In today’s evolving business landscape, social sustainability has emerged as a crucial pillar of responsible governance, emphasizing the importance of creating supportive, inclusive environments that benefit individuals and communities. For the hospitality industry, social sustainability involves fostering an atmosphere where all guests feel valued and understood, including those with invisible disabilities like autism. This approach aligns with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles and opens new brand opportunities to serve a broader demographic. By making accommodations for autistic guests, hotels can enhance guest satisfaction, loyalty, and inclusivity—essential qualities for a socially sustainable business. Expanding Hospitality to Include Guests with Autism As mid-level...

Sustainability is no longer just a buzzword; it has become an integral selling point in the hospitality industry. Travelers are increasingly conscious of a hotel’s sustainability efforts and environmental impact. It’s finally become a proactive focus rather than a reactive afterthought. With this, it’s high-time that property managers and engineers recognize that successful, whole-property water management is more than just fixing leaks and implementing low-flow fixtures. By dedicating resources to automation, real-time monitoring, water recycling and predictive analytics, properties can optimize their water usage to be more eco-friendly. Tech is Evolving Technology is playing an enormous role in advancing comprehensive water management...

This year, the lodging industry will continue to face the growing demand of delivering exceptional guest experiences while embracing sustainable development. This will be compounded by the need to manage rising operational costs, competitive market pressures, and the increasing expectation to integrate innovative technologies that enhance both energy efficiency and guest satisfaction. Yet the industry is also experiencing a renewed sense of optimism, thanks to the continued post-pandemic rebound and a recovering demand for wider travel. This surge has encouraged developers and operators to invest in new projects and property upgrades, particularly those focusing on creating more sustainable, energy-efficient, and...

Regardless of sector, no company can afford to ignore sustainability today; the commercial, moral, and regulatory mandates are just too significant—and potentially costly. Despite this, many companies struggle to advance sustainability within their operations, resulting in tepid actions that amount to little more than greenwashing or worse, greenhushing. Why? In most cases, organizations have a data problem. Specifically, they lack reliable and trustworthy data about their environmental and social impacts and the tools to translate them into the meaningful insights required to convince decision-makers to pursue transformative projects. The adage, “You can’t manage and innovate what you can’t measure,” has...

Hotel sustainability certifications are no longer a specialized distinction but an essential means of meeting market demand. With 73 percent of global tourists preferring to stay in hotels that apply sustainable practices, green certificates increasingly play a key role in influencing consumer choices. Research shows that hotels with sustainability certifications typically receive higher guest satisfaction ratings, as these certifications enhance the perceived quality of the hotel. For this reason, the number of hotels earning certifications like Bioscore, Green Key, EarthCheck and LEED is rapidly expanding, with a 20 percent increase between 2022 and 2023 alone. In this context, hotel operators...

Hello, Green Lodging News readers! My name is Meredith Marin, and I’m thrilled to be writing to you from the crossroads of two things I’m deeply passionate about: hospitality and veganism. As the founder of Vegan Hospitality, I spend my days helping hotels and resorts navigate the ever-evolving needs of vegan guests—one plant-based menu and guest experience at a time. “I’m not interested in plant-based eating or veganism, and frankly vegan guests are difficult to deal with,” you may be thinking. This is where you might stop reading, wondering how this topic even applies to your life or your business....

The hospitality industry is a unique melting pot of cultural diversity, both in terms of the workforce and its customers, with people from all over the world coming together. But while diversity brings great opportunities and is something to celebrate, it also creates significant challenges. Hospitality staff must be intimately aware of cultural differences when dealing with customers and colleagues from different backgrounds. Likewise, while a more culturally diverse workforce can bring fresh perspectives and create unique customer experiences, hotel managers and HR teams must look after their staff carefully to ensure efficient collaboration. In this article, we’ll explore some of...

Looking at the hospitality industry across the U.S., properties are constantly working on ways to improve their water management processes. In many cases, an important part of this puzzle is optimizing water conservation efforts to save money and resources, make progress on sustainability goals and more. With this in mind, we saw properties make positive strides in 2024 towards embracing and implementing water-saving techniques—especially those that leverage technologies like predictive analytics, smart sensors and AI. Overall, this trend will certainly impact how industry players enter 2025. Let’s dive in. Common Challenges and Barriers There have been a few consistent challenges over the years...

The hospitality industry’s green trends are being reflected in an affiliated sector: That of travel sports, one of the fastest growing and prosperous industries. The numbers don’t lie. In 2023, Americans took a record 204.9 million trips related to sporting events, contributing $52.2 billion in direct spending, 757,600 jobs, and $20.1 billion in tax revenues. There are strong indicators that events displaying increased measures of eco-sensitivity are becoming more attractive to traveling families. For that reason, event owners and rights holders are seeking out hotels with eco-friendly practices that include the following: Partnerships with Clean the World, which collects partially used...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is penetrating every segment of the commercial property industry, and the hospitality sector is no exception. With hotels, resorts and businesses in the lodging industry implementing this technology to improve operations and solve persistent challenges, the benefits to owners, operators and staff are becoming evident. One way AI is making a difference for these properties is by improving water management practices. Many establishments in the lodging space now leverage AI to better detect leaks, mitigate water damage and conserve water, all with the goal of providing excellent—and uninterrupted—customer service to their guests. Considering that water damage from broken...