Corporate travel planners look for details on hotel sustainability efforts

As the world grapples with extremes in climate, from extreme heat to severe hurricanes to dangerous droughts, business travelers want to know that there are some efforts to promote sustainability when staying at a hotel.

When today’s travel planners are looking for ideas for corporate travel deals, they’re not just looking for environmental protection from hotels. They look for metrics in reducing carbon footprints, water use, recycling and other areas.

“We believe this is a new era of travel, and sustainable travel is becoming an increasingly important consideration for travel planners as business travel returns,” said Jean Garris Hand, Hilton’s vice president of global environmental, social and governance. “When clients choose Hilton to host their events, they are looking for a partner that can help them make a meaningful difference in the audience experience and make a positive impact on the local and the communities they visit.”

Companies want to see specific things from hotels in their environmental programs and want measurable data related to these initiatives. For example, Hilton has LightStay, a proprietary tool that tracks environmental and social impact. Its meeting impact calculator tool allows event planning clients to see the estimated carbon footprint of their event using each hotel’s unique facilities and emissions data, she said.

Read the full report at HotelNewsNow (part of CoStar)