Hospitality Design - November 2012 - 70

perspectives

sustainable studio mindclick insights

do you think Anne will give the hotel at that moment? As it turns out, sustainable practices have been implemented at Anne’s company and she is encouraged to do her part in meeting corporate sustainability goals. Anne’s company also includes measures of sustainability performance in their corporate travel contract RFPs. The hotel where Anne is staying is being measured on its annual energy consumption, waste practices, and water use in response to that very RFP, as part of the brand company’s green hotels program. Knowing full well how reduced water consumption and lower energy use saves money, Anne’s conclusion is the hotel is looking out for its bo om line. Therein lies the challenge for the hospitality industry. How can hotels meet increased sustainability demands without hurting the guest experience? For help with this challenge, we conducted a study with 5,000 Expedia consumers in January 2012, and found some interesting answers. Three out of ve consumers believe indoor air quality and the room design/furnishings are among the most important factors in a hotel’s reputation. As we know, a er consideration of location, price, and availability, a property’s reputation is a key decision factor for consumers. We also discovered sustainability and room furnishings go hand in hand, with 90 percent identifying a direct link between products, room health, and operational impacts (energy use, water consumption, and waste). The answer to meeting demand for sustainability while still delivering a great

experience lies with hotel suppliers. Thinking about our pro led guest, Anne, we can see this at work in her daily life with reusable grocery bags. The grocery store saves the cost of the plastic bag, the cost of keeping plastic bags in inventory, the labor costs associated with keeping bags stocked at the checkout, and the cost of plastic bag disposal. In addition, the reusable bags provide a marketing and revenue stream for the grocery store. Anne likes the personal statement she makes carrying reusable grocery bags, the example she is se ing for her children, and her role in helping to keep plastic bags out of land lls. Let’s go back to the missing recycling bin in Anne’s room. Now, consider the volume of packaging moving through hotels from products used in construction, renovation, and operations. Through optimization e orts including minimization, recycled materials, and reusable packaging, suppliers can help hotels save money and meet the sustainability requirements set forth in the RFP from Anne’s company. For instance, the cost of placing that additional recycling bin in the guestroom o set by the savings gained by the supply chain’s sustainable endeavors would allow the hotel to promote its e orts and accomplishments along with providing Anne a recycling bin in her room. Now, Anne would feel good about continuing to practice the recycling which is part of her life, and also about a hotel which shares her values. What do you think her rating of the hotel will be now? This example only begins to scratch the surface of the opportunities for industry

suppliers to help hoteliers furnish and supply their hotels in ways which are ‘be er for the hotelier, the guest, and the planet.’ Just as service is a di erentiator for hotel guests, it is the same for hotel suppliers. By sharing the bene t of their own sustainability e orts, suppliers provide a value-added service, which may just make the di erence in winning that hotelier’s business. This is where the MindClick HSP Index comes in. By evaluating sustainability performance relative to leading global standards and hotel sustainability needs, the HSP Index serves two purposes. It serves as a directory of supplier e orts, providing be er for the guest, be er for the planet solutions in products and operations ranging from ge ing started to sustainability leader. Additionally, the HSP Index provides suppliers a roadmap to help improve performance and align e orts with the needs of their customers. To date, more than 25 global suppliers representing 17 product categories are in various stages of completing the rating and reporting process. More suppliers are signing up daily, and early release of the HSP Index for use by hoteliers, designers, and purchasing decision makers is scheduled by the end of the year. hd

JoAnna Abrams is CEO of MindClick SGM (www. hspiconsortium.com). This is the fourth article of a multi-part series featuring the results of the 2012 MindClick Expedia Consumer Sustainability Engagement study.

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