Regenerative Hospitality: Embedding People, Place, and Planet
The EHL Research Team argues that hospitality must move beyond “doing less harm” toward regenerative hospitality, where hotels actively restore ecosystems, strengthen communities, and create net-positive impact. Using their Regenerative Hospitality Canva playbook, they show how place intelligence (local nature and community) and people intelligence (transformative guest–host interactions) can turn regeneration into a viable business model, not...
Sustainability has long been an important issue for the hospitality industry. Environmental initiatives, regulations to reduce greenhouse gases, and increasingly scarce resources such as water have provoked a rethink among businesses, guests, and consumers alike. Consumer interest in eco-tourism, sustainable practices, and green travel has grown, while such options have also become more accessible and affordable. A study from the Business & Economics School ISG in Portugal shows that hotels that are perceived as more sustainable enjoy higher guest loyalty, while a study from the Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association finds that consumers are even willing to pay a surcharge (~6%) on restaurant bills for carbon emission reduction programs.
However, whereas for many years striving for a net-zero impact has been the guiding principle in the industry, a growing body of research and practice suggests that “doing less harm” is no longer enough. In fact, studies now show that guests increasingly expect more than sustainability.
The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Annual Edition
The hotel industry in 2026 finds itself at the meeting point of powerful, converging forces: rapid technological progress, climate urgency, shifting guest expectations, labour market disruption and economic realignment. This edition of The HOTEL Yearbook looks at how hotel organisations respond, not by choosing one direction over another, but by designing integrated strategies that combine digital and human, global and local, automation and empathy. A large share of this year’s contributions focuses in particular on artificial intelligence and its growing influence across almost every segment of hospitality, confirming AI as one of the defining themes of this moment. Bringing together expert voices from around the world, the publication explores strategy, technology, sustainability, finance, asset management, food and beverage, human resources, design and more, all through the lens of intentional hybridity in an age of convergence. The message is clear: in 2026, hybridity is no longer optional; it is strategic, and it will be the leaders who approach it with real intention who shape the future of our industry.