Sustainability Opinion Articles

July 26, 2022

Human Trafficking by the Numbers: The Untold ‘Other’ Pandemic

On June 28th, Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for helping the now-notorious sex offender and “globetrotting” financier Jeffery Epstein abuse teenage girls between 1994 and 2004. Of course, the world is now painfully familiar with this disturbing story in the wake of Epstein and Maxwell’s arrest, and with the help of documentaries like Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich currently on Netflix, which exposed the horrifying crimes committed by the pair in great detail.

By Parminder Batra, CEO, TraknProtect

HN Original

Opinion Article

July 18, 2022

HN World Panel: Is Sustainability Taken Seriously?

From 27 June until 30 June HITEC took place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. Everybody was really excited that the 50th edition of the show could be celebrated in person again. Hospitality Net was present too and we questioned industry experts on the show floor about some hot topics within the industry at the moment.

By Henri Roelings, Founder, Hospitality Net

Opinion Article

July 12, 2022

10 most impactful sustainability actions the hotel industry (should) take the coming years

Traveling the world is a great way to experience new cultures, to adapt to new circumstances and to indulge in new tastes. For a hotelier, guest experience and providing impeccable service is of great importance to distinguish from others. But there is more than that.

By Coen Bakker, Marketing Manager, The Waste Transformers

Opinion Article

July 12, 2022

Hospitality PMS Tech is Helping Hotels & Resorts Go Paperless

Nine in 10 consumers say they are looking for sustainable options when traveling, according to Expedia’s Spotlight on Sustainable Travel. And, the 2022 Booking.com Sustainable Travel Report reveals that 63 percent of travelers want to make more effort in the next year to travel more sustainably, up 10 percent from 2021. These decisions are setting the pace for hoteliers’ sustainability efforts for 2022 and beyond.

By Warren Dehan, President and Co-Owner of Maestro PMS, Maestro

Opinion Article

June 24, 2022

How can independent hotels compete with large hotel chains in terms of sustainability?

Everyone knows the importance of tourism sustainability today, not only in its environmental sphere but also in its social and economic ones.

By Ignacio Merino, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Quartz Inn Hotels & Resorts

Opinion Article

June 24, 2022

5 Sustainable Travel Trends for Asia Pacific Consumers

Earlier this year, we released our Sustainable Travel Study, which shared insights into how consumers are becoming increasingly conscious about their travel choices. In our global takeaways, we found consumers are actively looking for sustainable travel options and information and are willing to pay more to ensure they are limiting their impact. However, we know the interest in and meaning of sustainable travel can differ from region to region and country to country.

By Celine Wickerhoff, Director, Business Development, Expedia Group Media Solutions

Opinion Article

June 15, 2022

How to Win Guest Loyalty for an Eco-Conscious World

The topic of climate change and sustainability has reached a fever pitch. The WHO predicts a $2-4 billion USD cost to public health, and it’s viewed as a national responsibility. From battery-powered cars to eliminating single-use plastic and embracing a more climate-friendly lifestyle, a worldwide commitment to sustainability is taking shape.

By Ellis Connolly, Chief Revenue Officer, Laasie

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Opinion Article

June 10, 2022

New York Marriott Marquis: Going Green in Times Square

The New York Marriott Marquis hotel overlooks all the excitement and electric energy of Times Square. Inside, we've overlooked nothing in making sure to include energy efficiency as part of the hotel's complete transformation in 2022, which includes newly designed guestrooms, restaurants, and public spaces, as well as meeting and event spaces.

By Bill Michell, Director of Engineering, Marriott

United States

Opinion Article

May 31, 2022

CSR adoption in independent hotels: The drivers and barriers

A focus piece that resumes the challenges of independent hotels in their CSR journey. In a recent study of 14 independent hotels in France and Switzerland, we focused on two questions: What are the key drivers that push smaller independent hotels towards CSR adoption? And, conversely, what are the main barriers they need to overcome?

By Steffen Raub, Full Professor Human Resources/Organisational Behaviour, EHL

Opinion Article

May 27, 2022

Vegan philosophy: To be or not to be plant-based?

Amid the cacophony from the social networks and other media, the word VEGAN is becoming more and more talked about. Whether it's for reasons of health, animal ethics, sustainability, religion, food labelling or fashion, the question remains: what is veganism in the end? A societal, ethical trend or a historic vegan philosophy of food that's actually been around for millennia?

By Michel Magada, Lecturer Practical Arts, EHL

Opinion Article

May 24, 2022

Sustainable tourism and hospitality – A wide ranging opportunity for Saudi talent

In the lead up to the Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) Saudi Arabia, we asked a number of industry partners how they see the future of hospitality in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

By Haitham Mattar, Managing Director, India, Middle East & Africa IHG, The Bench

Saudi Arabia

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Opinion Article

May 23, 2022

Banyan Tree Group Promotes Global Sustainability, Purposeful Stewardship & Well-Being

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced many businesses to take a long, hard look at what they need to do to adapt to a changing world and support their stakeholders. There is no question that sustainability is a multi-generational need. We face numerous environmental and social crises; inequality at its greatest, while over exploitation and a lack of waste management have resulted in an urgent need to reduce humanity's footprint on the environment.

By Steve Newman, Chief Sustainability Officer, Banyan Tree Group, Banyan Group

Opinion Article

May 22, 2022

The Future of Hospitality: Identifying key trends and their competitive advantages

In the lead up to the Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) Saudi Arabia, we asked a number of industry partners how they see the future of hospitality in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

By Sultan Bader Al-Otaibi, Chief Executive Officer – Taiba Investment Company, The Bench

Saudi Arabia

Opinion Article

May 20, 2022

How Can Hotel Management Encourage Hotel Guests to Save Energy?

Among operating costs for hotels, one of the highest is utilities, with lighting and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) being the two biggest draws.

By Chang Huh, Professor in the College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Niagara University

Opinion Article

May 12, 2022

Cutting Costs and Energy Consumption With Smart Room Allocation

SensorFlow’s SmartAlloc™ is set to revolutionize the hospitality industry with its energy and cost savings capabilities. SmartAlloc™ is an innovative, data-driven platform that helps reduce energy consumption by providing an energy-efficient room allocation plan based on known arrivals and departures drawn from the hotel’s Property Management System (PMS).

By Saikrishnan Ranganathan, Co-Founder and CEO of SensorFlow, SensorFlow Pte Ltd.

Opinion Article

May 10, 2022

Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Hotels: Seeing the Future

Eco-friendly as it pertains to lodging has been segmented into eco-hotels, eco-tourism and eco-resorts and eco-lodging.

By Robert O’Halloran, Professor Director, School of Hospitality Leadership, East Carolina University

Opinion Article

May 5, 2022

The Road to Hell and Eco-Friendly Hotel Practices

An honest, sincere and effective strategy to improve the sustainability of a hotel group's operations will start with a full and frank audit of the current status of Its hardware and its systems' Environmental Performance.

By David Williams and Ranjit Gunewardane

Opinion Article

May 2, 2022

Transition-related Climate Risk and its Impact on Commercial Real Estate

Climate risk is important for everyone. As professionals in an industry responsible for approximately 30%1 of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, the commercial real estate industry is beginning to come together globally to address the challenges.

By Dennis Schoenmaker, Executive Director | Principal Economist, Econometric Advisors, CBRE Hotels

Opinion Article

April 26, 2022

The Rise of Sustainable Travel, the Conscious Traveler, and What Your Brand Needs to Know

The traveler mindset is changing, and sustainable travel has emerged as a growing trend as travelers hope to lessen the environmental impact of tourism (or overtourism, in some cases). The pandemic seems to have accelerated this trend, with people looking for ways to travel more responsibly, to make meaningful changes to help preserve our planet – especially as demand for travel picks up. At the same time, our partners in the travel industry are also becoming increasingly aware of the impact travel has on the environment. To stay relevant, those in the travel industry must understand the meaning of sustainable travel and adapt to meet the changing expectations of these conscious travelers.

By Evelina Hederer, Director, Business Development, Expedia Group Media Solutions

Opinion Article

April 26, 2022

ESG Review of Six Macau Casino Operators

Following the previous article about ecologic obsolescence, this article presents the sustainability performance and initiatives in the hospitality industry. Commonly known as ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance), which covers a wide range of key performance indicators (KPIs) in corresponding aspects, such as green house gas (GHG) emissions, stakeholder engagement and people management. Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, environmental and social issues received increasing attention, and ESG disclosure became a critical indicator of corporates being good citizens and neighbors. This article provides an overview of how the six major casino operators in Macau disclose their ESG performance in 2020 and reviews the quality of their reporting with recommendations for future reporting. The full article is available for download here!

By Daniel Voellm and Anchi Liu

Macau