Eco-Friendly Ideas to Increase Sustainability in Hospitality

Running a hotel or other hospitality business can be an expensive and exhausting endeavour, especially if you try to make your company as eco-friendly as possible. Luckily for you, the following compiled awesome ideas will help reduce your environmental impact while saving time and money.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Using cloth towels in all guest rooms will increase sustainability in the hospitality industry. This saves paper and energy used to make new towels. Use a shower towel hook to store used towels in the bathroom. Donate excess food from hotel functions rather than throwing it out. Composting is a great way to ensure that we don’t contribute additional waste into landfills. Use biodegradable disposable products, such as wooden toothbrushes and hand towels made from natural materials rather than paper.

Utilize Renewable Energy Sources

Install solar panels on your roof or in a large field since this will allow you to power much of your hotel with the sun. Use geothermal heating for certain areas, including pools and common rooms. This saves thousands of gallons of water consumed by traditional systems each year. Install a rainwater collector to reduce how much water you use from the city supply like some eco-resorts in NSW Australia.

Make Your Guests Feel Good

Provide reusable water bottles at check-in. This gives your customers an easy way to reduce their plastic footprint. Plant a garden on-site for employees to enjoy during breaks, reducing food miles even further. Community gardens can help develop feelings of pride among workers who grow fresh fruits and vegetables close to where they every day.

Reduce your Carbon Footprint

Purchase a bus or van to transport guests from the hotel or resort to surrounding attractions. This reduces emissions and is good for business in the hotels and accommodations sector. Use recycled materials to construct new rooms or other areas on-site since this saves trees while also reducing waste going into landfills.

Turn off lights, TV’s and any other appliances when not in use. This can save hundreds of dollars per year compared with leaving all devices turned on 24 hours every day. It will also reduce environmental impact by cutting down energy consumption immensely each month.

Reduce waste in your restaurant

Use steel or glass straws instead of plastic. This will reduce the amount of plastic used overall while also ensuring that customers enjoy their drinks without worrying about environmental impact while on their business travel. Encourage guests to bring reusable bags when shopping for food because this reduces paper and other materials wasted each day by stores around you, benefiting the environment and businesses.

Purchase eco-friendly cleaning supplies as this reduces chemicals used by staff members while also ensuring you are not contaminating the surrounding environment with harmful toxins. Ensure all your employees know how to properly sort recyclable items, and provide them with recycling bins throughout their work areas. This will cut down on contamination at sorting facilities which helps everyone save money in the long run.

Conclusion

The more eco-friendly your hotel or resort is, the more likely it will attract new customers who prefer to vacation in an environmentally conscious location. Your profits may drop at first as you make changes, but over time they will rise again and hopefully stay due to increased brand loyalty among returning guests and word spreading about how awesome your establishment has become since its changeover.

About the author

Monica is a passionate writer and content creator. Her interests include outdoor activities, fitness, technology, entrepreneurship and everything in between. Say hi to Monica on Twitter @monical_lee.

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