Marketing Green

By Staff -- HOTELS Magazine, 5/1/2006

With more and more people exhibiting an interest in or passion for environmental concerns, hotel companies have a great opportunity to market their eco-friendly practices to drive business. In fact, the Travel Industry Association of America has found that some 58.5 million U.S. travelers, or 38%, say they would pay more to use travel companies that strive to protect and preserve the environment. Savvy marketers, therefore, are finding ways to capitalize on this opportunity to sell their hotels to this growing guest demographic.

“We have really noticed as a company that more people want to do business with companies that are being socially responsible, including things like wellness,” explains Christine Lawson, vice president of sales for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, San Francisco. “Meeting planners are asking more things about the company [from an environmental perspective]—‘Do you recycle?’ ‘What are you doing are you doing to be more sensitive to the environment?’ They are also asking for meetings that bring that sensitivity to the environment to life. People want to do business with companies that are eco- and socially aware.”

As a result of this trend, Kimpton has developed a “green meetings” concept as a part of its overall redesign of how it markets its meetings facilities. Lawson says the program is about brand differentiation. “As a sales organization, we tout being innovative, but we weren’t being unique or fun for meetings and events,” she says. “Differentiation in meetings is particularly hard.”

The company’s new Earth Care meeting package combines whimsical design elements with earth-friendly practices to entice planners to choose Kimpton. From small moves such as all meeting agendas being printed on plantable paper (flower seeds are built into it) and fair-trade coffee being served during meeting breaks, to more impactful practices such as percentages of the business booked with the Earth Care package being contributed to Trust for Public Land, of which Kimpton is a partner, the overall sense of the program is about taking care of the environment. Organic menus and decorative elements such as Zen rock gardens and earth globe beach balls add a fun and distinctive element to the meetings. Driving the theme further, Kimpton will arrange to have special speakers to come in to address environmental issues.

The new program is a nice marketing tie-in to Kimpton’s overall green practices—its water conservation program, recycling and use of environmentally friendly cleaning products. “Everyone is being kind of forced into thinking about [the environment] because it’s a good business practice. Hotel companies are learning they can be more efficient and effective by doing the right thing for the environment. Kimpton is smart because it started doing these things a while ago, and we are hearing more people saying they use Kimpton because of our eco-program,” Lawson says. “People are passionate about this, including what hotels they check into. It’s a way to create more loyal customers.”

Karen Philips, spa manager at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point in Bonita Springs, Florida, concurs. “Guests are increasingly interested in the environment and eco-tourism. We get a lot of English and German visitors, and they center their trips on eco-tourism.” Philips has volunteered to spearhead the resort’s eco-initiatives, and the property was recently awarded the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Two Palm Certification status as a Florida Green Lodge. The resort is the first One Palm certified Green Lodge in Florida to obtain this next level of certification.

To support its success on this front, this year the hotel created an energy conservation team, including engineers whose sole responsibility is conservation. “We are constantly looking for new ways to use renewable resources,” Philips says. Successful eco-friendly practices to date include an air conditioning unit that makes ice in the evening when energy is cheaper and cools the hotel during the day; a boiler unit on top of the hotel that gathers heat from the corridors; recycling in guestrooms and throughout the hotel; no disposal items; and educational programs for guests. The spa also features green products.

With its special designation and programs in place, the hotel is now starting to market its eco-friendliness to drive business. “We’re including the designation in all of our sales and marketing collateral, and it’s a tagline in all of our promotions,” Philips says. “The sales staff is really using it as a selling point, especially targeting groups that have a vested interest in this type of program.”

And broadening the marketing message, this year Marriott International designated April—the month in which Earth Day is celebrated—“Environmental Awareness Month,” asking all of its hotels and guests worldwide “to engage in initiatives which help preserve their natural surroundings and reduce resource consumption.” The company sees the special designation as a way to further draw attention to the company’s award-winning environmentally friendly business practices, including recycling and water and energy conservation. Eco-themed competitions were offered at hotels to generate momentum among employees. Individual hotels also devised their own ways to recognize Environmental Awareness Month. For instance, in Egypt, associates from seven Marriott hotels cleaned up trash on the streets and beaches, and at Marriott’s regional office in London a newly formed environmental committee launched an awareness campaign for all UK employees.