[New] An Integrative Process

The hospitality market is one of the most challenging with regards to sustainability due to the many moving parts at play – something that became more complex during times when disposable products were a necessity for safety reasons. But with the hotel sector on the mend, well-established developers and operators are striving towards more holistic sustainability goals, redefining the industry under the watchful eye of a client base that is now more informed.

When it comes to more holistically sustainable operations, the process does not start with hotel operation; rather, it begins at the project’s conception by getting all parties involved in the initiative from the get-go. In recent years, we have seen a dramatic rise in collaborative design across the industry and while challenging, this type of design process is vital in achieving holistic industry goals. There is also now a Credit Category within the LEED Rating system titled the Integrative Process, which calls for all stakeholders – including developers, operators, on a hypothetic level, so it can be used as a tool to push the eco-initiative forward in ways that do not compromise the economy or the safety measures required in the past few years.

Setting sustainability goals and addressing them from the early stages of a project will allow for the improvement of operational costs, guest comfort and the experience. This would consequently lighten the load on hotel operations, resulting in a more holistic approach to sustainability and a hospitality sector that is deeply rooted in how hotels are integrally run.

Sustainable design should not only operate intuitively but also be informative; part of the social impact design is to provide information to end users, and in hospitality this means helping guests to understand their own responsibilities as well as how to behave in order to achieve these environmental goals. The increase in collaborative design is creating a condition within the industry that enables holistic hospitality to grow and replace greenwashing on a large scale.