• Hotel companies are weaving storytelling magic to better convey sustainability achievements to customers that value such features
• Improved communications on sustainability success stories can correct misconception that responsible operations, luxurious experiences and profitability cannot coexist
• Projects supporting the community and involving guests should be looked at more deeply by hotels wanting to win over well-travelled high-end customers

Well-travelled, well-heeled individuals, who were among the first travellers to hold hotels to responsible actions, are becoming more critical of what qualifies as sustainable operations, leading hoteliers to make a more conscious effort to communicate their accomplishments in this aspect and to lead deeper impact projects.

Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) has recently started an online video series for its Considerate Collection, profiling property owners who are active supporters of the environment, culture and community through their business.

The Considerate Collection, launched in 2021, is a portfolio of properties that pass strict assessment across three levels – Environmentally Conscious, Cultural Custodians and Community Minded – by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. Although the Considerate Collection has grown in numbers – 61 properties compared to 21 at the start, consumer awareness of impact projects was lacking.

“Feedback from the marketplace is that we are not telling our stories enough; a lot of the sustainability programmes undertaken by owners of our Considerate Collection properties remain behind the scenes. We talk a lot about these efforts at travel trade events, but many travellers in the public space are unaware. So, we decided to help our owners tell their story,” said Mark Wong, senior vice president, Asia Pacific of SLH.

Besides stepping up on communications, SLH is taking accountability and sustainability measurement ever more seriously. To ensure that Considerate Collection properties maintain their investments in environment, culture and community, it has partnered with Weeva, a company that will establish a management system that enables properties to track sustainability achievements.

“This will allow properties to document and quantify their impacts, and share results with their owners, team members and the media,” said Wong.

Believing in the power of positive stories shaping the right travel decisions, Preferred Travel Group has crafted an informative website for its Beyond Green portfolio of hotels, resorts, and lodges. These are properties that pass a rigorous vetting process by independent investigators, based on globally recognised sustainable tourism standards and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, conducted every two years. The website is a treasure trove of Good Stories features that detail members’ efforts in environmental and cultural conservation, community development, and more.

Michelle Woodley, president of Preferred Travel Group, acknowledged that a lot of the more complex sustainability efforts, such as energy conservation and food waste management processes, are hidden from the view of travellers and guests. Hence, it is important for hotels to tell their stories and “do it in a way that consumers find interesting”.

Being more vocal about hotels’ responsible efforts will also help to correct misconceptions about luxury, sustainability and revenue not being able to coexist.

“There is a perception among consumers that a sustainable property may not be luxurious. Our job is to make sure that travel advisors know that is untrue and have the information (from Beyond Green’s Good Stories features) to share with their travellers,” stated Woodley.

“Some people also think that hotels have to be out in the middle of nowhere to be sustainable. That is untrue. An example is Starhotel’s E.c.ho. Milan, which is a city hotel that has developed a great way to communicate its sustainability efforts. The hotel has a guide book that tells guests about all the good things being done, including back-of-house processes. Our sales team now uses this guide book to cite examples for their sustainability-focused corporate clients,” shared Woodley.

Good Stories features have also allowed Preferred Travel Group to demonstrate to hoteliers that sustainability and profitability can coexist.

When asked if these communication efforts have a direct impact on bookings and revenue, Woodley said: “Sure, but that’s not the key expectation of hotels in the Beyond Green portfolio. Hotels invest in being qualified for Beyond Green to be able to connect with like-minded hotels and to share ideas on how to harness renewable energy or to contribute to species preservation.”

What’s next?
As sustainability messages flood the marketplace, Marion Walsh-Hédouin, vice president communication & public relations for Minor Hotels, said “competition” among hotels and resorts to excel in sustainability efforts benefits everyone and the environment.

“This competition raises the bar for conservation, and I am all for that competition,” she remarked.

Savvy hoteliers who are looking to level up to the next stage of conservation efforts and to truly convince travellers who are increasingly scrutinising tourism companies for potential green-washing, must develop programmes that can be executed within the community and with the involvement of customers, she opined.

Citing an example, she pointed to the group’s Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort, which offers the Walk With Giants experience. Guests are invited to bond with the elephants of northern Thailand in their natural habitat, by strolling alongside these gentle creatures and witnessing them go about their day. The programme allows the resort to employ elephant mahouts with a salary while supporting their family with accommodation and solar-powered electricity.

“Normally, mahouts and their elephants would live away from their families in an animal attraction or camp. Our activity allows us to reunite them,” she explained.

In addition, money collected from Minor’s Dollars for Deeds’ programme, which invites guests to combine their stay with opportunities to support a range of good deeds that help local communities and the environment, is being used to fund English education for village children, giving the next generation an opportunity to raise their quality of life, as well as mahout training that teaches better ways to care for elephants.

SLH is paving the way for its next step in responsible operations, by delving deeper into community support through universal accessibility and inclusivity. It is assisting property owners in setting up operations and hardware to facilitate welcome for guests with both visible and invisible disability and medical issues.

One way it is doing this is through a partnership with IncluCare, a UK-based organisation that offers inclusive and accessible travel training, assessment, and accreditation for the tourism industry. Details will soon be shared.

Wong believes that by becoming accessible and inclusive, properties will not only be able to welcome a whole new segment of guests, they will also begin to look at differently-abled individuals as potential staff.

“This is a pool of human resources that hotels seldom think of hiring. These differently-abled individuals are often left out of society,” he added.

“Being equipped for universal accessibility is also a sensible thing to do now because societies across the world are aging. Facilities like ramps, grab bars and brighter lighting are needed by elderly travellers, not just those with disabilities. Hotels, in designing their hardware of the future, must take these requirements into account now,” he concluded.