QUALITY IN TOURISM

If your business doesn’t embrace this, many of your potential customers will go elsewhere.

Solving the jigsaw puzzle

You can’t eat an elephant whole. Deborah Heather, director of Quality in Tourism offers her advice on what tourism providers can do to be Responsible, Ethical and Sustainable Tourism (REST) operators, the new mark of quality.

If 2020 brought one issue to a head, it was the need to reduce operating costs. Whether you have four guest rooms or 400 there are some simple but effective ways of doing this. But let’s start with the ‘global’ picture and then get down to how it can affect your business. In response to the Paris Climate Agreement, the International Tourism Partnership (ITP) issued its Hotel Global Decarbonisation Report at the end of 2017, highlighting how and why the sector should align to the targets set out for 2030 and 2050. It recommended that hotels should work to cut emissions by 66% by 2030 and 90% by 2050, against the benchmarks established in 2010. More recent benchmarking shows that only 1 in 10 tourism operators have any targets in place to even roughly align with the targets set out by the ITP. So what is causing the sector to turn a blind eye? Do we just not care? Is the commercial argument too weak? Or does it all frankly feel a little too overwhelming and someone else’s problem? I imagine that it is a little of all these aspects, but I also believe that it is essential that we lead the charge on changing this response. So how do we make that happen? To paraphrase conservationist Dr Jane Goodall, it’s essential to view the world and climate change as a jigsaw puzzle: trying to solve the whole picture is overwhelming but viewing and working on it piece by piece makes it more manageable. Regardless of your own personal opinions on the matter, I think from an operator’s perspective, there are, and should be, two major drivers for change. The first is the operational argument for cost-savings and future proofing of the business, and the second is the shifting consumer expectations that we are seeing in support of business responsibility.

THE GUEST CASE…

Statistically speaking, the number of searches for specifically ‘eco’ accommodation remains low, but the appetite for places that have been awarded REST credentials is growing. In fact, 1 in 5 consumers already favour operators based on their overall REST credentials – so if location, price and convenience still come first, ethics, responsibility and sustainability become the defining factors between providers once a shortlist has been established.

With the ‘Greta Thunberg effect, and the term Flygskam been coined in Sweden (meaning literally ‘flight shame’) if I had to bet on it, even after the Covid-19 hangover period, I’d say that in the next five years we will see short-haul travel and staycations on the up and long-haul in decline and there will be a boom in the responsible travel movement.

THE BUSINESS CASE…

A decade ago, businesses and individuals had to seriously consider the cost-benefit of installing sustainable and

environmentally beneficial systems, with adoption often being driven by personal preference rather than any strong commercial case. Now, however, the cost, variety and availability of systems have expanded, as have the robustness and longevity of the hardware, making the cost-benefit analysis a far more compelling case. What’s more, as adoption grows internationally, the price continues to drop and the longevity continues to rise, making these solutions a ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ opportunity. As a nation, we are behind many of our international counterparts, particularly from a large business perspective; however, it’s evident that the savings can be astronomical. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel company created a three-year programme to save energy across its group, reducing energy consumption across the portfolio by 13% and making an estimated $11 million saving. The Hilton in San Antonio reduced water consumption by 49% and saved $160k per year. These are not, however, the only area where savings can be made, and many do not require any structural changes and require little financial contributions to establish. A lot comes down to processes and attitudes, from switching one product with another and removing certain things from the supply chain. They will all deliver cost-savings, and even better, help you to take advantage of positive customer selection as I’ve highlighted above. For these, I think the most useful tools at your disposal are common sense and time. This is part of the jigsaw; tackling items one by one. ‘Responsible’ and ‘Sustainable’ have become buzzwords within the industry but are in danger of being ignored. Responsible travel is a relatively simple, yet powerful, concept in which visitors are aware of their potential impact on a destination and they look for ways they can reduce or remove any negative impact brought about by their travel practices. The clever tourism provider can have a programme that addresses these concerns up front and will give them a huge credibility bonus with their guests which in turn leads to repeat visits and recommendations. Promote your recycling programme to guests – it’s no longer enough to have the bedroom notices about towel re-use. You could sell your own branded reusable water bottles (or give them as a ‘thank you’ gift). Encourage guests to use reusable bags (again another branded sales opportunity!) and provide links to digital guides on your website. Encourage guests to support local businesses – work with them to promote local crafts, products and services. And if you offer a ‘round up’ option on your bills, alternate local charities which will receive these funds.

If you do not already have – and display – a statement of your hotel’s ethical credentials, then it’s time to look at having one.

MEASURING SUSTAINABILITY…

Perhaps one of the most important aspects is to monitor the impact of any changes you make so that they are quantifiable and demonstrable. Starting with benchmarks of where you are now and monitoring these over time is an essential part of both establishing the effectiveness of your changes, and also communicating them to customers. It’s also worth looking at independent certifications which hold your changes to account, such as the B-Corp Certification (which we are currently working towards) or our REST certification. We have built our award on three pillars against which operators are benchmarked by our team, including Environmental & Economic Management, Social Responsibility & Community, Inclusivity & Integrity. For us, being a business with purpose goes beyond just the environment to include the business as a whole, but of course environment does play a crucial role in our assessments.

Honestly, these changes are worth it and I believe an essential part of futureproofing your business. You will attract more business and save money. What are you waiting for? Contact Quality in Tourism on hello@qualityintourism.com to find more about our buy now pay later or continuous payment offers and the support you will be given to achieve a REST award.