Hotel operators around the world are discovering that it’s not only growing numbers of guests have an appetite for five-star sustainable experiences. As CEO of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, Randy Durband, said in our recent international webinar event, a growing number of governments are putting regulations in place to curb the hospitality sector’s environmental impact.

The Navigating Hospitality’s Journey to Net Zero event brought together speakers from Australia, Asia and the Middle East including ESG Manager for Pro-invest Group (Australia), Cindy Van Der Wal; Durband, who is based in Korea; Jamey Ford, Global Head of Engineering for Kerzner International, based in Dubai; Mario Saab, Head of Sustainability – MENA at Cundall; and Matt Carlisle, Sustainability Associate Director, Cundall Singapore.

More than 60 attendees from around the world dialled into the event to hear the panel discuss the current drivers for sustainability. These include a growing number of travellers, including the lucrative corporate travel sector, who are basing their booking decisions on the sustainability aspects of a destination, not just the décor, dining menu and guest experiences.

Several of the panel noted that self-regulation by operators in response to this clear customer trend has not achieved the sector-wide shift required to ensure hospitality aligns with the wider global transition towards a sustainable society.

Governments are now filling the void. Durband cited Türkiye as a leading example, with the government mandating all operators in the country must be certified through a GSTC-Accredited Certification Body by 2030, and as part of their progress towards this undertake comprehensive environmental auditing and performance improvements – or they lose their license to operate.

Mario Saab noted that adopting sustainable practices has benefits for visibility in booking platforms where potential customers can use sustainability as a criteria, and more broadly for the reputation and branding of an operator.

For Van Der Wal, another aspect of the push for effective and practical steps to best practice sustainability and net zero operations is investor expectations. The fund has utilised benchmarking via NABERS as part of its strategy to decarbonise key assets, a move that gained investment support from Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Taking it a step further, GRESB reporting was implemented, and then for another fund, aligning all real assets in the hospitality sector investment fund to Science-Based Targets Initiative pathways to net zero.

Van Der Wal said Pro-invest is seeing benefits with this approach in terms of access to green loans and institutional investor appetite “right across the globe”.

Matt Carlisle observed that regulation can also equalise the playing field.

“If everyone has to move (on sustainability), then no-one is disadvantaged,” Carlisle said.

Kerzner International is working to align its operations with the United Arab Emirates’ ambition to be a global green centre for low carbon energy by 2050, Jamey Ford explained. He showcased the group’s holistic approach to mapping and acting on sustainability with a case study of the spectacular Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai, where a 2022 project to install a filtered water bottling plant to supply 1544 guest rooms has to date removed over eight million 330ml one use plastic bottles from the hotel supply chain – and from landfill.

Other case studies shared by speakers including Pro-invest Group’s Hotel Indigo Flinders in Melbourne; Cundall’s sustainability services developing a net zero pathway for all of Msheireb Properties’ assets including hotels, apartments and commercial offices in downtown Doha; and the Singapore Tourism Board’s Hotel Sustainability Roadmap.

Key takeaways from the discussion included:

• The franchise model can be a barrier for sustainability where there is a mismatch between owner ESG goals and operator practices.
• Hotel Management Agreements should align with what the market research is showing – sustainability matters to guests, which means it matters for attracting and retaining repeat business.
• The pathway to decarbonisation is practical and feasible – and educating management, staff and guests is key to success.