The American Hotel & Lodging Assn. (AHLA) this past week released the results of its biennial Lodging Survey. The survey was conducted by industry data provider STR and funded by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation. I always look forward to reading the results of this survey because of the size of the survey’s audience and its response rate. This year’s survey had more than 8,000 responses. More than 45,000 U.S. properties were approached to complete the survey. The survey is not perfect; it could use some improvement, but it is among the best we have.
There were many questions in the survey related to sustainability. If you would like to see the results of all of those questions, I suggest getting a copy of the survey results. I will share just some of the results that interested me.
In 2004, 52 percent of respondents said they offer a towel/linen reuse program. Today that number is 94 percent. Yes, this program is now an expectation and has been for quite some time.
I am a little suspicious about this result but 48 percent said they now have energy management sensors in guestrooms. Just two years ago that number was 28 percent. Have guestroom energy management system suppliers really had career years the last two years? I wonder. It is encouraging to at least see growth in awareness of these types of systems.
Opportunity for Improvement
Sixty-three percent said they have recycling programs. Just 26 percent of respondents with economy properties said they have such programs. Recycling remains an area where improvement is needed in our industry.
For the first time hotels were asked if they have an amenity recycling program. Responses varied depending on the segment type. Seventy-seven percent of luxury properties said yes but only 15 percent of economy properties said yes.
It was not that long ago that LEDs were too expensive for hoteliers. Today? Ninety percent said their hotels have LED lighting. Of course it would be even better to know what percentage of overall lighting is LED.
This year a question about certification was revised from “Obtained or working toward green certification” to “Obtained green certification”. Just 16 percent of respondents said they have obtained a green certification. It would be great to know why more of our industry is not participating in certification programs.
Plenty of Room for Dispenser Growth
For the first time hoteliers were asked about the use of amenity dispensers. These dramatically reduce soap and plastic waste but only a small percentage of hotels use these. At the luxury level: 8 percent. At the upper midscale level: 10 percent. At independent hotels: 14 percent.
Eighty-five percent of respondents said their hotels now have 100 percent nonsmoking rooms, up from 62 percent in 2014.
In the category of “I wish the question was more specific,” 77 percent said they have water saving programs. While great, it would be nice to know what it means. Similarly, 30 percent said they offer allergy-friendly rooms to guests. This compares to 45 percent in 2014. Is there really that much less concern today about guests with allergies? I don’t think so. What I suspect is that “allergy-friendly” room just has not been clearly defined by our industry.
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