The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation and Smith Travel Research just released the results of their comprehensive 2008 Lodging Survey. The number of questions asked and the number of hoteliers responding was impressive. A total of 45,000 hotels were polled and 23 percent responded (10,350). The survey was last conducted in 2006. This year’s survey included more questions related to green operations. Hoteliers were asked if they participate in or offer the following: liquid soap dispensers, recycling programs, linen/towel reuse programs, energy efficient lighting, water saving programs, nonsmoking rooms, allergy-free rooms, air purifiers, and vegetarian menus.
The survey results are broken down by chain scale, location, price segment and room range, and include line and bar graphs to indicate upward or downward trends. I strongly encourage you to get a copy of the survey results. Some of the results were surprising; others were expected. The survey was not perfect. For example, survey respondents were asked whether or not they offer allergy-friendly rooms. Twenty-four percent of all respondents (50 percent of upscale respondents) said they do. This number is much too high, in my opinion, as there is no single standard for an allergy-friendly room and such rooms, as defined by companies like Pure Solutions N.A., are just beginning to penetrate the industry.
One survey result right on the money is the percentage of nonsmoking rooms. In 2004, 74 percent of guestrooms were nonsmoking. That number is now up to 86 percent. Independent hotels set aside the most nonsmoking rooms (91 percent of rooms) and economy properties do so as well (97 percent of rooms). That is good news for health-conscious travelers.
Additional Survey Highlights
• Fewer hotels are including air purifiers in guestrooms (would make sense if more guestrooms are nonsmoking). In 2004, 17 percent offered them; in 2008, 12 percent. The luxury segment offers these much more often than any other segment (66 percent of the time).
• In 2004, only 24 percent of responding hotels said they offered vegetarian menu options. This year that percentage is up to 48 percent.
• Forty-six percent of respondents said they offer a program to minimize water consumption. Luxury hotels (78 percent) are most likely to offer this type of program and midscale hotels without F&B are least likely (24 percent).
• When asked whether or not they use energy efficient lighting, 68 percent said they do. By price segment, budget hotels implement energy efficient lighting most often (78 percent) and upscale hotels least often (63 percent).
• Recycling is becoming more common. In 2004, 32 percent of respondents said they have such programs. This year, 42 percent said they do. By chain scale, luxury hotels recycle most often (83 percent) and midscale without F&B least often (16 percent).
• In 2004, 15 percent of respondents said they use energy management sensors in guestrooms. This year, 25 percent said they do. By room range, 36 percent of respondents with more than 130 rooms use them and just 10 percent of those with properties having 50 to 64 rooms use them.
• Many more hotels are now using dispensers for shampoos and soaps. In 2004, the survey found that just 6 percent of hotels were using them. This year’s survey shows that 22 percent now use them. By chain scale, luxury hotels are using them most (37 percent of respondents) and upscale least often (17 percent).
• The percentage of hotels with linen/towel reuse programs jumped significantly from 2004 to 2008 (from 52 percent to 67 percent). This program is most common in upscale and upper upscale (both at 94 percent participation) and least common in the midscale without F&B segment (42 percent).
AH&LA members can download a copy of the 2008 Lodging Survey via the Members Only section of the AH&LA website, www.ahla.com. Individual data points are available from the AH&LA Information Center at (888) 743-2515.
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