop green team to successfully complete green initiatives to be sustainable. In addition, development of a culture of sustainability is necessary by providing training and compensation to employees to take part in sustainable practices.
Three Evolving Trends in Sustainable Hospitality
LEED v4
Currently, one of the evolving trends in sustainable hospitality is the implementation/adoption of the new version of LEED i.e. LEEDv4. The aim of the program is to grease the wheels by providing precertification of properties in case of the certification of the initial prototype. Marriot was the early adopter is the programe that successfully enrolled the program in its Courtyard, TownePlace Suites and Residence Inn brands (Higginbotham, 2013).
Hybrid Hospitality
Another trend is the hybrid hospitality. In relation to this trend, the leaders in hospitality industry are developing multidimensional concepts of hotels designed to develop a specific experience through integration of elements from other types of building like theaters and galleries. Hybrid hospitality can be linked to the hotel’s incorporation of multi-functionality and creativity in the designs with the focus on locally sourced resources like furniture, recycled polyester drapes, and reduction of artificial lighting (GE, 2016).
Smartphones
Smartphones have become tools to connect beyond just calls, texts and emails. The main reason is that for some hotel guests smartphones are important to get access to rooms to experience a personalized visit. The mobile usage is linked to sustainable efforts in a way that they are used for LED lighting fixtures. Smartphones are now using with the connection of light fixtures to open door with automatic adjustments of light, sound and temperature in room for energy efficiency (GE, 2016).
References
Bruns-Smith, A., Choy, V., Chong, H., & Verma, R. (2015). Environmental sustainability in the hospitality industry: Best practices, guest participation, and customer satisfaction. Cornell Hospitality Report, 15(3), 6-16.
GE. (2016). Top 10 Industry Trends Driving Hotel Lighting. Retrieved from: http://hub.currentbyge.com/h/i/226637769-top-10-industry-trends-driving-hotel-lighting
Higginbotham, J. (2013). Green hotel trends: Industry expands its sustainability focus beyond laundry. Retrieved from: https://www.bdcnetwork.com/green-hotel-trends-industry-expands-its-sustainability-focus-beyond-laundry
Hu, H. H., Parsa, H. G., & Self, J. (2010). The dynamics of green restaurant patronage. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 51(3), 344-362.
Kapiki, S. T. (2012). Implementing sustainable practices in greek eco-friendly hotels. Journal of Environmental Protection and Ecology 13 (2A), 1117–1123.
Walsman, M., Verma, R., & Muthulingam, S. (2014). The impact of LEED certification on hotel performance.Cornell Hospitality Report, 14(15), 6-13.
