1 Hotel cover.indd - Nicola Cottam

There are serious challenges ahead for the hospitality industry. These include:
Key Issues: The environment
● Guests. It doesn’t matter how many solar panels you place on your roof, if the customer remains at best uneducated
about green issues, or at worst, hostile to change, hotels will have a tough time. Will customers ease off
the juice in the power shower, turn off taps when they brush their teeth or be happy enough not to have freshly
laundered towels each day? This is up for conjecture. The UK has a poor record in this regard.
● National infrastructure. This goes hand in hand with the point above. The UK sticks 27 million tonnes of waste
into landfills annually. The Germans, with a 25% larger population, deposit 10 million tonnes according to the
Local Government Association. Such an environment makes it difficult for domestic hotels to go truly green.
● Developers vs. Brands. It’s all well and good for hotels to talk up their green credentials; it is another thing for
the developer side to build them in. Both new-build and refurbs (especially the latter) will incur additional cost
both in terms of time and money. Developers may not be as willing to embrace the green revolution quite as
readily as the brands themselves and will need some persuading.
● Lack of guidance. Where there is a growing trend, there are consultants. Knowing who to trust and avoiding
bad advice is paramount for the industry. Resources are available, most notably from Carbon Trust adjunct
Hospitable Climates.
● And then there is the prospect of green taxes. It is anybody’s guess as to what the government will do legislatively
to encourage hotels to ‘go green’. Whatever the case, the environment will be a hot topic for hotels through 2007
and for many years to come.
March 2007 Hotel Report Guide to UK Hotels l © William Reed Publishing 24