As more people become aware of the potential environmental impact of travel, sustainable tourism continues to rise in importance and prevalence. Today’s travelers want to enjoy the full impact of their destination while still protecting the local environment and residents. Increasingly, hotels and other travel providers must step up to ensure that their visitors are able to have the sustainable tourism experience they’re looking for.
What is Sustainable Tourism?
Sustainable tourism is an approach to travel that recognizes the potential negative impact of travel and tourism on some areas, from coastal health concerns to environmental worries and strives to minimize that impact wherever possible. The World Tourism Organization notes that sustainable tourism takes into account several types of impact, including social, environmental, and both current and future economic impact.
By evaluating all of these elements, hotels and other travel providers can not only offer a better experience to their travelers, but they can also ensure that the local area can continue to support those visitors for a long time to come.
Climate Change Initiatives Adopted by Hotels
Many hotels have already stepped up to the plate, adopting initiatives that aim to reduce their environmental impact. That includes hotels like The Knickerbocker in the United States or the Grand Resort Lagonissi in Greece, who, alongside many others, have met the Leading Hotels of the World’s sustainability guidelines, or a&o Hostels, which has reduced its carbon emissions by 77% since 2015.
How Hotels Are Using Energy Efficiency
Energy-Efficient Appliances and LED Lighting

Modern appliances, including refrigerators, microwaves, and anything else guests might have in their rooms, are often much more efficient than their older counterparts. Upgrading those inefficient appliances can save considerably on electricity usage. Furthermore, using LED lights can cut energy use substantially.
Key Card Lights
Guests may choose to leave their lights on for a variety of reasons when they leave the room. Using key cards to control the lights, however, means that the lights won’t be on when guests aren’t in the room.
Solar Panels
Using solar panels on the hotel itself not only means that the hotel is using a renewable energy source for part or all its needs, it also decreases energy usage from other sources. Hotel owners can save on their energy bills while using green energy.
Decreasing Waste
For many years, the tourism industry relied on single-use solutions for many of their needs. However, increasingly, hotels are making the move to more sustainable solutions. That includes things like using large, reusable shampoo and soap bottles instead of individual bottles and encouraging guests to reuse towels and other items.
Local Sourcing
Many hotels are looking to local sources for their food and amenity needs. Not only does local sourcing reduce carbon emissions during transportation, but it can also help create deeper relationships with other local businesses. In addition, local sourcing can provide new opportunities to explore fresh recipes and make seasonal changes to the menu for room service or in the restaurant, keeping things fresh and allowing guests to check out something new when they visit the establishment.
Green Certification

Many organizations are offering green certifications, which your hotel can use to showcase your commitment to sustainability.
Green Key certification, which guarantees that hotels have met the standards set by the Foundation for Environmental Education. These standards let guests know that they’re staying at a hotel that is genuinely committed to energy efficiency and green standards.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards, which lay out specific standards the buildings themselves must meet. LEED offers several ratings depending on whether you are building a new hotel or fixing existing construction.
EarthCheck, which works with travel industry businesses to understand their sustainability practices and how they can best move forward. EarthCheck looks at waste, water and energy usage, and carbon emissions as well as the impact on the local community.
Each of these solutions provides specific standards your hotel must meet. With these certifications, your hotel can stand out from the pack and let interested guests know that you are already taking substantial steps toward sustainability.
The Impact of Sustainability on Hotel Profitability
Sustainability is a great way to increase a hotel’s overall profitability. Your commitment to the environment can help reduce costs in a number of ways. For example, sourcing food locally can cut down on transportation costs as well as reducing your emissions and seeking out green energy sources or reducing energy consumption may further decrease your costs. Furthermore, letting interested visitors know about your sustainable initiatives can help bring more people into the hotel.
Improving Sustainability for Your Hotel
If you’re ready to improve sustainability for your hotel, there are several key steps you can take. Remember, it’s all right to start small! It can take time to make your hotel fully sustainable. However, with time, you’ll find that you’re able to increase your sustainable initiatives and provide more for your customers, your local area, and the environment.
1. Look at Your Current Status
Start by evaluating the current state of your hotel. Are you already taking steps to be more sustainable, or have you recently started to explore sustainability? Evaluate the areas where you may need to improve. Consider:
- Could you upgrade existing appliances or light sources?
- Are there ways you could reuse items or provide multi-use items, rather than single-use samples?
- Are you partnering with local organizations, farmers, and providers?
Carefully considering your current efforts toward sustainability can go a long way toward helping you see the areas in which you most need to improve, which can make it easier to move forward.
2. Do Your Research
Take the time to carefully research the sustainable initiatives that are most appropriate for your hotel. Consider:
- What are others doing in your local area? That doesn’t just mean hotels! You may also want to carefully consider what other businesses are doing or what options are available for you: for example, hotels in Alaska might struggle to make the best use of solar panels during some times of the year.
- What providers do you have in your local area? Do you have access to local farmers? Fishermen? Take a look at which ones are engaging in their own sustainable practices.
- What is the cost to make any needed upgrades? What about changing providers for your food or amenities? Make sure you have a budget in mind.
With real data in hand, you can make decisions that better fit the specific needs of your hotel.
3. Create an Action Plan
Once you’ve evaluated your status, create an action plan. Set specific deadlines by which you want to accomplish specific tasks. For example, you might reach out to local farmers over the next month, with an aim toward having all local produce or meat on the table by next year. You might set out a timeline for replacing fixtures in guest rooms or upgrading appliances, so they are more energy efficient.
4. Educate Workers and Guests
Get your employees and your guests to partner with you in your sustainable initiatives by providing them with information about the steps you’re taking and why. Encourage guests to take full advantage of the options you’re providing, whether that means checking out your “farm to table” setup in your hotel restaurant or visiting a local craftsman for their souvenirs.
Make the Most of Your Sustainability Efforts
If you want to see your hotel thrive, put sustainability at the top of your list. As you focus on making your hotel an eco-friendly location that strives to improve your local area, you’ll find that not only can it help you attract more business, but it can also help you form better relationships with local businesses and providers. Are you looking for more support in managing your hotel? Contact us to learn how we can assist.