Hotel Sustainability: Top 3 Technologies to Implement in 2020
Sustainability in Hospitality
— 21 experts shared their view



General Manager at QO Amsterdam, an IHG Hotel
I'm a bit advocate of focusing on achieving greater sustainability by focusing on the R of 'replace'. We live in a society that is used to certain standards & comfort levels. Getting the majority of people involved in living a more sustainable way, we should focus on creating innovations and using technology to replace products and services in the current wasteful way of living. see more

Vice President Sustainability at Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas
- I believe solar PV systems should be a high priority, to relieve dependence on fossil fuels while reducing Opex.
- I'll go with waste heat recovery, IE using a heat exchanger to preheat water entering hot water tanks, by using the exhaust heat from either HVAC or diesel generators, etc. It's not as complicated as it sounds and there's typically a great ROI from the installation.
- Occupancy sensors ...and room automation to go with them. The real winners in this space will not only reduce their energy use but also engage guests! For example, the new guest app Hilton has developed that incentivizes guests to save energy with rewards perks (NOT my app but I wish it was!).
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VP of Global Sustainability for Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Our three technologies for 2020 are as follows: 1) Continuous performance monitoring, 2) submetering and 3) renewable energy. Let me take them one by one to unpack our approach. see more

Managing Partner at MRP hotels
Top three technologies to implement in the world of hospitality, so that more sustainability-impact can be generated in 2020 could be: see more

Founder & CEO at Inkaterra Hotels
Nowadays, ecotourism is globally perceived as one of the most resourceful industries to attain sustainable development. There is greater awareness on conserving natural resources and cultural patrimony, through tourism endeavors where profitability meets responsibility. Additionally, ecotourism reduces migration and safeguards local cultures by creating green jobs in remote areas. see more

University Professor at the University of Lleida - Faculty of Law, Economics and Tourism and Founding Partner at the ESHC
Thinking about what top what three technologies I would see embedded in a 2020 Hotel, the first thing I would consider is analyzing in what stage the Hotel is at the transitioning to a Sustainable property, so we can prioritize the investment for these three tech solutions needed. I would consider smart building resources and reducting emission technology such as blockchain (this tech is also being used for loyalty programs and to influence consumer behavior). see more

Professor of Hospitality Management at the IUBH International University
There are no doubts that clean technologies play a tremendous role in mitigating our emissions. The global community has delayed climate action and the coming decade is crucial in pulling our emissions down and (possibly) implement some negative-emissions technologies. see more

Sustainability and resource efficiency consultant
If someone came up with a few cost-effective, practical and magical technical fixes that allowed hotels to operate with a minimum amount of water, energy, materials, and chemicals, those would be my obvious choices for the Top Technologies for hotels to implement in 2020. However, since that won't happen, my choices for 2020 and beyond are the following software upgrades. see more

Lecturer at IUBH International University
We will need a two-pronged approach, no doubt. Behavioral change of consumers, on the one side, as well as technological upgrading of the industry on the other side. Given the current scientific (and most of all: pessimistic!) outlook on how rapidly the climate crisis will strike over the next years, I fear that focusing on changing the behavior of billions of consumers – many of whom have not even come around to the notion of a 'climate crisis' – will not happen fast enough. In contrast, new technologies that, at best, even offer new business opportunities, will likely be adopted more rapidly. see more

PhD, FIH, SFHEA, Director of Postgraduate Research Studies at Brighton Doctoral College
The best technology is the technology that you have in hand. For example, I invested in a brand-new top of the range camera for photography yet 98% of all my photos are taken using my mobile phone. Similarly, hotels forget the incredible technology they have at hand and many hoteliers are underutilising it. That is information technology and anyone from an SME to a large corporate hotel have the infrastructure that with a few tweaks they can enable their management to make decisions on how to reduce their co2 emissions based on science-based targets or what results from your efforts for a more sustainable hotel yield. see more

Chief Executive Officer, Sustainable Hospitality Alliance
Our research shows that the hotel industry must reduce is absolute carbon emissions by 66% by 2030 to ensure that growth in the sector is sustainable. To support the sector to join in reducing emissions at scale, ITP has developed the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI). Currently being used by over 25,000 hotels globally, HCMI is a free methodology that enables hotels to measure and report on the carbon footprint of a hotel stay or meeting in a consistent way. HCMI allows hotels to: see more

Assistant Professor at Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL)
Implementing large-scale technological changes in already existing buildings is challenging and often extremely costly. Nevertheless, new hotel buildings should consider sustainable design with low energy requirements. This includes the optimal use of natural energy such as sun-light, geothermal energy, wind, even water efficiency through rainwater harvesting systems, for instance. Additionally, both new and existing hotels should seriously reflect on implementing innovative technologies that intelligently and efficiently reduce food waste with a meaningful impact on F&B costs.

Professor of Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism at Stenden University of Applied Sciences
When I started consulting for the hotel industry it struck me that at least once in the seven years rooms are refurbished, and the whole inventory either thrown away or 'given' to staff (who on their turn may sell it under the local market price thus undermining local businesses). It occurred to me then, that the hotel industry should embrace cradle-to-cradle products and the 'product as a service' concept as soon as possible. see more

The top 3 technologies are social technology, high-resolution resource monitoring, and communication technologies. Our goal should be to reduce resource use, pollution, and waste, through an approach that improves guest satisfaction and staff loyalty. To achieve this we need to invest in improving the way we deliver hospitality and the manner by which guests consume it, which means integrating the way we use things much better. This is called social technology. see more

Partner/Director at the Considerate Group
The three technology to implement should be about (1) data monitoring; (2) app to engage staff & guests in sustainability and (3) food waste reduction. At Considerate Group, we focus on integrating technological improvements and behavioral change to achieve greater sustainability. And the way to achieve behavioral change (e.g. guest involvement) is to show data. see more

Founder & Director, Audit Diagnostic Solutions Tourism
Before speaking about new technologies, I would highlight the fact that there is a huge need to monitor the consumptions (water and energy) AND to analyze these data AND to benchmark the results. I'm auditing many hotels where they collect tons of information from different sub-meters but there is no one in charge of looking deep into these data and "translate" them. It would make sense to switch from one technology to another only if there are clear indicators to decide where to start first. see more

Founder & CEO, LightBlue Environmental Consulting
First of all, I don't think that one hotel should choose between behavioral change and technology, as tech without a change of mindset and SOPs has limited effect. Here would be my top 3 techs for 2020: see more

Founder at Greenview
1) Renewable energy, because everything pretty much hinges on it... 2) A digital thermostat, for those archaic hotels that still don't have one - let's not forget that while we need to advance more technology and solutions, we also need to get the majority of the world's hotel stock to get in the game with basic proven solutions... and 3) The Greenview Portal of course!

Contingent Managing Director - Sustainability at Techstars
There is of course a wide spectrum of technologies that the hospitality industry can deploy to achieve greater sustainability. I will therefore limit my answer to digital technologies and the three I would suggest to start implementing in 2020 are: see more

Head of Development Hospitality-Catering at IECD
The “behavioral change” school of thought is certainly the most important, yet, technology can accompany the process and certainly create awareness and help manage the change. see more

Founder, Agentur Auf!
It is comfortable to believe that technological development will deliver solutions to the pressing challenges of today and tomorrow - without us changing along the way. However, we need to understand that business, as usual, is not an option at all. Technology will most likely contribute to help us to become a smarter, fairer and more sustainable society. But we need to change as well. see more