Hosp 355 - Sustainability in Hospitality

Hosp 355- Organizational Issues in Hospitality

Sustainability in Hospitality

This week we're going to talk about sustainability as an organizational issue in Hospitality industry. So what is sustainable hospitality? We can define it as "hospitality industry development and management that meets the needs of today's guests, hoteliers and stakeholders without compromising the ability of future guests, hoteliers and stakeholders to enjoy the benefit from the same services, products and experiences." (Legrand, & Sloan, 2010) In the other words, it is the effort of the businesses in hospitality industry to maintain the level of the services for todays and future guests, while reducing the carbon footprint left on the earth.

This issue of sustainability is affecting each and every one of us. Same works for all the businesses, including businesses in hospitality industry. Up until couple years ago, nobody paid attention to the fact that Earth's resources are slowly depleting. Nowadays, managers are realizing the importance of this issue and they are trying to implement new strategies to help conserve the resources. In hospitality industry, if they didn't pay attention to these trends, it would cost owners/management much more money on energy and water, just to run the hotel the way it was used to be run 10 years ago. There is also risk of losing customers, as more and more of them are pro "being green" and they plan their stay in hotels that are going green, and frown upon hotels that are behind in this trend.

To decrease the impact we leave on this world, many hotels are undergoing changes that ensure the lowering of energy and other costs. For example, "The Wynn [hotel in] Las Vegas is committed to reducing its environmental footprint while enhancing the health and well‐being of its guests, employees, and the surrounding community. The Wynn's sustainability program evaluates opportunities for on‐going improvements…" They have reduced their waste by 1595 tons annually by implementing recycling programs, and 1300 lbs of paper is saved by using paperless checkout. Their electronic equipment is recycled by certified electronics waste recyclers, and Wynn gives preference to green suppliers and vendors promoting sustainability beyond their own footprint. Wynn saves approximately 15 million gallons of water, by installing the turf grass and using electronic sensors in landscaping. It is estimated that 80% of their customers participate in linen reuse programs and filtered water stations are located through the complex, so people can refill their bottles instead of throwing them out. Hotel rooms are also equipped with high efficiency toilets and faucets to further conserve water. While using energy consumption control system, they were able to reduce the energy use by 30-50%