HOTELS

Lyndall De Marco

Risk To The Bottom Line
May 30, 2008

Last week I attended an executive CFO forum hosted by Deloitte and American Express. It was held at the Sol Melia Don Pepe Hotel in Marbella--a beautiful setting for some serious talk. It was an opportunity to speak with an unlikely audience as people often state that “finance is a stumbling block.” 

I am happy to report that I found this group very interested and very committed. Being green and sustainable or, more importantly, not being green and sustainable is a risk and CFOs are extremely interested in risk. Spending dollars with a hotel company is not only about service and facilities; the decision to use a particular company is now being influenced by the green agenda. I am told by most companies that corporate accounts now require statements about sustainability. Shareholders are asking “are our monies being spent on the right companies.” The pressure is on and there is a huge risk for those who do not comply--a risk to the bottom line.

I was hosted by Mark Hoddinott of Sol Melia and it was delightful to hear from Mark of the company’s plans and, more importantly, see evidence of their commitment. As I walked to my room in the evening sensors turned on the corridor lights. There was not a plastic bottle in sight, but there was a water fountain in the corridor. The conference room used glass bottles with stoppers. These little things mean that a company is serious. Converting an older hotel like the Don Pepe into a “lean green machine” is a quite a big undertaking but there is more to carbon dioxide production than simply an existing old building. There is so much more the operation can do to reduce the carbon footprint.

Of course I left copies of Going Green and maybe I had a word or two over lunch and dinner to one or two of them but I was so delighted to be able to speak to this audience and quite heartened by their response. As I continue to speak on this issue in these important forums it is more and more apparent that there is still a lot of education required. However, there are some wonderful examples in this industry and I look forward to keeping you informed so it may inspire others.

Posted by Lyndall De Marco on May 30, 2008 | Comments (1)