A new study from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) at the School of Hotel Administration has documented an unexpected benefit when hotels earn a certification for environmental sustainability: they tend to run more efficiently. In the study, Cornell's researchers tested the operating efficiency of U.S. hotels using financial performance data from PKF Hospitality. Hotels that had earned the "Eco-Leaf" designation from Travelocity.com were more efficient in several areas of resource use than hotels that did not have eco-certification.

The study, "Exploring the

Relationship between Eco-certifications and Resource Efficiency in U.S. Hotels," was written by Jie J. Zhang, Nitin Joglekar, Rohit Verma, and Janelle Heineke. Zhang is an associate professor at University of Vermont, Joglekar and Heineke are professors at Boston University, and Verma is a professor at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. The study is available at no charge from the CHR.

"As we all know, the hotel industry has been hoping to see improved sales or market position from

environmental sustainability, but maybe we have all been looking in the wrong place for the benefits from eco-certification," said Verma. "The intriguing thing here is that this study shows a benefit from sustainability initiatives that has been hidden in plain sight. The fact that eco-certified hotels are more efficient is even more interesting because many hotel operators were worried that sustainability would be more expensive, not less."

PKF Hospitality, which is a CHR Friend, provided data on hotel spending. The study examined both

guest-related expenditures (which are driven by guests' activities) and the hotels' own operating expenditures. Expenses in both categories were significantly lower in eco-certified 4-star hotels. The effect also occurred in 3-star and 5-star hotels, but the difference was not as strong.

Travelocity.com is a subsidiary of Sabre Hospitality Solutions, which is a CHR Partner. As part of the

Global Sustainable Tourism Council, Sabre has developed an eco-certification program which is the basis of Travelocity's Eco-Leaf label. This designation is given to hotels that have earned any of several second- and third-party environmental certifications, such as EnergyStar, LEED, or the U.K.'s Green Tourism Business Scheme. The key requirement of all eco-designations is that the certification can be audited.

About the Center for Hospitality Research

The purpose of the Center for Hospitality Research is to enable and conduct research of significance to the global hospitality and related service industries. CHR also works to improve the connections between academe and industry, continuing the School of Hotel Administration's long-standing tradition of service to the hospitality industry. Founded in 1992, CHR remains the industry's foremost creator and distributor of timely research, all of which is posted at no charge for all to use. In addition to its industry advisory board, CHR convenes several industry roundtables each year for the purpose of identifying new issues affecting the hospitality industry.

Center Members: Accenture • Access Point Financial, Inc. • Barclaycard US • Cvent • Davis & Gilbert LLP • Deloitte & Touche USA LLP • DerbySoft • Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts • Fox Rothschild LLP • Hilton Worldwide • Host Hotels & Resorts • Hyatt Hotels Corporation • IDeaS Revenue Solutions • InterContinental Hotels Group • Jumeirah Group • Marriott International • NTT DATA • Preferred Hotels & Resorts • priceline.com • PwC • The Rainmaker Group • RateGain • ReviewPro • Revinate • Sabre Hospitality Solutions • STR • Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces • Tata Consultancy Services • Wipro EcoEnergy • Wyndham Hotel Group

Jane Henion
607.255.9780
CHR