Sustainability, a trending term in all the sectors of the economy, is having a huge impact on every single sector. Over the past few years, hoteliers have shifted their focus on the importance of sustainability in the hospitality sector as sustainability relates to the hotel operations and its development including the economic, environmental and social impact. This picture shows that in between somewhere in the economy, society and environment sustainability always exists!

 The hospitality industry does impact the environment owing to the usage of energy, water, solid and hazardous waste creation, and the consumable and durable goods. But, on the other hand, innovative technologies are also helping hotels and restaurants to become more Eco-friendly.

Even, customers, these days are more vigilant that how much they contribute to the environment. Having sustainability in daily operations is not just a strategy to retain the customers but a healthy practice that everybody should perform. Now hoteliers have started realizing that better guest services can be provided if they gave a green signal to sustainable operations.

But the question arises that what are the things that make sustainability a boon for the hospitality sector. What are some of the factors that dictate why sustainability is required in the hospitality sector for environmental and economic reasons? The reasons behind this are-

Environment and Waste Management are the biggest factors that even the hospitality industry is also taken care of that. Climate change is the reason that everyone is taking initiatives to maintain it. Reduction in the usage of plastics, unnecessary packaging, and waste utilization are the major components of it. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle are the top priorities of the society nowadays. Labeling the trash to dump it properly is an important thing so that it won't harm the environment. Nespresso is the biggest example of that.

Reduction in Energy Consumption is necessary to decrease the usage of natural resources. The following chart shows where most of the energy is used. Guests often forget to turn off the lights. So, the advancement of technology plays a greater role here by developing Key card activated electric keys and light saving motion-activated lights. Starbucks is a great example of this. Even, the use of them can be decreased by using renewable energy resources.

Water Management is also the need of the hour for hotels and restaurants because guests used water very much for bathing and washing. The image shows that in a typical hotel how much energy and water are used.

Cost Savings and Economic Incentives are all the reasons that say that the hospitality sector also needs sustainable practices to be practiced in their routine operations. The government provides subsidies and tax exemptions to some hotels and restaurants who fulfilled the conditions.

Sustainable Tourism is a goal of the hospitality industry as well. Diminishing the usage of natural gas and carbon emissions can help to go green.

Guest Experiences also becomes better by performing sustainable practices. Digitalized guest experiences are also in trend now So that they can review the services for others. Sustainability also develops a brand image for the hotels and tourism sector as well.

The economy is growing day by day with a sustainable increase in the hospitality sector. The hospitality sector overall contributes around 10.4% in the GDP.

The following diagram shows the rate of continuous growth in hospitality and tourism in terms of US Dollars. The graph describes the total and direct contribution of the hotel industry in the economy.

 The hospitality sector is the trend of now and this is the future of the world as well. As per the increased competition, sustainability is the way to make hotels and restaurants stable. To have a wonderful future ahead, Sustainability is a must thing.

References

Baynova, Y. (2019, April 22). The Importance of Environmental Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry. Retrieved from www.clock-software.com: https://www.clock-software.com/blog/hotel-sustainability.html

Kirkland, G. (2019, September 20). Innovative Technologies helping hotels get more eco-friendly. Retrieved from blog.manetmobile.com: https://blog.manetmobile.com/category/sustainability-in-hospitality/

Stottler, T. (2018, June 11). The importance of sustainability in the hospitality industry. Retrieved from https://www.danacommunications.com/importance-of-sustainability-in-the-hospitality-industry/: https://www.danacommunications.com/importance-of-sustainability-in-the-hospitality-industry/

Traveldailynews. (2018, March 22). Travel & Tourism’s contribution to the world's economy. Retrieved from www.traveldailynews.com: https://www.traveldailynews.com/post/travel-tourisms-contribution-to-thw-worlds-economy

Lock, S. (2019, September 10). Direct and total contribution of travel and tourism to the global economy from 2006 to 2017 (in trillion U.S. dollars). Retrieved from www.statista.com: https://www.statista.com/statistics/233223/travel-and-tourism--total-economic-contribution-worldwide/

Elephant, E. (2019). Do You Know How To Save On Energy In Your Hotel? Retrieved from www.energyelephant.com: https://energyelephant.com/hotels