Hospitality and tourism businesses in the Caribbean are heavily dependent on their environments to attract guests to their properties, and being that the Caribbean is the most tourism dependent region in the world, running your business with a minimal carbon footprint not only benefits the environment but the economy of your region and your bottom line. Below you will find four tasks that all hotels (big and small) can carry out to save money and do their part to save the environment.
Task #1: Cut Your Food Waste
Food waste reduction programs are extremely effective in reducing waste while having a positive financial impact on a hotel’s profit margins. Research conducted by Champions 12.3 studied the costs and benefits of reducing food waste for 42 hotel sites across 15 countries. Over a three-year period, nearly every site realized a positive return on its investment; on average, hotels saved $7 in operating costs for every $1 they had spent on the programs. The report recommends hotel owners and managers take the following five action steps:
- Measure the amount of food being wasted to know where to prioritize efforts
- Engage staff
- Rethink the buffet
- Reduce overproduction
- Re-purpose excess food
Want to compare your efforts with the rest of the Caribbean? Click here to take the Hotel Waste Reduction Survey. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST), and the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST) have partnered to understand the landscape of food waste reduction in the tourism industry through an important survey, directed to any Caribbean hotel or resort with food service. The deadline to complete the survey is May 15th, 2018.
Task #2: Use Locally Sourced Products
Using locally sourced products has become wildly popular among hotels far and wide, and includes everything from locally sourced foods to locally sourced arts and furnishings made by local craftsmen. Starting a community garden or building a relationship with local farmers supports your local economy, your cost and supports the environment. Building similar relationships with local artists and designers will give your hotel a unique local feel and save you money.
Task #3: Repurpose
Much of the sustainability effort in the hospitality industry has focused on reducing the consumption of certain things. However, great strides can also be made by focusing on ways to repurpose things you already have. Below are a few more examples:
- Make cloth laundry bags from retired sheets
- Use coins or chips for car parking or luggage checking instead of paper tickets
- Implement grey-water recycling, which is the reuse of kitchen, bath and laundry water for garden and landscaping
- Click here to see how CHTA Member Oualie Beach Resort repurposed bottles from its restaurant.
Task #4: Wave Your Green Flag High
These days, most of the hotel flags have incorporated a certain level of sustainability into their standards. Sustainable business practices when added to your marketing and promotional efforts have proven to lead to an improved brand image in the eyes of your future, current and returning guests —which offers better profits for the long haul.