Owner Angie Clavijo details how Sumaq Machu Picchu Hotel integrates regenerative farming, agrobiodiversity, and Andean cultural heritage into a luxury guest experience, with B Corp certification in final stages.
Annual reports are a key source of ESG information in hospitality, combining financial and non-financial data on sustainability performance. Increasing alignment with CSRD and frameworks like ESRS, GRI, IFRS improves comparability, though challenges remain around data reliability and aligning corporate- and hotel-level KPIs.At Hotelschool The Hague, the Business Resilience and ESG chair uses such data for applied research on resilience and sustainable transformation, combining document analysis and industry collaboration.
The Most Valuable Resources Are Still Human OnesFour years ago, the challenge was finding good information. Today it is filtering it.When it comes to accuracy, I keep returning to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and UN Tourism.
I think the age of AI makes reliable sustainability resources more important, not less. AI can be extremely useful for summarising complex information, analysing hotel data, comparing options, and translating sustainability language into practical operational decisions.
The piece argues hotels must move beyond "extractive hospitality" by integrating local vendors and communities as economic partners rather than excluding them from tourism spaces.
RIU Hotels presented its 'Proudly Committed' sustainability strategy in Buenos Aires, reporting nearly $20M in social investment over six years, with Argentina accounting for 60% of the chain's LATAM revenue.
Regeneration in hospitality requires more than efficiency improvements; it demands a shift from extractive models toward reciprocal relationships with place. Through the VIRTU Resort & Residences model, developed in partnership with the World Indigenous Business Network (WIBN), hotels are conceived as living systems participants rather than resource consumers.
At Sunlife, regeneration is not framed as an extension of sustainability but as a shift in how value is created. As stated in our 2025 Sustainability Report, hospitality has the power to regenerate, not just to delight… it is the strategy that shapes every decision, every investment, and every guest experience.
A case study I recently prepared can serve as a possible blueprint for hotels seeking to integrate circularity, community partnership, and ecological restoration into their core business model. Garden Hotels & Resorts transformed its operations in Mallorca through a circular partnership with local farmers.
UN Tourism and Brazil's tourism ministry launched initiatives at COP30 to strengthen climate governance and accelerate the Glasgow Declaration's implementation across 70 endorsing governments.
Understanding Opting-In and Opting-Out Strategies Knowing the difference between opting-in and opting-out is essential when aiming to influence behaviour and drive change effectively. The "default option" principle can be applied to almost any business or operational process, allowing organisations to guide decisions without lengthy explanations or losing control over outcomes.
In 2026 hospitality should prioritise shifting from surface-level sustainability actions to systemic change through investment in leadership training. While technical improvements remain important, the primary focus must be on transforming internal mindsets.
RIU Hotels presented its Proudly Committed sustainability strategy in Cancún, Mexico. The event, held at the Riu Caribe, was led by Naomi Riu, Executive Director of the group and head of Corporate Social Responsibility, alongside more than 100 guests, including municipal and state authorities from Quintana Roo, such as the State Secretary of Tourism, Bernardo Cueto, as well as the various organisations supported by RIU, key industry figures, and members of the media.
In the heart of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, that question has already been answered. Ibiti Projeto stands as living proof that regenerative hospitality is not a far-off dream but a reality. Over 40 years, it has transformed once-degraded land into a thriving biodiversity refuge, while creating opportunities for local people to become entrepreneurs and stewards of their own future.My recent immersion there was a reminder that regeneration is not an abstract ideal - it’s a tangible force that can transform landscapes, economies and mindsets all at once.
“Facing sustainability deprioritization?” I think the concern is justified since a large section of the hospitality sector has traditionally operated on a ‘compliance-first’ approach when it comes down to sustainability commitments.
The delay to the CSRD may offer temporary regulatory breathing space, but it highlights a deeper truth: sustainability in hospitality and tourism must not depend solely on government mandates. If our industry remains reactive, driven only by compliance, we risk falling environmentally, socially, and economically behind.
Indeed, there is a real risk that goals driven by political ambition, political agenda in the best sense of the word, may be deprioritised. I recently wrote a piece titled "Where Do We Stand Now?" to better understand the current state of play.
Share price and value are correlated to current and expected future profits, which can depend on decisions from governments with short term priorities who legislate for GDP growth as a solution to most of their problems. We should be pushing for a lasting global commitment to change the collective vision of success, and to accept that success shouldn't be measured in purely economic terms.
What do KPIs, certificates, and ESG ratings have in common? They're all tools we use to measure impact and performance. But can one metric, or even one system, capture everything at once? Probably not. As we navigate ESG reporting, the challenge isn't just what to measure, but how much, how specifically, and how meaningfully.
Fairmont Rio de Janeiro reinforces its global commitment to sustainability and announces the receipt of the Raízen Power certification for carbon emissions reduction. The renewable energy company uses a calculation methodology developed by the GHG Protocol, the leading national and international program for quantifying greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, validated by organizations such as the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
What a great topic, indeed 'failures' are great learning opportunities for the organisation itself as well as others when shared publicly. A mindset of continouus improvement, that is for example inherent to ISO certifications, would enable companies to shift the 'failure' vs 'success' narrative and culture.
Many SME accommodation owners begin their sustainability journey with enthusiasm but often fail to sustain long-term change. A key barrier is underestimating the time and commitment needed to overhaul operational processes across departments.
To make progress on sustainability, I believe we need to build a culture that values curiosity over criticism, encouraging people to explore what works, what doesn’t, and why. That means treating new ideas as experiments, not tests to pass or fail.
As companies face increasing pressure to report their GHG emissions, the role of business travel, mainly flights, is coming under great pressure. Business travel contributes significantly to a company's carbon footprint. In my opinion, hotels will be less affected than airlines, but they will need to relearn to focus more on short—and medium-distance travellers.
The growing interest in sustainability and events is shifting competitiveness in a new direction. For those hotels and events venues that have been leading the way for decades by implementing sustainable management practices and measuring the carbon footprint of operations their hard work is paying off.
The role of sustainability information in business travel is increasingly critical, particularly for hotel groups like Radisson Hotel Group, as corporate clients prioritize sustainability in their procurement processes. A growing requirement for sustainability data in corporate RFPs significantly impacts the competitiveness of hotels.
Properties should take resilience measures not just to lower insurance premiums but also to keep their doors open and stay in business. Insurance companies can protect their own profits and keep their customers by offering lower premiums to owners who better protect their properties.
While I would like to suggest that there is a massive "Game Changer Opportunity" presented here in accelerating sustainable best practices though engagement from the Insurance Industry, that is going to have to wait and see what comes unless someone has more information related.
To fully embrace their role as enablers and game changers, insurance companies could focus on two aspects that would make a difference in the way hospitality professionals make decisions. The first one is the availability of data about present and future risks (catastrophic events…) and their correlation with some hotel features (construction materials, construction year, location of technical equipment in the building…).
With new ESG regulations coming into force (e.g. the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), there will be an even greater need and demand of environmental and social auditing.
Could there be a bottle neck of skilled auditors - absolutely, but we know that legislation will require skilled auditors to assess certified properties so the question shouldn't be will there be a bottle neck, it's how are we training a new wave of auditors.
Hospitality largely relies on legacy technology to operate and remains very slow in adopting more useful, more user friendly and faster replacement/ enhancement solutions. AI is moving forward very rapidly and Hospitality must get on board quickly before finding itself behind.
The Role of AI in Net Positive Hospitality The World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance champions Net Positive Hospitality, where AI emerges not as a panacea but as a potent catalyst for sustainable transformation. The synergy of AI, traditional technologies, and human-centric strategies is paramount.
AI is just a tool just like any tool it's up to how people use it. It has potential usage in Energy Efficiency and Management. For example, optimising the distribution of electricity and managing demand. In climate predictions where it can help determine weather patterns.
Since 2020, an interdisciplinary research team from EHL Hospitality Business School, the Catholic University in Quito, and the Charles Darwin Research Station at the Galapagos in Ecuador have been studying the challenges associated with tourism dynamics at the world-famous UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Galapagos Islands. This article summarizes the main findings of this collaboration: the carrying capacity of the islands, the sustainability transition of tourism, and the political challenges that have been affecting sustainability efforts in the archipelago.
The reality is that the majority of professionals do not measure food waste. So not having the data is the first issue. The second issue is, once you have the data and understand the amount of waste you actually produce, how do you reduce it?
One of the biggest challenges we face is the very idea of hospitality. There is still a (strong) perception that to be hospitable means to be generous. That by giving more we are adding value, delivering a better experience, serving better.
Intuition tells us that what holds us back is the combination of all three aspects: our individual decisions, managers, and leaders. However, based on experience working with a restaurant chain in Brazil my short answer will be that organizations and their leaders are best positioned to lead a shifting course with the necessary speed if desired.
Organized by UN Tourism and the Government of the State of Quintana Roo through the Tourism Promotion Council of Quintana Roo – an entity that is an Affiliate Member of UN Tourism – the International Forum "Tourism and Culture: A Picture-Perfect Relationship" has put the spotlight on the potential of audiovisual tourism to boost the product offerings of destinations and its suitability for tourism marketing and promotion. Participants discussed the creation and implementation of public policies for promotion through audiovisual content, raising awareness among tourists about environmental and cultural protection through on-screen content, as well as the broader relationship between tourism, culture and creative industries.