NEWPORT BEACH, FLA.—Preferred Hotel Group—the family-owned company that manages and operates global travel and hospitality brands including Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Historic Hotels of America, Historic Hotels Worldwide, PHG Consulting, and Beyond Green Travel—announced the launch of Beyond Green last November. This hospitality brand debuted with a global portfolio of 24 founding member hotels, resorts, and lodges that exemplify sustainable tourism leadership.
Born through a synergy between the Ueberroth Family, the owners of Preferred Hotel Group, and ecotourism pioneer and global sustainability expert Costas Christ, the founder of Beyond Green Travel, which Preferred acquired in February 2020, Beyond Green brings together forward-thinking properties around the world that are committed to delivering on three pillars of sustainable tourism: environmentally friendly practices that go beyond the basics; protection of natural and cultural heritage; and contributing to the social and economic wellbeing of local communities. The name “Beyond Green” was chosen in recognition of the travel and tourism industry’s responsibility to protect biodiversity, preserve cultural heritage, and improve local people’s livelihoods in travel destinations around the world, all while delivering an enjoyable and meaningful traveler experience.
Green Lodging News recently interviewed Costas Christ about Beyond Green. The questions and answers from the interview are below:
Please give me some background on Beyond Green. When was the idea for the program hatched?
In many respects, the genesis of Beyond Green goes back to my own early experiences and subsequent journey into the world of tourism. In 1979, I was living and working in Kenya as an assistant on a Harvard wildlife research project, when I witnessed a mounting conflict between local communities and the safari tourism industry. This resulted in my growing awareness that a different model for hospitality and tourism was needed—one in which local communities benefitted more directly and travel companies played an active role in also protecting the natural environment. Together with a small group of others with similar ideas, we went on to officially define ecotourism for the first time as “Responsible travel to natural areas that protects nature and sustains the wellbeing of local people.” In the early 2000’s I was asked by the United Nations Foundation to help establish criteria for the global travel industry under the banner of what became known as sustainable tourism. Today, the criteria that we developed, and which has continued to evolve and expand, is part of the UN Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria. When a mutual friend introduced me to Lindsey Ueberroth, CEO of Preferred Hotel Group, in 2019, we immediately found synergy and passion together for creating a new hospitality brand that would be dedicated to sustainable tourism leadership, and Beyond Green was born. The name was strategic—we wanted hotels and travel companies to understand a more holistic approach to sustainability that includes communities, culture, and nature. That passion and synergy continues to this day, as does Preferred’s commitment to the success of Beyond Green as a way to demonstrate tourism as a force for good based upon action and impact.
What are the additional benefits for those rewards members who choose to stay at Beyond Green hotels? Explain how they can earn extra benefits.
As part of the Preferred Hotel Group family of brands, Beyond Green invites travelers to enroll in I Prefer to access significant rewards not only at Beyond Green member hotels, but also across other Preferred hotel brands representing more than 650 participating properties worldwide. In addition to receiving benefits such as priority early check-in and late check-out, complimentary room upgrades upon availability and more, I Prefer members who book stays at participating Beyond Green properties receive access to exclusive bonus points-earning opportunities that are tied to participation in on-property guest education and sustainable tourism enrichment activities. I Prefer members with Elite status also receive a welcome amenity or community giving opportunity, such as a hand painted Mongolian calligraphy scroll at Three Camel Lodge in Mongolia or a bottle of biodynamic wine, organic fruit and flowers at Borgo Pignano in Italy, in addition to earning 50 percent more bonus points during every eligible stay.
What is the process to become a Beyond Green hotel? What are the steps?
Beyond Green represents hotels, resorts and lodges that combine authentic and innovative design, unsurpassed guest service, and an array of experiences that inspire personal renewal, wellness, learning, and adventure in some of the most unique and fascinating urban, rural, and remote places on our planet, all wrapped together with a deep commitment to sustainability leadership in action. This also comes into play in selecting our members through a rigorous three stage vetting process, based upon global sustainable tourism standards and the United Nations Sustainable Development goals, under the overarching three key pillars of sustainable tourism including: Environmentally friendly practices that go beyond the basics; support for the protection of cultural and natural heritage; and direct and tangible social and economic benefits to local communities.
To become a member of Beyond Green, an initial property assessment takes place to determine if a hotel or lodge meets our baseline criteria. For example, Beyond Green members must have already eliminated single-use plastic water bottles on property to be eligible for Beyond Green Membership. This is followed by a detailed application based on how a hotel is engaged with sustainable tourism best practices and then the last stage is an onsite property inspection, which includes a review of what we have defined as the 54 most important global sustainable tourism criteria that a property must be actively engaged in implementing.
At Beyond Green, we recognize that the hospitality industry is on a sustainability journey, with some hotels at the start, some that are intermediate and others that are advanced. We champion and applaud every hotel making this essential journey. For Beyond Green, we decided that we wanted to represent sustainable tourism leadership in this spectrum to also showcase best practices based upon action and impact in terms of what is truly possible with sustainability innovation. For example, Beyond Green member, The Brando, helping to pioneer the world’s first air conditioning system powered by renewable energy without any harmful chemicals like hydrofluorocarbons that are major contributors to climate change, or Wilderness Safaris Bisate Lodge in Rwanda, which is regenerating mountain gorilla habitat through a local community reforestation partnership, or Ted Turner Reserves Vermejo in USA, that is protecting and rewilding more than half a million acres of natural habitat, home to some of the rarest and most endangered species in North America.
What are the additional benefits for those travel agents who book Beyond Green hotels?
Beyond Green recognizes the inherent value travel advisors bring to the brand and the critical role they play in helping clients travel sustainably. As part of this, the brand has prioritized support for this important community through ongoing educational sessions and other special benefits. To ensure that advisors feel appreciated and informed on every aspect of Beyond Green’s global portfolio, the brand’s sales team has been actively conducting webinars for travel agencies and travel agents around the world each month. These webinars have been hosted in seven different languages, informing advisors on the key aspects of sustainable tourism, how to discuss sustainable travel with their clients and how to sell Beyond Green’s unique properties. Currently, advisors can also earn and pass along extra advantages for them and their clients through the brand’s Journeyer’s Pick Package, featuring the best available rate plus a unique local experience or meaningful memento. The offer is valid for bookings made by September 30, 2021, for travel through December 31, 2021, and includes a 3 percent bonus on top of the standard 10 percent agency commission for all bookings made via the LE chain code in the GDS, Beyond Green website, or call center with a qualifying IATA/TIDS number.
Give me some examples of the sustainability indicators that each member property must have. Are those indicators categorized? For example: energy management, water conservation, waste management, etc.? (No single-use plastic bottles.)
Beyond Green’s sustainability indicators include the 17 United Nations Sustainability Goals (SDGs), along with more than 50 key globally recognized sustainable tourism standards and criteria. As mentioned, before being considered for Beyond Green membership a hotel must have already eliminated single use plastic water bottles on property. We categorize our indicators, for example, such as energy management, water conservation, waste management (among others) and require that each property must track, measure and monitor their impact while setting goals for further achievement. For those properties that are not already using a sustainability dashboard to accomplish this successfully, we recommend the Greenview Portal, an advanced online tool available for recording, measuring, and monitoring a hotel’s holistic sustainability footprint.
What has the response been so far to StayBeyondGreen.com?
We officially launched Beyond Green on April 14 with our consumer website. Not only are we excited to say that we have had a great response among travelers, but we are also just about to reach $1 million in paid bookings for our members in less than three months. While there are any number of different green or regenerative hotel collections out there, we want all of them to succeed, but I have yet to know of any others that are able to combine the success of marketing and sales with sustainable tourism leadership, that we are doing with Beyond Green. We are all about walking our talk and proving that when it comes to travel and hospitality, doing well by doing good is more than a slogan.
How many properties do you expect to have on board by the end of the year?
We have more than 100 hotels, resorts and lodges that have contacted us with interest to join Beyond Green and we are carefully reviewing all. We just signed our 30th new member and have six more properties already in the contract phase of joining Beyond Green. We are excited with the enthusiastic response we are getting from the hospitality community who want to align with Beyond Green’s holistic sustainability approach, embracing local community benefit, protecting nature, and celebrating cultural diversity and heritage protection.
You visit each property?
Either myself or a member of the Beyond Green Travel team, our sustainability consulting sister company, visits every Beyond Green member as part of our onsite inspection process and membership review described above. For those hotels, lodges and resorts that are eager to advance their sustainability practices to leadership level in the hospitality industry, Beyond Green Travel will also work with them to build their standards and best practices to become members of the Beyond Green portfolio of world class properties committed to great guest service and sustainability leadership.
How often does each property have to be “recertified”? Every two years?
Every Beyond Green member must undergo an onsite property reinspection every 24 months.
In what ways can travelers help to leave the Beyond Green places they visit better than they found them?
By booking a holiday with Beyond Green a traveler is supporting our global collective impact that is uplifting local community livelihoods around the world, restoring ecosystems on land and sea, saving endangered species, and protecting cultural heritage for future generations. For example, Beyond Green members are currently protecting and regenerating more than 5 million acres of formally degraded marine and terrestrial ecosystems that are not only home to rare and endangered species but are also of huge importance for sequestering carbon to mitigate climate change. In addition, our members are not only embracing and celebrating living cultural heritage through contemporary art, music, dance, theater, and more but also protecting important archeological sites including more than 100 ancient rock art paintings in Africa dating back 10,000 years, as well as sites of ancient Tahitian heritage in French Polynesia. At Beyond Green, local community empowerment is at the forefront of our efforts to not only employ community members but also provide support including funding for micro-enterprise development, particularly among women. We believe that lasting community economic benefit goes beyond employment to include local business development and ownership. In all these ways and more, when a traveler books a stay with Beyond Green, they are actively part of making travel a force for good in the world.
In your travels you must have had some “wow” moments when it comes to sustainability and hotels/resorts. Can you share one or two?
Three Camel Lodge in Mongolia, also a Beyond Green member, has taken local community empowerment to a truly inspiring and impactful level. One hundred percent of the staff are Mongolians. For example, Undraa Buyannemekh grew up in Mongolia in a family of nomadic herders. She started out in an entry level position with the company and became one of the first women in her family to go to university. Today, she is the President of Three Camel Lodge and its sister company, Nomadic Expeditions. Meeting her was a true inspiration for me and we have since become colleagues and friends. She sent me a video clip last week from Mongolia of her and her family collecting wild strawberries in remote Mongolia where they will make traditional jam as they have for generations.
Ashford Castle in Ireland, one of our Beyond Green founding members, is another inspiring story. The 13th century castle, founded in 1228, is among Ireland’s most cherished heritage sites. After falling into disrepair, the legendary castle was restored to its full glory by the Tollman family, owners of Red Carnation Hotels group. The castle has a centuries’ long relationship with the rural Irish village of Cong. When I met with the local community of Cong, members literally cried in joy that “Our castle is back!” Ashford Castle works closely with local community members and has created an “Experience Ambassador” who arranges unique experiences to learn about the local way of life, helping to revitalize local villages that were in economic decline. On top of that, 100 percent of all electricity at Ashford Castle is powered by renewable energy, among other sustainability accomplishments.
When it comes to the travel industry, the question is not whether sustainable tourism can leave places better than before, as that has been confirmed through many case studies of sustainable tourism impact. The real question is whether the travel industry is willing to fully embrace sustainable tourism best practices for a better and brighter future for people and the planet. At Beyond Green, all our efforts are focused on action and impact. We are proving every day that sustainability is not about giving something up, it is about gaining something more—travel that delivers a great guest experience and makes the world a better place.
