Why a Hotel’s ESG Policies Should Not Be Placed By The Wayside In 2023

By Giles Fuchs , owner of Burgh Island Hotel (www.burghisland.com)

For many a new year is a time for renewal and rebir th It is cer tainly true for the hotel sector as it star ts to re-shape itself for the revival that is already taking place in hospitality Many hotels are re-thinking their strategies, revitalising their offers and re-positioning themselves in the market to take advantage of emerging oppor tunities

One area, which has already been increasing its impor tance is sustainability This year will likely see it become critical to hotels’ prosperity as travellers focus on a hotel’s sustainability and ESG policies intensifies and almost defines the hotel choices they make Also, from providing relief for rising energ y costs and cultivating a healthy local supply chain, to attracting and retaining talent, ESG strateg y could be key to solving the hotel sector’s challenges in 2023

Renewables Can Help Alleviate Rising Energy Costs

For hospitality businesses, the energ y crisis has compounded pressures and over a third of UK pubs and restaurants were forced to reduce their opening hours due to rising energ y costs last year However, energ y prices have now moderated and the economy has so far managed to narrowly avoid recession Indeed, energ y bills may well fall below the price guarantee by the summer

This tempering of energ y price rises should not stop hotel owners taking action Despite the upfront cost, ESG policies with a focus on increasing renewable energ y supplies will drive down bills in the longterm while also benefiting the planet

Getting star ted may not be as daunting as it seems At Burgh Island, we commissioned a Sustainable Energ y Strateg y Repor t, cour tesy of Doug King Consulting which has given us invaluable insight into the renewable energ y capabilities of our proper ty

Your Hotel Needs You

At the end of November last year, a sur vey of hospitality businesses in the UK showed that the vacancy rate stood at 11% compared to a UK average of 4%, costing the industr y £22bn per year However, in the last quar ter of last year, according to a sur vey in the Morning Adver tiser, vacancies fell from 158,000 to 149,000, a drop of 5 5% Hotel owners can, of course , help accelerate this declining trend by implementing their own initiatives, such as better training, more sociable hours or providing a higher standard of accommodation

Introducing more sustainable and environmentally friendly policies, can also help In fact, 33% of job hunters think ESG policies have affected how they search for job oppor tunities with nearly two in five (38%) employees prepared to look for a new role if their current firm’s ESG policies were not up to scratch

Good To Go Local

Amidst cost and workforce concerns, the prosperity of a hotel or other hospitality business’ local area is often a key factor in its success Clearly, the cost-of-living crisis is having a dispropor tionately profound effect on local industries, which often rely heavily on small, regional customer bases However again sustainability policies can play a role not only helping local firms but also the hospitality businesses themselves

One initiative is to suppor t local suppliers For example almost 100% of Burgh Island’s produce is sourced locally and in addition we grow our own produce on our own on-site garden This has aided the development of a fantastic relationship between the hotel and goods and ser vices providers in the area, leading, in some cases, to new experiences for our guests

Although recently there has been a trickle of more optimistic economic news, the outlook is still challenging However, hoteliers who may be tempted to reign in their ESG policies and trim their sustainability initiatives would be taking the wrong decisions Reviving rather than reducing their ESG commitments, is impor tant across the range of hotels’ operations and could well be the key factor in many hotels sur vival and success