The Hotel Industry’s Biggest Sustainability Failure

Consumer demand for #susty travel and tourism is clear: it’s growing and it’s global.

The hotel sector is especially critical. 95% of business travelers surveyed by Deloitte believe the hotel industry should be undertaking green initiatives. More than two-thirds of tourists prefer eco-friendly accommodations. ‘Going green’ also drives more revenue, with studies showing that hotels gain a revenue benefit when LEED-certified.

Sustainability trends among hotels include urban beekeeping (check out the Taj in Boston), rooftop gardening, using reclaimed materials (1 Hotels is a market leader), and last but not least, encouraging eco-friendly behavior from guests. The latter involves kind reminders to reuse towels, wash with bulk soap products to avoid plastic packaging from small toiletries, and eat ‘ugly’ but perfectly good fruits to avoid food waste.

But there is one area where many hotels are simply failing: plant-based meals.

For the hotel industry to align with the Paris Climate Agreement, it will need to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions per room per year by 90% by 2050 (compared to 2010). Plant-rich meals are one of the best ways to solve climate change. Project Drawdown, a renowned research organization that reviews, analyses, and identifies the most viable global climate solutions, ranked plant-rich diets #4 out of 80 solutions to solve global warming.

Offering vegetarian and vegan meals is one of the most inclusive practices that a hotel restaurant can take, as meat-eaters can (usually) eat veggies but vegetarians cannot eat meat.

Here are four things you can do as a hospitality manager, to delight the ever-increasing climate-conscious customer, protect the planet, and improve your bottom line:

1. Make plant-based meals the default option on menus and for catered meetings. List meats as an optional, add-on. In a buffet, put the meat on the side of a salad (not automatically in it!).
2. Invite plant-based chefs for demos and tastings.
3. Include a description of the importance of reducing both meat consumption and food waste in written menus and eco-advice handouts. Not everyone has to become vegan, but society-at-large must reduce meat consumption for planetary health.
4. Never offer a menu where there are no plant-based options for each type of food category (starter, main dish, dessert).

Do you know of a hotel getting it right on sustainability, including food? Send us the suggestion at info@sustytrip.com.