Sustainability

Accor Greater China partners with China Hospitality Association for Green Hotel Certifications

Accor Greater China announced a new partnership with China Hospitality Association (CHA) for the purpose of designating its hotels across the country with Green Hotel Certification, in line with national standards. Accor is the first international hotel company in China to sign a network-wide sustainable certification agreement with CHA. The initiative will provide consistent, reliable, and independently audited information on Accor’s hotel operations, while helping consumers to make more eco-friendly travel choices. The signing ceremony between Accor and China Hospitality Association took place on November 29, 2023 at the 8th China International Hotel Industry Conference in Haikou, Hainan Province.

National Research Finds Australian Businesses Aren’t Prioritising Child Safeguarding

On Us: The Australian Business Coalition for Safeguarding Children, an initiative of the Australian Childhood Foundation, has released new research demonstrating a major knowledge gap among business decision makers and leaders, with 65% of businesses believing that child exploitation could not occur within their industry. Yet, in Australia, child abuse or neglect is reported by a child every two minutes, with harm extending well beyond the home.

Dorsett Hospitality International Launches D20Roots and a new Chinese Medicine and Culture Research Centre with THEi

Dorsett Hospitality International (DHI) and their parent company Far East Consortium (FEC) announced the opening of a new Chinese Medicine and Culture Research Center (CMCRC) and D20Roots (德根盛園) research farmland on Friday, November 3 2023, in partnership with the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong’s (THEi) Chinese Medicinal Pharmacy.

Meaningful Guest Experiences as a Catalyst for Change

I believe the true definition of a meaningful guest experience is one that drives someone to say, "You just have to go there!" to their family, friends, or followers. In addition, aside from delighting guests, exceeding expectations, and creating "wow" moments, great meaningful experiences can also generate curiosity, open minds to possibility, and become a catalyst for positive behavioural change.

Meaningful guest experiences - best practices from Sri Lanka

A meaningful guest experience entails genuine human connection(s) with local host(s) while being able to embrace and respect the sensitivities of natural ecosystems within a destination. Some of the most inspiring and memorable guest experiences I've had were those where I made friends, learned new skills, tested my own abilities, and challenged my thinking. Meaningful experiences also broaden my horizon on new ways of living and doing better business, for example, learning how to upcycle waste materials creatively in design and construction, or to innovate with local ingredients and materials.

Beyond Comfort: Crafting Transformative Guest Experiences through Sustainable Hospitality

As the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, we wholeheartedly agree that sustainability is critical in crafting meaningful guest experiences. To us, a meaningful guest experience goes beyond comfort and convenience. It is about engaging guests in a journey of learning and contributing to sustainability, making them feel part of a larger purpose. It could be as simple as educating guests about local culture and conservation efforts or as immersive as involving them in community projects.

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Demonstrating ESG Strategies for Green Financing

The most effective strategies for securing green finance would seem to focus on evidence of  financial stability and ability to repay financing in a timely manner and the opportunity for  lending institutions to apply an organization's documented environmental, social and governance value (ESG) efforts to their corporate reporting. Investment Business Daily recently noted that "Investors want stocks to align with ESG values". An article in Hotel Tech Report in February of 2023 details the ESG process for the hotel industry.  https://hoteltechreport.com/news/hotel-sustainability-statistics 

Shifting perception of green investments thanks to green finance opportunities

Green finance is still emerging and defining itself. As such, it currently raises more questions than it provides answers for hospitality professionals, especially among family or small businesses and independent operators who cannot dedicate their limited resources to stay up to date with such specific and technical trends. As a result green investment is very often considered as an extra cost with no short-term benefits and uncertain long-term benefits.

A unified hospitality industry can unlock Green Finance

As an alliance our role is to unify the hospitality industry towards a more sustainable future.  We aim to propel the sector towards a state of Net Positive, where the industry not only thrives but enriches our destinations, by giving back more than it takes, across people, planet, and place (the destination).  We exist to convene the industry, collate knowledge and best practice and create an industry movement.

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Reflexivity and Learning

The path towards system change is unpredictable, and that reminded me on the book Risk Society by Ulrich Beck. Beck's concept of the risk society highlights the need for a new approach to managing risks based on cooperation, reflexivity, and sustainability in a context of complexity and uncertainty. The book contains valuable lessons for to be applied on topics as Climate change and Biodiversity. Learning is a key ingredient in Beck's risk society and learning involves a continuous process of reflexivity and adaptation in response to new information and changing circumstances. Important to realize is that this learning is not only at an individual level, but also on group and even societal level. Companies, citizens and communities, NGOs, governments and scientists and experts all play an important role in this collective learning process.