HOSPITALITY has been among the sectors hit hardest by COVID-19 shutdowns.  But with travel beginning to return in parts of the world, many hotels are  springing back to life. 

The agenda for recovery cannot simply be about getting ‘back to normal,’  though. The travel market has changed—permanently. Leisure and business  travellers alike have new priorities and needs. In both segments, sustainability  is a bigger priority than ever before—especially but not only when it comes to  carbon emissions. 

Hospitality has a unique opportunity to take the lead on sustainability across  all dimensions of ESG—environmental, social and governance—and build it  into the core of the way the sector works. The industry players that thrive will  be those who meet their customers’ demands for more sustainable travel  options. Those who fall short risk being left behind. 

The landscape for hospitality has changed permanently. The sector has a  unique opportunity to lead the way on sustainability as it gets back to growth. 

The benefits for hospitality are clear: aligning with consumers’ values and  desire to be able to travel sustainably; winning back business travellers as  corporates bear down on their carbon emissions; capitalizing on the growing  willingness of consumers to pay a little more for sustainability; and playing its  part in the global effort to limit temperature rises and avoid catastrophic  climate change. Thriving in the new world means putting sustainability at the  heart of your strategy for recovery. 

Sustainable development is the responsible use of productive resources in a  development project or undertaking to safeguard long-term environmental,  social and economic sustainability. Sustainable development is adopted to  provide lasting socio-economic benefit to all project stakeholders without  compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. 

A range of socio-cultural, economic and environmental issues must be  considered and balanced to ensure the sustainability of development projects.  These include the use of energy and water in the development and operation  of hotels as well as the moral, ethical, social and political impact of taking  action.

As per Gaurav Bhagi, we will create ecologically friendly properties and believe  in giving people clean air, clean water and clean food. A life that is sustainable  and reminds us of how people used to live about 100 years back. With an  ideology of co-existing with nature and reliving a time where you consume  water directly sourced from the hills, where you can forage and cook on open  fires and share space with neighbours who provide the best produce that  makes its way into our seasonal menu. 

We will offer immersive experiences in the form of village tours which include  sharing a meal with the local family, hosted by our women entrepreneurs.  Constant efforts with respect to carbon offset by practicing resource efficiency  and swearing by green mobility while involving our guests in experiences like  tree planting and local ecological conservation. 

In an effort to work with the locals, ensuring that we grow alongside them and  create local impact, we not only employ people from neighbouring  communities but also make sure that around 40% of our guests’ travel spends  is circulated back to the local economy. This is done by ensuring that all  procurement with respect to the property is done only locally. The in-house  gift shophouse would comprise of condiments, handicrafts and various types  of locally made items that are procured from women entrepreneurs in an  effort to support their venture. 

With focus on using earth friendly materials like stone, bamboo, fiber, certified  wood and rattan would help the environment and ensure the best practices  are followed across the hospitality sector.  

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) are the  blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future. The 2030 Agenda  for Sustainable Development establishes 17 goals adopted by UN member  states as the action plan to achieve sustainable development.

Some of the 10 best sustainability practices we would aim at are;  

∙ Energy conservation 

∙ Amenities 

∙ Waste reduction and efficiency 

∙ Promoting sustainable means of transportation 

∙ Choosing cleaning products wisely with minimum impact on the  environment 

∙ Careful selection of local food products  

∙ Encouraging guests to make sustainable decisions 

∙ Promoting ecotourism 

∙ Water conservation 

∙ Operational changes 

Gaurav comments that properties should be constructed safeguarding natural  contours, it would feel like to co-exist with nature and relive a time where  people lived sustainably.  

Through our work on Sustainability, we aim at forging deep connections with  the environment in the form of authentic experiences and engaging  extensively with the local community. We are also extremely grateful for the  farmers who grow seasonal produce and enable guests to undertake a  complete farm to fork experience. Guests at our properties get to undertake  intimate experiences with local villagers and learning about their sustainable  way of life, a practice that has made a reality at its own properties.  

Our staff is trained on sustainability processes (SOPs) which is reflected in our  efforts towards reducing carbon footprint. Water saving initiatives like grey  water usage for gardening, waste saving initiatives (including food waste and  composting) and forest conservation by planting trees are a few examples of  how our property operates as net zero. 

At Mukteshwar, in Uttarakhand where our luxury villa is located, guests are  transported to a place where women open up their homes, cook, clean and  host them. Working alongside the locals, we turned a neighbourhood village  into a financial opportunity for women entrepreneurs and roped in local  women to help host village tours and lunches thus ensuring financial  independence for all of them. 

Be a part of their world and experience a setting where women are engaged in  reviving local handicrafts, grow food in family farms using sustainable  techniques and rear cattle that provide for all your dairy needs. 

Also, the zero-waste kitchen offers guests a selection of handpicked recipes  that are made from scratch using energy efficient cooking techniques along  with slow cooking methods that ensure quality flavour by retaining the food's  natural nutrients to the fullest with a range of options for F&B choices.  

Live the good life, guest will immerse themselves in experiences that are deep  rooted in culture and sustainability. 

How has the word “Luxury” changed in this century? 

Once upon a time, “luxury” was a material concept often defined by the  biggest, shiniest and most expensive. Over the years, as people have become  more discerning, luxury has become more about a state of mind. At its core,  though, it's always been about status, but it’s shifted from material possession  and is now more about “Who I am.” People want to show that they are more  ethical, creative, connected and tasteful than the masses. With growing  concerns about our impact on the environment, luxury and sustainability are  almost interchangeable. 

Luxury is not and cannot be this wasteful excess with this nonsense of  constantly replenishing stuff with new stuff, like linen and towel changed every  day; having soap changed every time you wash your hands; having one hundred-bathroom amenities, slippers wrapped in plastic, the fruit basket  wrapped in plastic that nobody eats, the list goes on and on. 

We have to acknowledge the hypocrisy of this luxury. We can’t have own  private luxury in big shiny new-build resorts without depriving others in some  way of their land, their resources. It’s an inconvenient and uncomfortable  truth. Bigger, faster, shinier, warmer, cooler means more steel, more cement,  concrete, more plastic, more AC, more diesel and gas, more water. More,  more, more. This luxury is unsustainable. 

On the flip side, Small is the only way I see luxury quotes “Gaurav Bhagi” as  you can have several small teams in charge and they can be local people. 

Post-pandemic, we can see more luxury travellers wanting to explore the  wildest places through experiential travel, and to create experiences like never  before. People are more interested in provenance and storytelling on how, 

where, when, and who — rather than just sleeping in grand, luxurious hotel  rooms. Additionally, awareness on how every decision can play a significant  role in preserving nature is crucial for responsible tourism.  

Why is sustainability important in hotels? 

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, hotels are  accountable for one percent of global emissions. This number will continue to  rise as hotel demand increases, which is why implementing sustainability  initiatives in hotels is so important to mitigate this negative impact. 

Beyond the importance of hotels reducing their impact on the environment,  sustainability measures also pose an important strategy for attracting new  clients. Accordingly, to a sustainability trend in the travel market following are  few stats to go through; Taking Personal Responsibility to Travel More Sustainably 

Source – Booking.com

Furthermore, sustainability in the hotel sector is important to create a  connection with the local population, while at the same time protecting the  surrounding natural environment and biodiversity. Giving this local touch to a  hotel experience helps distinguish a hotel from other hotels, providing high quality experiences and contributing to creating an individual identity for a  hotel. 

What are the most common sustainability practices for hotels? 

There are so many opportunities to improve energy, water, and waste  efficiency in hotels but making choices around these elements aren’t the only  common practices. Other common practices for hotels include making  operational changes by using utility benchmarking and temperature  adjustments, as well as other technical updates like high-efficiency water  fixtures or LED lighting.  

The most common sustainability practices for hotels. 

Operational Changes 

Hotels using a property management system have implemented changes using  the reporting tools available from popular PMSs to benchmark utility use and  provide setpoints for temperature adjustments. When the temperature is  controlled and managed by the hotel it’s a lot easier to manage usage. Other  technical improvements that can be implemented on an operational level are  the use of LED lighting, as well as implementing high-efficiency water fixtures  to control the use of water. 

Waste reduction 

Hotels produce an excessive amount of waste. In fact, hotels across produce  289,700 metric tons of waste each year. Because of this, some of the most  common sustainability measures are related to waste management. 

Many hotels have implemented recycling in common areas, reusable food  service materials and have made newspapers available in common areas  rather than delivering to each individual room. Hotels have also implemented  the use of reusable water bottles by having filtered water stations and giving  guests a reusable water bottle instead of using plastic bottles.

Energy conservation 

Energy conservation is one of the most important areas of sustainability  because it has been found that reducing energy consumption can have the  same effect on revenue management as increasing average daily room rate. 

Some of the most common energy efficiency practices are energy tracking,  having digital thermostats in the guest rooms, and the use of LED light bulbs.  Another popular way of contributing to energy conservation is to install a one switch system for lights so that lights don’t get left on accidentally, as well as  the installation of solar panels to power water heating. 

EV vehicles - Another popular method is empowering guests to use sustainable  means of transportation to get to the hotel by giving discounts or by having  electric chargers for cars at the guests’ disposal. 

Hotel chains are trying to make sustainable travel attractive by helping to  widen the electric vehicle charging infrastructure and optimising charging costs  for the travellers. 

Water conservation 

Water use for hotels is responsible for about 24 percent of total utility  expenses. Bathroom fixtures, laundry, landscaping, and kitchens are the areas  where the most water is used. Reducing water use not only helps reduce costs,  but is also a fundamental sustainable practice. 

The most common water conservation practices that hotels have implemented  are regular water tracking and low-flow toilets, as well as putting in efficient  faucets and showerheads. It is important to note that high-efficiency bathroom 

fixtures use at least 20 percent less water, representing an important method  of saving for hotels. 

Another common practice is encouraging travellers to take sustainability into  their own hands through both energy and water conservation. For example,  hotels can have guests forgo daily towel and bed linen changes, which helps to  reduce the energy and water necessary for laundry. 

Amenities and cleaning products 

Choosing amenities and cleaning products that are more friendly to the  environment is important to reduce a hotel’s impact. Hotels have chosen to  put soap and shampoo dispensers that are refillable instead of miniature  amenities, which create excessive waste. While this method is more popular  among mid-range hotels, high-range hotels have experimented with creating  custom-formulated amenities in recyclable or compostable packages. 

In terms of cleaning products, many hotels are choosing to shift away from  abrasive cleaning products, towards organic or natural cleaners that are less  harmful to both housekeeping and to the environment. This also helps move  away from the use of products derived from petrochemicals hence promote  “GREEN HOUSEKEEPING”.

Food & Beverage  

F&B segment are taking sustainable initiatives to their restaurants, choosing to  promote the use of local, organic food in their breakfast and meal choices. As  well as promoting the careful and curated choice of ingredients at the  restaurant. There is without a doubt a shift towards sustainably-sourced  ingredients that also help contribute to the local economy of where the hotel  is located. Local produce from the farms helps a big way in this initiative.  

Conclusion 

Sustainability should be treated with a holistic approach across all sectors – from housekeeping to operations in hospitality. Guests should also be  encouraged to be involved in the process so that they can take an active role  and be encouraged to make sustainable choices within the hotel and within  the local environment, choosing local tour operators, and investing in locally produced goods. 

There are more than 10 common sustainability practices in hotels which can be  implemented hotel-wide and help contribute to reducing the carbon emissions  from the hospitality sector. Understanding and embracing these initiatives will  not only help hotels save money by being more energy-efficient and create less  

waste, but also help differentiate your hotel from the competition. As we  move towards more conscious consumers, hotels must be able to adapt to this  type of consumer, offering them the chance to travel more sustainably.