Ithaca, NY – An analysis of sales and rates for 9,000 hotels has demonstrated a net neutral effect for the hotel industry's efforts to implement sustainability. The analysis was made possible by a massive database maintained by Sabre Holdings, including Travelocity. The Cornell study concluded that the hotel industry's fears of losing business due to implementing "green" operations is unfounded. However, on average, hotels also don't see a revenue boost from going green.

The study, "Hotel Sustainability: Financial Analysis Shines a Cautious Green Light," () by Howard G. Chong and Rohit Verma, was published by the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) and presented at the 2013 Sustainability Roundtable, at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. The study is available at no charge from the CHR. The roundtable, held on October 18, 2013, brought nearly three dozen international industry executives and researchers to Cornell to discuss the status and prospects of future sustainability efforts.

Sabre has created an innovative green "Eco-Certified Hotel" label for hotels that have earned any of a dozen international sustainability certifications. This green flag appears both on Travelocity.com search results and in the Sabre Global Distribution System. Chong and Verma compared the revenue results for each of 3,000 green-label hotels to a comparison set of hotels drawn from 6,000 non-certified hotels.

"The hotel industry has moved ahead with sustainability," said Chong, an assistant professor at the School of Hotel Administration, "but there's a nagging question about whether installing green programs interferes with the hotel's quality standards and its ability to provide guest luxury. Some hotels have been reluctant to go green because they might lose business. This study shows that, on average, the hotel industry doesn't lose sales or rate from sustainability."

Verma, who is a professor at the School of Hotel Administration explained that some individual hotels may see a drop in revenue from going green, while others may improve their sales. "We are indebted to Sabre for providing its database," he said. "Using that database of millions of individual bookings we could see the overall effects of a green label."

Added Chong: "It was not possible to address the situation of any individual hotel, but we can conclude that going green is compatible with existing quality standards of hotel service, and that advertising green status doesn't hurt a hotel's revenues. But it may not help either. In other words, green is not a 'silver bullet' strategy."

About The Center for Hospitality Research

A unit of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, The Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) sponsors research designed to improve practices in the hospitality industry. Under the lead of the center's 77 corporate affiliates, experienced scholars work closely with business executives to discover new insights into strategic, managerial and operating practices. To learn more about the center and its projects, visit .

Center Senior Partners: Accenture, ASAE Foundation, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Hilton Worldwide, National Restaurant Association, SAS, STR, and Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces

Center Partners: Davis & Gilbert LLP, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, Denihan Hospitality Group, Duetto, Expedia, Inc., Forbes Travel Guide, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Fox Rothschild LLP, Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc., Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Intel Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, Jumeirah Group, LRP Publications, Maritz, Marriott International, Inc., Marsh's Hospitality Practice, McDonald's USA, priceline.com, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Proskauer, ReviewPro, Revinate, Sabre Hospitality Solutions, Sathguru Management Consultants (P) Ltd., Schneider Electric, Travelport, TripAdvisor, and Wyndham Hotel Group

Center Friends: 4Hoteliers.com • Berkshire Healthcare • Center for Advanced Retail Technology • Cleverdis • Complete Seating • Cruise Industry News • DK Shifflet & Associates • eCornell & Executive Education • ehotelier.com • EyeforTravel • The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) • Gerencia de Hoteles & Restaurantes • Global Hospitality Resources • Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) • hospitalityInside.com • hospitalitynet.org • Hospitality Technology Magazine • HotelExecutive.com • HRH Group of Hotels Pvt. Ltd. • International CHRIE • International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC) • iPerceptions • J.D. Power and Associates • The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts • The Lemon Tree Hotel Company • Lodging Hospitality • Lodging Magazine • LRA Worldwide, Inc. • Milestone Internet Marketing • MindFolio • Mindshare Technologies • The Park Hotels • PKF Hospitality Research • Questex Hospitality Group • RateGain • The Resort Trades • RestaurantEdge.com • Shibata Publishing Co. • Sustainable Travel International • UniFocus • WIWIH.COM

Jane Henion
Center for Real and Estate Finance
607.254.8987
CHR