5 ideas to make luxury hotels more sustainable
The ultimate checklist to achieve a more eco-friendly luxury hotel
Eco-tourism is the new trend. That is, with more and more people looking for greener ways to live, forward-thinking hotels are actively re-defining the industry by adopting eco-friendly hotel practices that may have been dismissed in the past as unimportant. With the growth of ecotourism and environmentally aware consumers, the time is ripe to realize that there are ways to improve hotel efficiency and provide a better experience for your guests.
Beyond a fad, customers are increasingly sensitive to establishments geared towards ecotourism and committed to the environment and take this in to account when choosing where to stay. Indeed, two out of three customers would be ready to pay more for hotels services respecting this approach.
How do you make your luxury hotel eco-friendly? In this post you will find the ultimate eco-responsible green practices and actions to put in place for all areas of your hotel.
1. Throughout your hotel
- Install energy-efficient technologies such as appliances, lighting, and heating and cooling systems
- Choose low consumption lamps and use timers for less frequented areas
- Install recycling containers in common rooms
- Choose natural non-toxic cleaning products, disinfectants, and paints
- Use recycled paper
- Favour dematerialized communication with your customers
2. In the hotel bathrooms
- Replace plastic cups with glass cups and propose a glass bottle of mineral water or a carafe.
- Offer plastic free guest amenities (tooth brushes, shaving sets, shower caps ) made from sustainable materials such as bamboo and biodegradable PLA
- Equip showers and faucets with a flow regulator
- Opt for an eco-responsible zero waste and zero plastic hotel toiletries solution such as solid shampoo bars that are concentrated without water and without plastic packaging.
- Install refillable large sized pump dispenser bottles for your shampoo and shower gel
3. In your guest bedrooms
- Use the wooden key cards
- Offer washable reuseable slippers for guests
- Clean the rooms with ecological natural products
- Do not change the sheets systematically on a daily basis and explain the process to your customers
- Spray your linens and pillows with a natural phthalates free room spray to refresh between washings
- Equip rooms with energy savers that turn off the lights when the room is unoccupied
4. In the restaurant, bar and breakfast areas
- Use seasonal and local products
Favour products from fair trade (coffee for example) - Choose bulk products rather than individually wrapped products
- Prefer table service rather than the all-you-can-eat buffet responsible for food waste
5. Encourage guests to go Green
Put cards in each room asking guests to turn out the lights when they leave, or reuse towels if possible. Make recycling bins readily available to guests and be sure that they are aware of your green programs. When guests see that your hotel is making an effort to help the environment, they will generally want to do their part as well.
Differentiate your hotel on your website by telling customers your green efforts and by communicating which types of amenity products are proposed in your guest rooms.
You can offer a multitude of environmental actions and develop a real customer experience by developing activities around sustainable tourism. You will thus enhance your brand image while strengthening your reputation and therefore your activity in the hotel market.
Reduce single use plastic and waste in your hotel bathrooms
From plastic-free amenities to refillable dispenser systems, HD Fragrances, one of the leading suppliers of luxury hotel toiletries in Europe, offers many solutions to achieve a more sustainable establishment.
