AC Hotel Asheville Downtown shares how it moved sustainability from good intentions to measurable daily operations through data tracking, workflow integration, and leadership accountability.
HBX Group earned the Queer Destinations Committed distinction after rolling out an LGBTQ+ inclusion training programme with nearly 90% staff participation, building on its 2025 alliance with Queer Destinations.
Annual reports are widely regarded as one of the most reliable and granular sources of sustainability information in the hospitality sector, as they combine financial disclosures with detailed non-financial data on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. They provide firm-specific insights into areas such as carbon emissions, energy use, water management, labour practices, governance structures, and strategic priorities. Increasingly aligned with regulatory requirements (e.g., CSRD in Europe) and standardised frameworks, such as ESRS, GRI and IFRS, enable comparability while retaining industry-specific nuance. As such, they offer rich, contextualised evidence for assessing how hospitality firms embed sustainability in their business models, risk management, and long-term value creation. A key challenge is improving trustworthiness, and hotel-level vs corporate-level KPIs.
I think the age of AI makes reliable sustainability resources more important, not less. AI can be very useful for summarising, analysing energy or food-waste data, comparing options, and translating complex sustainability language into operational decisions. But it should not become the source of truth. For hoteliers, the most important shift is to move from “finding information” to verifying information and turning it into measurable action.
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.
Novotel's second Ocean Impact Report details progress across 600+ hotels, including 92% single-use plastic compliance, 1,600+ chefs trained, and active WWF marine conservation projects.
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.
GCSTIMES outlines how its low-carbon hospitality product portfolio, including key cards and in-room essentials, helps hotel partners reduce Scope 3 supply chain emissions via ISO-verified carbon accounting.
Cornell CHR report from Climate Week NYC 2024 finds the hospitality sector lacks the data systems and financing structures needed to convert sustainability ambition into measurable financial benefit.
GCSTIMES outlines its sustainability framework covering climate action, green supply chain, and social responsibility, backed by an EcoVadis Silver Medal and a net-zero target by 2050.
GCSTIMES, a hospitality supplier of key cards and in-room amenities, retained its EcoVadis Silver Medal for 2026, placing it in the top 15% of assessed companies.
Singita's conservation efforts across African lodges demonstrate how environmental stewardship drives luxury brand differentiation and premium RevPAR performance.
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.
Accor's 5-year program targets 100+ resource-saving solutions by 2030, starting with water efficiency in 2026 via a partnership with non-profit Water Unite to pilot scalable solutions across its global hotel network.
Expedia Group survey of 7,000 travelers finds 91% of Gen Z factored environmental or social concerns into travel plans in the past year, with 94% willing to travel off-peak to reduce crowding.
Cornell CHR report from a 2025 Climate Week NYC roundtable finds the beverage industry is treating sustainability as operational survival, with packaging and transport often exceeding farming emissions.
Three Radisson Blu hotels in Bergen, Trondheim, and Tromsø will join Radisson Hotel Group's Verified Net Zero program by summer 2026, bringing the total to four certified properties in Norway.
GCSTIMES promotes a wooden badge that doubles as a hotel key card and conference credential, made from responsibly sourced wood and customizable for branding.
Six Senses joins the UNEP and UN Tourism Recipe of Change initiative, committing to halve food waste by 2030 across all 27 properties through operational programs, on-site farming, and guest education.
GCSTIMES outlines its internal sustainable business travel guidelines, encouraging employees to prioritize GSTC-aligned certifications like Green Key and LEED, and to adopt eco-conscious habits during stays.