Hotels and sustainability

With more properties claiming to be ‘eco friendly’ than ever before, we asked Pauline Van Beneden from Ecotel Consultancy to help us unpick the truth from the greenwashing…

Please introduce yourself and the Ecotel Consultancy?

My name is Pauline Van Beneden and I am the co-CEO and hotel sustainability expert of Ecotel Consultancy (ecotelconsultancy.com), which is a sustainability consulting firm for hotels specialized in sustainability advice, consultancy and ecolabelling/certification guidance for hotels.

Our mission is to make the hotel industry more sustainable by guiding hotels in every aspect of their business and keeping in mind the base principles of sustainability: making a positive impact on the environment, the society and the economy. We founded our company after my colleague and I met in a hotel where we stayed for our family holidays. To make a long story short, sustainability was not at all the norm in the hotel and certain practices made us question how we could do better. We found a mutual interest in the topic of sustainable hospitality as well as a drive to change these things. And so, our company was born.

How are hotels becoming more sustainable today?

As in all things, there are frontrunners and laggards when it comes to sustainability. While there are exemplary hotels that have implemented sustainability throughout the complete accommodation and operations, there are even more hotels who have not even started yet. However, as sustainability is becoming the norm in everyday life and business, awareness of the sustainable mindset is being created globally. Consequently, the majority of hotels and other accommodations have already started to put steps in the right direction, some more than others. It must be said, however, that the majority of this group, has stagnated in their sustainability efforts and stopped at fancy policies and stickers on the wall asking guests to re-use their towels. There is of course nothing wrong with implementing the low-hanging fruit first as this is a good starting point for hotels, but there is still an incredible lot of work that must be done to get to a completely sustainable way of tourism.

But I believe that the future is bright as hotels are being incentivized by all different hotel stakeholders, from policy makers to suppliers and of course the core of their business – hotel guests. These incentives are very necessary to get the laggards on the wagon and the ones that already started to keep moving.

Is there still a lot of greenwashing going on in the hotel industry?

Guiding hotels on their sustainability journey allows us to see what happens behind the scenes which is unfortunately sometimes indeed greenwashing. However, it must be said that this is not always intentional. I have seen hotels that have tried to become more sustainable by buying for example ‘eco’ products for cleaning purposes, however these products themselves are not always as green as they claim to be and use merely the name as a marketing tool.

Another problem in my opinion is that many hotels that are part of a chain are hiding behind fancy policies concerning sustainability but in fact there is little done to make their premises truly sustainable. An example here is a hotel I recently visited in Belgium, one being part of a big hotel chain that has many of its hotels equipped with an ecolabel. One of the criteria of this label is that there is a card system in order to prevent excessive and unnecessary energy use. A very good idea in theory but this hotel had found no better solution then to provide their guests with an extra card and the explicit instructions to use that card to keep it into the card system to be able to constantly leave the lights and heating/air conditioning (one of the biggest energy consumers!) on and chargers plugged in. This is truly beyond my understanding and a great example of greenwashing.

Firstly, this does not mean that the problem lies with the organizations that issue ecolabels as they cannot control hotels 24/7. These ecolabels are a great starting point for implementing sustainability and help to transfer knowledge on sustainable hospitality, both for the hotel and the guest. Rather, the responsibility lies in the hands of the management as the issue is often that employees are not informed or trained regarding sustainability and how to engage in sustainable practices within their hotel.

Secondly, do not get me wrong, not all chain hotels are doing harm. There are in fact hotel chains that are going above and beyond their sustainability policies and have implemented their goals into their complete operations and accommodations. A lot of chains and independent hotels are making great efforts when it comes to transitioning to sustainable ways of operating. Moreover, the hotels we work with are really trying to implement positive changes but with these hotels, it is often the lack of knowledge that causes unintentional greenwashing, an issue that can be resolved with proper communication and information.

For the accommodations that are just trying to look for an easy way out by intentional greenwashing, more drastic measures should be taken and the growing voice of tourists for a sustainable demand might be one of the most important aspects to finally make this happen.

How can we spot greenwashing as a traveller?

For an average guest who does not get to see what happens behind the scenes but wants to know if their hotel is greenwashing; try hanging your towel right next to the sign that says explicitly to hang them up in an effort to save the planet. 8 out of 10 times, you will have new towels anyway.

Another thing you can do, is thinking about the food you are eating. Are strawberries really that “local and seasonal” in January?

Next to that, do not be afraid to ask questions to the hotel staff. Do they really know their own policies? I believe it is always a good idea to do this, either way it can only result positively. Or you know the answer to your questions and the hotel is really making an effort or you have just opened room for a conversation and let them think about what they are doing.

What role can travellers play when they are choosing a sustainable accommodation?

Hotels can only do so much when it comes to integrating sustainability and yes, there is still a long way to go on their part, but an important role is reserved for guests and their involvement. It is thus vastly important that in the contemporary climate, tourists – especially in the luxury sector – contribute to the sustainable future in the tourism industry. Not only can you create a positive impact by opting for sustainable accommodations and opting for local activities, you - as a guest - have an important voice.

If the demand for sustainable accommodations and low season travelling rises, (hotel) accommodations will follow so it is incredibly important for tourists to speak up and change the tourism patterns that have been stuck for years.

It starts with choosing sustainable accommodations as there is still only a selection of hotels that have chosen the sustainable path. A good measure for guests is the presence of an ecolabel or green building certification for the hotel accommodation, sustainable initiatives that are being promoted (for example in the form of local excursions) or consistent communication regarding sustainability (but beware of greenwashing!). Choosing your accommodation well – in a sustainable way – is the beginning of contributing to this aspect as you are staying there for multiple days and as such your presence on its own makes an impact. With the right products and equipment present in the hotel, an enormous difference can already be made.

Furthermore, ask questions to the managers of your accommodation, this will either let them think about what can be done and allow you to learn more about the activities you can do in the surroundings of your stay. Be aware of what you are doing, by this, I mean that you can choose to discover for example local food, local cultures, ... to support local stakeholders. In doing excursions, you have the opportunity to learn about your environment from local guides on private tours – a real privilege you can enjoy by spending some more on luxury travel.

Ask yourself the question why you are in the country you are. You are there for the local culture, nature and the amazing sights there. So, discover them in a sustainable way with the people that live there. Try to support these locals as they are the ones living in this environment. In addition, they know the places not all people know, places that are not yet deteriorating by getting overcrowded with tourists. Places where you can enjoy in a luxurious way, without ruining the very place you ought to see.