The impact of the energy crisis on the Hospitality sector is no longer the elephant in the room. The topic has finally become a focus, evident with the conference sessions centred around addressing the issue and annual consumer reporting that reveals how consumers are already taking action to seek out more sustainable options as the collective consciousness grows towards understanding the impact of travel on the climate.

Now that we’re all talking about it, we believe that, as an industry, we can act together. Here’s our take on how we implement changes, the unexpected positives this brings, and the numbers proving that plenty of good can come from facing the energy crisis head-on.

You might consider the news that rising energy costs have become a priority topic in recent sector conference forecasts, yet more doom and gloom to an already beleaguered post-pandemic hospitality sector. A report by Phocuswright presented to the audience at the 2023 International Hospitality Forum fore fronted the energy crisis as the industry’s most pressing challenge. Prominent industry figures have shared their less-than-optimistic projections. Sébastien Bazin, CEO of Accor, speaking at the Italian Hospitality Investment Conference, predicted that the impact of energy on typical running costs could increase from 8% to 25%.

Before we all collapse in despair, it is worth being reminded that there is power in sharing this knowledge. Now that the energy crisis’s impact on the sector’s future sustainability is clear, the conversation has shifted with increasing urgency towards finding solutions for reducing the impact of rising costs. Facing the beast, so to speak, are business owners. Over 80% of hoteliers listed on Booking.com cite that the increasing cost of energy prices is their priority concern in 2023. There is some good news to share, with increasing awareness bringing promising new trends. Businesses that actively shift towards providing more efficient stays are becoming attractive to consumers, with 41% of visitors to booking.com actively seeking sustainable hotels and 90% of consumers looking for sustainable options when they do their holiday research (Expedia, 2022). 70% of consumers are willing to choose sustainability over comfort, and on average, are prepared to pay more for services that have a positive impact on the planet and local economies of their holiday destinations (Expedia, 2022) 

Whilst it is promising that the conversation has shifted to face the problem head-on, and articles detailing measures hoteliers can take to mitigate the energy crisis are a positive step change, we must look beyond sharing general information such as switching lamp types, and zoning and look to utilizing thorough research, and harnessing the technologies that will make a lasting impact. 

As a female-led business, we have always worked to navigate change proactively and find the positive it often brings. Considerate has been working on this once-unspoken problem and helping businesses for over 11 years by building tools and implementing practices that have a meaningful impact on running costs. We have worked hard to be at the forefront of sustainable advisory through behavioural changes and developing industry standards for CO2 reporting, CSR frameworks and resource monitoring. We actively promote sustainable, ethical practices and counteracting greenwashing by providing data for our customers that demonstrate what costs actively impact their bottom line. 

We are a proud B-Corp and have taken the 2023 pledge to demonstrate how #WeGoBeyond. Here’s how we see the hospitality industry finding its way to reducing running costs, mitigating the energy crisis and securing new, more profitable businesses that are future proofed towards the lasting changes we will face with the climate crisis. We typically work onsite to create bespoke solutions that fit each business uniquely. Here are the essential steps for making change possible in any business: 

• Sit in your plant room! Capture as much data as possible, and learn how your business spends energy on electricity, gas and water consumption. 
• Better still, implement quality energy monitoring systems that monitor your services on a micro (hourly) basis.
• Find ways to use this data wisely. Investing in reporting and analysis to make a bespoke plan tailored to your business’s needs will reveal where your inefficiencies lie.
• Educate staff on energy and water usage.
• Share your findings across your business in a translatable format. Give staff the agency to input, give feedback and make changes. 
• Forecast the financial set-up costs vs future savings to ensure you’re not missing a beat by implementing more impactful changes such as large-scale detection systems or better insulation services (or overspending unnecessarily).
• Set goals and attainable targets for improving efficiency.
• Rinse, repeat, test, learn and improve. Make savings and mitigate your business’s impact on the climate crisis. 

Of course, if you are reading this, you may already know that at Considerate, we provide all of the above as a service and have engineered our tools and platforms to help hospitality businesses of all shapes and sizes reduce costs and their impact on the environment.

Our bespoke services can be tailored to serve every size and shape of business. The figures demonstrate how reducing consumption directly reduces the bottom line. In just one year, a leading UK hotel group we worked with lowered their energy costs by £150k, with per room night energy costs falling by 16.2% and working with Hoxton House hotels, where the base consumption level was reduced by 91%. The brand saved over three times the cost of our Con-Serve monitoring platform in one year. The efficiencies we implemented significantly impacted the hotel’s (reportable) output, making 66 tons of CO2e savings, equivalent to 26 flights between London and New York.

Now it is clear why we need to act, and businesses can no longer absorb the cost of the energy crisis. There are positive and practical solutions that will reduce the need to increase the cost to the consumer or force businesses to remove services. Find out how in 2023 at Considerate #WeGoBeyond for your business and make significant savings to improve efficiency. 

Data suggests that 75% of the planet’s surface has been significantly altered by humans, resulting in a decline in biodiversity that is steering towards an ecological crisis. The hospitality industry has some responsibility for a significant portion of this damage, as 80% of all goods and services in the travel and tourism sector depend on nature (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2022). However, being accountable could also present an opportunity for the industry to innovate, revolutionize, and achieve longer-term fiscal security.

The solution may lie within your own ecosystem. Ensuring that your business positively impacts biodiversity could reap the rewards for customer experience, engage with a fresh consumer base, or create a global impact story. For example, the Four Seasons in Atlanta has created a welcoming space for a rare peregrine falcon, while the Radisson Blu Paris Boulogne has developed a private vineyard and houses four beehives in its urban centre, transforming the hotel’s visual appeal and harvesting sustainable produce for consumption and gifting. The Mustique Company in the Caribbean, has supported a coral restoration project since 2015, for which they have already successfully out planted over 11.000 corals, improving the habitat for a variety of fish, enhancing the diversity in wildlife and therefore guaranteeing a future for the coral reef that also enhances guest experiences when diving or snorkelling.

Biodiversity is the measure given to the diversity within any ecosystem. It fuels the food systems we rely on, the air we breathe, and the materials we utilize to create civilization. In the hospitality industry, it is often the catalyst for driving business. Our guests marvel at the natural wonders that invite curiosity to explore and travel. The hospitality sector is uniquely placed to be directly affected by the impact of biodiversity on business factors and, conversely, has the opportunity to make changes and become benefactors in bringing about increased biodiversity.

Choosing to take an interest in biodiversity may no longer be an option as two hard realities become factors. Firstly, the travel industry relies on nature for goods and services and the curb appeal of travel consumers looking to immerse themselves in natural environments or enjoy a beach holiday. Secondly, the hospitality industry faces restrictions and must fulfil specific biodiversity-related requirements. Businesses worldwide will soon be obliged to demonstrate compliance with the national biodiversity impact regulations following a global framework set by the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15).

Regulations are already showing early signs of impacting investment as future investors increasingly consider business reliance on nature, sustainable operations, and supply chains. United Nations-backed biodiversity credits could lead to financial decision-making, with the more bio-diverse your business, the stronger your supply chain and the more attractive your investment prospects.

Consumers are increasingly making informed choices about sustainability, with 41% of visitors to booking.com actively seeking out sustainable hotels. Concerns about the welfare of plants and animals are not just a trend; it’s a global concern shared by 90% of the world’s population (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2022).

So, what’s the next best step for the hospitality industry to increase biodiversity? Whether you’re an urban hotel or a resort chain with more apparent reasons to factor in biodiversity, there are incredible opportunities to engage with your environment and create change within the individual ecosystems your business populates.

At Considerate Group, we offer bespoke toolkits to improve outcomes in sustainable practices. We’ve helped enhanced green spaces in unique and creative ways that improve environmental factors and become uniquely engaging for clientele from green walls and urban vineyards to falconry, mangrove and coral restoration. Our toolkits engage and educate staff, enable the co-creation of KPIs with stakeholders, and develop relationships with local vendors, charities, and specialists uniquely placed in your area. We offer training to staff and teams that might benefit from learning ways to increase biodiversity, making them experts in engaging with guests and creating conversation and collaboration with local communities. Our research will enable you to identify the most pressing and beneficial ways your business can reduce its impact on the local ecosystem and analyse the feasibility of each project.

The hospitality industry has a unique opportunity to revolutionize its operations and help build a more sustainable and equitable future. Integrating biodiversity into business operations is necessary for the planet and the key to building customer trust and engagement by creating compelling change that has a real-world impact.

In November 2021 Considerate Group signed the Glasgow Declaration: a Commitment to a Decade of Climate Action in Tourism. The declaration was launched at COP26 with the aim of accelerating climate action in tourism and enabling the implementation of strong actions to support the global commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero before 2050.

As launch partner and certified B Corp, Considerate Group places the highest value on playing our part in making the hospitality sector measurably and inspiringly more sustainable.  And as signatory we are committed to reporting annually on the progress towards our targets and the actions we have taken.

Our team has been working hard the last year to help us progress to our goals and we are delighted to present our Climate Action Plan for 2023.

To learn more about Considerate Group and the Glasgow declaration, read our blog on the topic.