Hospitality Design - September 2013 - 67

perspectives

sustainable studio

mindclick
By JoAnna Abrams, CEO, MindClick

SOURCING MADE EASY
Going green doesn’t have to be challenging

With the hospitality industry immersed in renovations and new
construction, sustainability has become a key pillar of design innovation.
In a July 2013 Hospitality Design magazine/MindClick study, 85 percent
of designers reported green initiatives in at least one of their projects in
the past year, highlighting the sheer volume and momentum behind this
paradigm shift. So why is sustainability important? Three primary factors
are driving demand:

Owners and operators are seeing the ﬁnancial beneﬁts of
sustainability.

Purchasing materials and supplies to reduce energy use, minimize waste,
and conserve water benefits the hotel financially, and demonstrates the
level of commitment to sustainability.

footprint. As a result, the large design firms expect 50 percent of their
projects to involve sustainability initiatives in 2014. With the essence of
sustainability being to operate in ways that are more efficient, it’s ironic
to see the opposite occurring with supplier sustainability information. A
typical design project involving sustainability incurs an additional 30 hours
of research time. Even more frustrating for designers are the inconsistency

Demand for hotel sustainability reporting.

To spotlight one initiative, TripAdvisor recently launched its GreenLeaders
program, making it easy for travelers to find greener properties.
A survey of 1,300 U.S. travelers by tripadvisor.com determined that 62
percent often or always consider the environment when choosing hotels,
transportation, and meals, and 69 percent planned to make even more
eco-friendly choices in the next 12 months. The TripAdvisor GreenLeaders
Program identifies hotels with green practices, including a towel and
linen re-use program, installing energy-efficient light bulbs, tracking
energy usage, recycling, and educating staff and guests on green practices.
Hotels with the most impactful sustainability practices are designated as
GreenLeaders.

and lack of comparability in the information available. More than 130
designers surveyed in the July 2013 HD/MindClick study were asked their
interest in the MindClick Sustainability Index—an online marketplace
to source sustainable materials or products that rates suppliers based on
a comprehensive audit if its products, and its social and environmental
practices. The result? Over 90 percent interest and intention to use the
MindClick Index at least once a month.
The HD MindClick research study also found that 80 percent of
designers plan to find new suppliers through the MindClick Index.
Further proof of the index’s need: a recent Marriott International press

Sustainability is a priority for the Millennial generation, the new
core consumer today and for the next 20 years.

This tech-savvy generation expects complete transparency and openness
in all communications, and is just as concerned with sustainability as
with safety and cleanliness—maybe even more so. For Millennials, a
certification isn’t enough. They want to know what kind of green initiatives
a hotel is undertaking, and how it benefits them during their stay. This
ranges from the conditions used to produce their food, furnishings, and
more, to the ways in which the hotel’s purchasing and operational choices
impact guest health, to efforts made to reduce a hotel’s environmental

release featured Marriott’s intention to identify sustainable product
solutions through the MindClick Index. “As we look to meet the Millennial
traveler’s focus on meaningful sustainability efforts, having a resource for
sustainable FF&E sourcing will help us with our future design needs,” says
Deborah Huguely, vice president, global product development, Marriott
International. hd

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