When entering a guest room, travelers often see a sign encouraging them to reuse their towels in an effort to conserve energy and water throughout the hotel. However, a small sign that begs guests to reuse towels might not be enough.
In an article on Hotel News Now, Alicia Hoisington reports on Daniel Levine’s five social trends that interest guests and that hotels can capitalize on: being mobile, transparent, simple, providing high levels of service and going green. Levine argues, “If you just build a hotel that’s LEED-certified, guests aren’t going to be banging on your doors. But if you do something cool with that trend, let them know that what you’re doing is green.”
Examples of creating a “cool” eco-friendly concept might be a guest directory mobile app, smoothie machine powered by a bicycle, a rooftop garden providing an urban hotel with fresh, local produce, gym equipment that helps to power the hotel when used, and a building that maximizes natural light to minimize electricity.
Becoming a more eco-friendly resort not only helps the environment, but also may allow you to raise prices. Millennials, a huge target market for hoteliers because they are a large group who enjoy traveling for both business and pleasure, also value sustainability. Nielsen reports that through a global online study, they determined that most millennials are willing to pay extra for sustainability when making purchases.
Additionally, because millennials value loyalty, an eco-friendly hotel with a good rewards program has the ability to create loyal guests at a higher price point than a hotel that doesn’t focus on sustainability. The same report by Nielsen claims that 51% of Baby Boomers are willing to pay extra for sustainability. Obviously hotels cannot ignore eco-friendly practices if their guests are looking to book sustainable hotel rooms.
Sustainable hotels that advertise their efforts to go green have the ability to attract both millennials and Baby Boomers, and can do so at a higher price per room.
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