The Designer's Responsibility in Regenerative Travel
Graeme Labe and Micayla Freeman argue that regenerative hospitality demands a fundamental shift in how designers see their role: from minimising impact to actively strengthening the living systems of place. Through examples from South Africa and Mexico, it shows how context-responsive architecture, local materials, and craft-based renewal can tie guest experience to long-term stewardship rather than one-off “sustainable” gestures.
Sustainability has become standard practice in hospitality. Metrics are measured, certifications pursued, and waste minimized at source. Yet a critical question now emerges: are we simply perfecting how to do less harm, or are we fundamentally changing how hospitality relates to the places and communities it depends on?
Regenerative design diverges from sustainability at a philosophical level. Where sustainability manages environmental resources for efficiency, regenerative design recognizes the environment as a series of dynamic, interconnected living systems that can co-evolve with human systems. By this perspective, design becomes an opportunity to contribute to those systems rather than merely minimize disruption. This mindset aligns with circular-economy thinking and other nature-based frameworks, all of which challenge the linear “take, make, waste” model and look to natural systems for cues about renewal and adaptation.
The Hotel Yearbook 2026 - Sustainability Edition
The HYB 2026 The Regenerative Question: What Hospitality Must Become tackles regenerative hospitality's fundamental tensions. Moving beyond sustainability buzzwords, contributors will explore three perspectives: purists advocating holistic living-systems approaches; realists demanding measurable frameworks for accountability and scalability; and strategists seeking pragmatic balance between transformation and implementation. This edition serves as a critical forum to interrogate the divides, identify synergies, and define actionable pathways forward. By convening industry experts, researchers, and entrepreneurs, we transform contested concepts into constructive dialogue and, ultimately, clarifying what regenerative hospitality authentically is and isn't.