Cornell Study: Sustainability Certification Boosts Hotel Performance - Business Travel News - 0 views
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Prior to certification, the LEED-certified hotels had an average daily rate that was $10 higher than the noncertified hotels. In the two years following the certification, that average premium jumped to $20, according to the study.
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"The LEED hotels quickly made up the occupancy deficit recorded in the year prior to certification, and they outperformed competitors for two years following certification."
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A recent study by the top-ranked School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University has found that certification by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, also known as LEED certification, actually provides a boost in revenue for hotels. The Council takes various factors into account prior to certifying a hotel, including "water efficiency, energy use, and indoor environmental quality. When compared to 514 non-certified hotels, the 93 hotels afforded LEED certification excelled in their gross income based on the average daily rate (ADR) standard. Over a time of two years, the LEED-certified hotels outperformed their non-certified competitors. In fact, LEED-certified hotels were able to match the levels of occupancy of non-certified hotels in a single year. Since LEED certification in the hospitality industry is fairly new, there is little empirical evidence to further back the conclusions of this particular study. Though LEED certification of hotels has actually declined since 2010, I believe that the more hotel controllers start to understand its benefits, the quicker we will see it adopted as an industry standard. It is worth noting that this study specifically focused on 93 upscale and luxury properties, but compared them to nearly five times as many hotels without certification. I think a more accurate study will divide up hotels based on their pricing category (budget, midscale, upscale, luxury, extended stay, etc.) and compare the benefits of LEED certification with that in mind. Lastly, it is unclear if the study found any higher level of consumer preference for LEED certified hotels. Instead, the benefits seem to come with the standards that LEED certified hotels must meet, in turn resulting in lower expenditures. Perhaps more sophisticated customers at luxury properties are more keen to environmental protection and stewardship, and thus take LEED certification into account. However, I believe that most of