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Red In The Face
July 29, 2008
The hotel industry claims and appears to be making great strides at developing and operating sustainable hotels. So it came as an incredible surprise this morning when one of the few research companies I actually respect and take note of came out with results about consumers' awareness of the greening of the hotel industry.
J.D. Power reports this morning that guest awareness of property-initiated “green” programs has declined significantly in 2008, with 57% of guests stating that they were aware that their hotel offered environmentally friendly conservation programs, compared with 63% in 2007.
Can someone please explain to me how this can be true? The PR turned out by just about every major hotel company in the world about their sustainability practices has been overwhelming. Their messages about increased emphasis on corporate social responsibility have been constant.
Please, someone tell me how consumers in the United States have not been getting the message? Are they not looking? Do they not care? Is the hotel industry talking the talk, but failing to walk the walk?
Posted by Jeff Weinstein on July 29, 2008 | Comments (3)
In response to: Red In The Face
Steve Belmonte, CEO Lexington Hotels commented:
Hotels are definitely stepping up to the plate when it comes to being green. You see it in the energy-efficient lightbulbs, eco-friendly cleaning supplies, and the likes. However, for the consumers what's first and foremost in their minds is the economy and how they can keep afloat. Therefore they are listening more intently to the marketing message of immediate rewards that benefit them on a personal level (free breakfast, comfortable beds, free Internet connection, later check-out, free room upgrades, etc.). It's definitely not that the public isn't getting the message, it's just that in the list of priorities and the sign of the times, the economy bell rings a bit louder.
In response to: Red In The Face
Loren G. Brown, Jr. commented:
It appears to me that there is a vast misunderstanding with both the lodging community and the traveling public as to just what a "green house" really is. I personally believe from my extensive travels that as a nation we don't get it! It is amazing to me what one individual can do to stave off global warming and preserve our environment. It is very easy and quite economical to filter all potable water at the source yet bottle water is a $60 Billion dollar a year industry. Folks, wake up! It has no shelf life and is 500 times more expensive then filtered water. Yet, people still believe they are helping the environment by drinking bottled water, I think not. It is very easy to filter air at the source, yet how many hotels actually do it. Everybody thinks that by recirculating their bottles and cans that they are helping the environment. To a small degree, yes. As the air and the oceans are becoming more polluted every day we continue to expiriment (at best) with ethanol (not an answer) and other environmental projects that have a minimal or non impact on the eco systems. While we continue to waste vast amounts of money on the green tip of the day! Let's get it together with everyone on the same page and the impact, I feel, would be immediate and far reaching. Let's not waste our environment as we have our social security programs. We are trying but we definitely need to be up to speed as to what works and what doesn't.
In response to: Red In The Face
Dan R commented:
I think it is about PR. Name 1 new initiative by a major chain this year with regards to "going green". Lightbulbs? Done. Composting? Check. Eco-friendly cleaning products? A standard. Not washing linens daily? So 1999. All of these have become an expectation and guests have heard it all before. The PR machines have gone quiet on this issue.