A new set of skills and knowledge for lodging managers has arrived that may take some catching up to. Take a look at the corporate responsibility pages of major lodging brands to view the latest addition to a manager’s need-to-know portfolio. The triple bottom line business model—consisting of people, planet, and profit—has become standard across the industry, driven by demands from customers, shareholders, local and national governments, and global organizations.
Sustainably managed hotels have long been reducing a lodging property’s use of water, energy, and waste impact on a local community. TripAdvisor, which offers hotels green certification through its GreenLeaders program, claims that hotels sites identifying certification have a minimum 20 percent higher conversion to a confirmed reservation than hotels without. Customers recognize the value of sustainability efforts as a reflection of a company’s commitment to protect both the present and future of their natural resources and communities.
The new set of skills requires knowledge of how to put sustainable operating practices into place, to manage a green team and both measure and report carbon emissions. Terms such as zero waste, water reclamation, GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), and carbon emissions have become part of the required language of lodging management.
The ability to financially value sustainability efforts is a key factor in successfully reporting these impacts to owners and investors, requiring an understanding of the combined impacts of conservation efforts such as linen-towel reuse programs, water reclamation, and zero-waste efforts.
And that is just the tip of the sinking iceberg. Up and down the eastern coastline of the United States, billions of dollars in lodging assets are at risk from sea level rise and water encroachment. Management teams that understand how to mitigate a property’s risk by pro-actively putting in place operational plans and design features will save millions of dollars in damage costs and lost revenue.
If we listen to the weather experts, severe weather activities such as Super Storm Sandy will become more numerous. 100-year floods and snowstorms will arrive much more frequently and record heat waves will drive up energy costs and impact recreation activities and facilities. Successfully weathering all of these changing conditions requires a management team whose skill set understands both how to prepare and to recover “people, planet, and profits.”
About the Author
Nancy Loman Scanlon, Ph.D., CHE, is vice chair of the AH&LA Sustainability Committee and associate professor at the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, Florida International University.
Photo credit: Green Business via Bigstock
