Look around any accommodation today and you may notice small signs of a more environmentally-friendly hotel or facility. The first one that might come to mind is those small cards encouraging guests to re-use towels and linen to save on unnecessary laundry, as well as skipping over the housekeeping for a couple of days. But there are lots of other, more powerful and responsible ways hotels and hostels are taking responsibility for their impact on the planet.
Along with laundry, guests are encouraged to monitor their water usage with the installation of a shower counte
r to let guests know when they’ve passed the five-minute mark (recommended shower time) and prevent water waste. This, along with low-flush toilets and low-flow showers, has shown a significant reduction of water usage in hotels where it has been implemented.
And it’s not just waste that counts either. Being active in the community and sourcing organic, local food is another major factor. Sourcing produce from local areas reduces the distance the food must travel as well as the time, so it’s fresher and less treated, with a smaller carbon footprint. Supporting local farmers in this farm-to-table trend is also more sustainable for the community.