Human-Centric sustainability marketing to drive consumer demand
Many hospitality brands communicate sustainable initiatives in generic ways that are not consistent or meaningful enough to attract additional consumers, and in some cases, may even cause reduced demand or backlash. A study of Swiss consumers found that for effective sustainable marketing, hospitality brands need to pay specific attention to three things: their sustainable initiatives should be specific enough to answer the targeted needs for a...
Despite sustainable goals being on everyone's lips – nowhere more so than in the hospitality sector – it’s important to understand that sustainability doesn’t mean the same thing to all consumers. Differing consumer definitions of sustainability make it difficult for hospitality brands to respond to this need for sustainable practices.
Indeed, we regularly observe hospitality brands communicate sustainable initiatives in ways that are too generic. They might add a sustainable label to their advertising or might communicate their “greenness” in just one or two areas of their services. These strategies are not consistent or meaningful enough to draw additional consumers to their offerings. In the worst case, these actions may even cause reduced demand or consumer backlash.
The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition
As we have embarked on 2023, it is evident that the hotel industry has made a robust recovery from the
pandemic.
Occupancy and pricing have returned to their pre-pandemic levels. However, the future of our
industry is contingent
on how nimble the hospitality sector can be in adapting to ongoing innovation, changing market
conditions, evolving
consumer preferences, new staffing challenges, and sustainability realities. These uncertainties are
the new normal
in an unpredictable world.