Environmental Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry: Best Practices, Guest Partici... - 0 views
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sustainability hospitality industry guest participation satisfaction customer best practices
shared by damanigoode on 25 May 20
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To learn about guest participation and satisfaction in sustainability programs for over 89 hotel brands, we draw from a broad survey of 120,000 customers in the J.D.Power database over a period of five years, 2006 through 2010.
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Hotel operators are well aware of the potential ben-efits of sustainability, and many of them publicly promote resource conservation.
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Based on these surveys, the most effective and widely used environmentally sustainable best practice among resorts is towel and linen reuse programs.
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Offering sustainable programs does increase guest satisfac-tion, but the effects are modest, as shown in Exhibit 7, which shows the statistical effects by segment and overall.
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Although studies from the general sustainability and marketing literature suggest that consumers do value envi-ronmentally sustainable products (although with limits), we believe that the relationship between hotel’s environmental sustainability-related initiatives and customer satisfac-tion measures reported by hotel guests remains uncertain.
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Although hotels’ sustainability efforts are essential for saving energy and resources, a key element of any green program is guests’ reaction and participation.
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The traditional drivers of satisfaction (room, facilities, and food and beverage quality) still overwhelm the effects of green operations. That said, green programs do not diminish guest satisfaction, so hotels may consider their cost-benefit analysis, potential for improved employee relations, and reduced risk in addition to “green” satisfaction to determine whether these investments are beneficial.
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The LEED certification system’s new v4 scorecard is specifically designed for the hospitality industry and is intended to create incentives for new lodging construc-tion that meets sustainability criteria.
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It has also been found that water-saving notices in bathrooms that encourage custom-ers to regulate their water use are effective.
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This article shares results from an environmental sustainability study of 100 US resorts and a separate survey of 120,000 hotel guests. It discusses a variety of sustainability initiatives such as water and energy conservation, recycling and waste reduction, LEED construction, and guest engagement. While guest engagement was significant, indicating 75% of guests surveyed actually participated in sustainability initiatives during their stay, the effect on guest satisfaction is modest at best. At best, only 0.6% of guests selected specific properties based on environmental sustainability. Guest participation in sustainability efforts were highest at extended stay locations, followed by luxury and upscale properties, with economy properties placing last. The most effective and commonly used aspect of sustainability efforts was towel and linen reuse, showing up in 91% of the survey responses. Overall, while the traditional drivers of guest satisfaction remain consistent across brands and property types (room, facilities, food and beverage quality), sustainability programs do not lower guest satisfaction, but are increasingly becoming a standard expectation of both guests and employees, and have significant cost-savings potential when implemented and managed effectively.