Hotels and Their Guests are Going Green - With Big Data
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer Curtis Fease
Science - along with most people on Earth - agrees that something must be done about climate change. In recent years, this has resulted in businesses striving for more eco-friendly practices. In the hospitality industry, hotels going green at an increasing rate was the outcome.
It's an unfortunate fact, however, that it's sometimes difficult to communicate the need for guest and stakeholder involvement in these initiatives. Luckily, a bit of knowledge can go a long way in this endeavor.
Trends Say Hotels - And All Businesses - Must Go Green
Trends in every industry are showcasing the fact that businesses need to go green. When looking at the tourism industry, for instance, you'll see that 87 percent of travelers want to travel sustainably. A full 60 percent of tourists have reported taking a "sustainable" trip over the last three years. More than 90 percent of travelers believe that it's a company's responsibility to protect the environment.
Similar trends have been seen in other areas of business. Changes in the food industry, for example, have driven McDonald's to switch to paper straws rather than plastic. Timberland has similarly led the fashion industry by creating clothes using recycled bottles. When it comes to the hospitality industry, two-thirds of those who need lodging prefer green hotels.
It's important to note that it's not only industry trends and corporate behavior that's showing the increased need for environmentalism. Just take a look at what governments are doing:
- Costa Rica: Federal initiatives were able to generate nearly a full year of renewable energy in the country.
- United States: The U.S. offers a variety of tax incentives for businesses that go green. This includes credits for electric vehicle use, reimbursement for bicycle commuting programs and the popular Business Energy Investment Tax Credit.
- Sweden: While many countries' carbon tax is under $50 USD per tonne, Sweden has instituted a tax rate of $131 USD per tonne.
- European Union: The European Commission encourages countries within the EU to promote eco-friendly practices in the business world.
- Singapore: In 2017, Singapore became the first Southeast Asian country to pass a carbon tax in its budget. The country also created the Green Mark Scheme to promote sustainability.
Consumers may have been quicker to come around to environmentalism, but companies and governments are catching up.
Business Benefits of Going Green
Tax incentives are a great benefit for going green, but that's not where the good news ends. There are countless other advantages to being environmentally friendly in the business world. Here are a few of the most important:
- Differentiates your brand from others in the industry.
- Facilitates reduction in water and energy bills.
- Attracts Millennials - who outnumber most age cohorts and will make up 50 percent of tourists by 2020.
- Improved sustainability due to less reliance on natural resources.
- Eco-friendly practices boost employee morale.
- Creates a unique marketing point.
Global trends explain why hotels are going green at a fast rate. Unfortunately, these trends sometimes aren't enough to get stakeholders and guests involved in sustainability efforts.
Challenges of Involving ALL Stakeholders
It's a sad fact that, while everyone recognizes the importance of environmentalism, not everyone responds in practice. Less than 10 percent of hotel guests, for instance, turn off the A/C when leaving their rooms. Oftentimes, they simply don't see how their seemingly small contribution can help.
It can also be difficult to convince hotel owners and stakeholders that economic benefits invariably come with going green. Even if they're eco-conscious, pushing environmental initiatives can be difficult if they think profits will suffer.
These problems all come down to one word: communication.
When it comes to stakeholders, showing financial savings can sometimes mean using an external Energy Service Company (ESCO) to perform an energy audit. They may also be hesitant due to initial implementation costs seeming expensive.
And while it would be easy to just say consumers "don't mean what they say" when it comes to going green, the truth is much more complex. They simply expect businesses to lead the way. There are five hurdles that get in the way of consumers evolving from "talking the talk" to "walking the walk."
- Lack of awareness.
- Negative perceptions.
- Distrust.
- Concerns on price.
- Low availability.
When it comes to hotels going green, one of the common themes seen between guests and stakeholders is a lack of reviewable data. They each need to see what their contributions are accomplishing. While overcoming this communication hurdle can be difficult, it's far from impossible.
Going Green with Big Data
Big data is changing how everything is done. For entrepreneurs in the hospitality industry hoping to go green at their hotels, this simple fact will put their efforts within reach. Overcoming the hurdles to stakeholder and guest involvement boils down to tracking and analyzing actionable data on real-time energy consumption.
Using big data in this form helps to concretely measure and communicate the positive impact of sustainable initiatives to both guests and stakeholders. On an even larger scale, aggregated data pulled from all eco-friendly hotels can provide new industry benchmarks for others to strive towards. As an example, one need only look at SensorFlow's A/C solution.
Imagine a 100-room hotel trying to convince its guests that allowing automation of their room comes with benefits. They could accomplish this by sharing the following verifiable information pulled from SensorFlow's real-time data collection:
- Save 8300 kWh/month or 99,600 kWh/year
- Save 31 trees/ month or 372 trees/year
- Offset their CO2 emissions by 2.4 tonnes/month; or 28.8 tonnes/year
Communicating that occupancy sensors and automation will help reach the new industry standard of reducing HVAC use shows guests what they're contributing to. Similarly, other stakeholders will be hard-pressed to deny the energy, environmental and cost savings that will come with these improvements.
Eco-Friendly Hotels are the Future
Environmentalism is quickly becoming a necessity rather than an option in the global community. Consumers are demanding eco-friendly practices from the companies they do business with - and governments are responding by encouraging the behavior. Luckily, hotels are going green and leading the charge in the hospitality industry.
With tools like SensorFlow and new technologies emerging daily, it's only a matter of time before hotels that go green encourage other businesses and consumers to do their part.
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