Sustainable communication is how you communicate: specific, respectful, and mindful of impact. Sustainability communication is what you communicate: your goals, actions, and progress. Hotels need both. This guide explains the difference, the core principles, and the wording that helps you avoid greenwashing.

Greenwashing continues to stain the hospitality industry, with hotels making claims that are bigger than reality, and consumers are understandably distrusting as a result. Let’s look at these findings by The Sustainable Agency (2023) that show the perils of greenwashing and the risks of getting your sustainability communication wrong:

• 42% of online sustainability claims were found to be “exaggerated, false or deceptive” in a high-profile study by the European Union.
• 88% of consumers don’t immediately trust a brand that claims to be sustainable, showing the importance of walking and talking sustainability.
• 30% of millennials will unfollow accounts that believe to be posting inauthentic content.
• 90% of millennials – one of the demographics most invested in sustainable living – say authenticity is a top influence when deciding to buy.
• 40% of people wouldn’t recommend a product to their friends and family if they felt a brand was falling short on its environmental claims.
• 17% of people would actively discourage their friends and family from buying a product if they felt environmental claims were overstated.
• 55% of people are looking for companies to explain the sustainability credentials of their product compared to alternatives – simply labelling your product ‘sustainable’ is no longer enough.
• Companies who mislead online (including greenwashing) could face a fine equal to 10% of annual turnover under proposed legislation in the UK. More laws are likely to follow on questionable environmental claims made online.

To practice Sustainable Communication, it’s important to ensure your communication reflect the following:

1. TRANSPARENCY:
Promoting honesty, openness, and trust in your sustainability initiatives.

2. INCLUSIVENESS:
Promoting equality by supporting People of all backgrounds and avoiding discriminatory practices.

3. CULTURAL SENSITIVITY:
Prioritising understanding and respect of local cultures and traditions.

4. CLARITY:
Fostering engagement and building understanding among audience members.

5. RESPONSIBILITY:
Taking responsibility for your actions and avoiding harmful communication practices.

6. AUTHENTICITY:
Making your sustainability journey heartfelt and personal.

7. PROGRESS:
Continually improving your communication practices.

8. RELEVANCE:
Explaining how new sustainable products and services impact your stakeholders.

9. INSPIRATIONAL:
Keeping communications positive and inspiring.

10. ETHICAL:
Ensuring that you never Profit from difficult situations People might be in.

For the hospitality industry, there’s only one way #onwards into the future – and that’s with sustainability! Sustainable hospitality is about those hotels (and other hospitality businesses) that strive to create a positive impact in this world by promoting sustainable hotel practices.

While many refer to themselves incorrectly as “green hotels,” sustainable hotels take on a more holistic approach to sustainability. For us at MAp, a truly sustainable hotel is guided by a clear Purpose and addresses the three core pillars of sustainability: social (People), environmental (Planet) and economic (Profit). These four pillars come together to form our sustainability framework, titled MAp’s 4Ps of Sustainability.

What we’ve learned throughout the years working with independent and boutique hoteliers: the more practical the guidance on how to become a sustainable hotel, the better. Therefore, in this Insights and in the related FREE resources – our webinar on Sustainable Hotel Management 2023 and the Sustainability RoadMAp - we support you #stepbystep to successfully manage sustainability in 2023 and beyond.

Let us present you with some interesting facts about why you should holistically implement sustainability into your independent or boutique hotel, along MAp’s 4Ps of Sustainability:

Purpose: Did you know that recent studies have found that 8 in 10 (82%) consumers say they’ve taken action to support a company when they believed in its Purpose (Zeno Group, 2020)? Studies have also shown that brands recognised for high-commitment to Purpose have grown at more than twice the rate of others (Kantar Consulting, 2020).

People: Did you know that the benefits of diversity in the workplace are significant? According to a recent study (McKinsey & Company, 2020), companies with ethnoracial diversity practices were 36% more likely to achieve higher profitability than less diverse companies.

Planet: Did you know that with the trend „Neo-Ecology,“ environmental sustainability is becoming a social movement and an economic factor? It's not anymore about whom to blame or renunciation - it’s about what we gain as a society. With the fusion of People and technology, we no longer see environmental sustainability as a problem, but as the key to a neo-ecological future (Zukunftsinstitut, 2023). This will alter the logic of hospitality brands and marketing.

Profit: Did you know that the 17th SDG is all about partnering? And for good reason! Many hotels have been individual players for decades, but the future belongs to those who understand the advantages and benefits of partnerships and community, combining strengths and knowledge to solve our bigger problems. Together, we can achieve so much more.

Inspired by our webinar on Sustainable Hotel Management and the Sustainability RoadMAp, here you go with our 4 MAdvices on Sustainable Hotel Practices in 2023:

Take this Purpose action in 2023 and #Beyond: Start with Purpose
Get clear on what is that one thing that you and your team really want to achieve, change or serve in 2023.

Take this People action in 2023 and #Beyond: Build a strong and diverse team
Identify what the diversity make-up of your hotel staff is, then ask what your hotel is doing to promote diversity further. For example, what kind of message does your non-verbal communication convey? Are your job ads inclusive? If you said no to the latter, HERE you can get access to our FREE PDF about writing attractive and inclusive job ads.

Take this Planet action in 2023 and #Beyond: Review your communication…
...and make sure you start with your Purpose, avoid greenwashing, and keep it positive and ethical. One last important MAdvice: NEVER try to profit at the expense of others, e.g. from difficult situations People are in.

Take this Profit action in 2023 and #Beyond: Build sustainable partnerships
Stop seeing yourself or your hotel as an individual player. Reach out to existing partners, find NEW ones and start to create synergies and a bigger impact together.

Your employees are key to your hotel’s long-term, sustainable success. After all, they’re the ones who ensure the smooth running of your hotel and who act as your brand ambassadors. That’s why you want to ensure you have the best ones working for you and that you keep them on for the long run.

But between the dried up labour market and “The Great Resignation,” in which employees are quitting at record numbers, we know all too well it’s hard to find employees - let alone hire those who are perfect for your hotel.

In a recent American Hotel & Lodging Association survey, 91% of hotels said they’re struggling to fill open positions (AHLA, 2022)

In the same survey, 87% of respondents said they’re experiencing a staffing shortage, with 36% describing their shortages as severe (AHLA, 2022)

One in five workers have quit or plan to quit their jobs by the end of 2022 (PwC, 2022)

Know who’s on your team first. Investigate the make-up of your current team in order to identify gaps where you can hire more diverse talent. Your goal = to hire 50% People representing diverse backgrounds (which should be reflective of your community’s demographics).

Have a Purpose. Having a Purpose in place will not only help your hotel to stick out, but attract those People who identify with that Purpose and want to contribute to its success.

Define your ideal candidate. Create an Ideal Candidate Profile that outlines your ideal candidate’s Behaviour/Attitude/Values, Skills/Experience, Goals, Needs (what they look for in a job) and Offerings (what your hotel can give them in return).

Use inclusive language in your job ad. Craft a job ad that uses inclusive language in order to appeal to a broader audience. To help you with this, download The Sustainable Hotel Insights: Job Ads HERE.

Cast a wide net. Market your job listings on different channels in order to reach more diverse candidates: set up an employee referral programme, reach out to hospitality schools, contact job programmes, post in groups where diverse candidates congregate, post on (local) job boards, hire a headhunter and promote on your online channels.

Assess the fit. In addition to the standard interview questions, ask the candidates the following questions to see if they meet the Ideal Candidate Profile you created: “What are your goals for the role?”, “What are your values?”, “Our Purpose is X – how can you contribute to it?”, “What matters most to you in a job?”

Make an offer. Ensure your job offer includes benefits and offerings that meet those needs outlined by your candidate, which will motivate them to want to work for you long-term.

Hotel Con Corazón (“Hotel with a Heart”) is a social impact hotel brand that invests its Profits (approximately 75%) in education and work. With two locations in the developing regions of Oaxaca, Mexico, and Granada, Nicaragua, guests who stay at Hotel Con Corazón support local communities to build a better future. Since 2008, the Profits of the hotels have enabled Hotel Con Corazón to support an average of 250 students per year through its education programmes.

Learn more about Hotel Con Corazón HERE.

From plastic straws to food buffets, the amount of waste and food waste hotels produce is significant! Therefore, in this first Insights edition and in our free guide, The Sustainability Hotel Insights: Waste, we show you how to reduce waste and food waste in your boutique hotel.

Waste is a key element of environmental sustainability (Planet), one of the 4 Ps of sustainability, which is why it’s critical to address this important topic.

Did you know that in hospitality, food and beverage waste account for a huge amount of waste? According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States (2013), up to 30%! If food waste were a country, it would come in third after the United States and China in terms of global warming.¹

That’s quite significant!

In our FREE PDF guide we share a total of 6 ways to reduce your boutique hotel’s (food) waste.

The first action step is to ditch single-serve plastic.

You’ve certainly heard this one before, and maybe you’ve already taken some steps in this direction by eliminating plastic straws. But it’s time to focus on reusable and refillable items (such as shampoo dispensers and water bottles), and ridding your hotel of plastic-wrapped anything.

Want to learn more?
Here are a few reasons why you should download our FREE guide:

• Get 6 clear action steps to reduce your (food) waste NOW
• Gain an understanding about the topic and its implications
• Start your zero waste journey with this actionable and free PDF
• Get access to best practice examples, must-reads and further resources that can support you in moving #onwards