Information for Hotel Customers
As an individual traveler and consumer of hotel services, you have the power to persuade the hotels you stay in to adapt environmentally responsible practices.
The tourism industry is one of the leading growth sectors of the global economy, and its continuous growth has “created an increasing amount of stress on the environment” (Alexander), according to the Zero Waste Alliance. With the concern of global warming and other environmental issues on the rise, you, as a traveler, have the responsibility to sway your expectations of being pampered with luxury and comfort in the hotels you stay in to an environmentally-conscious mentality.
Green hotels may ask you to step outside of your comfort zone, for instance by preserving your linens and using a recycling bin. Your participation in these resourceful practices are of great importance, though, as hotels need to have a customer demand in green initiatives in order for them to take action in how they regulate a sustainable management program. Along with the proactive participation in a hotel’s environmentally responsible measures, you also have the power to let the hotel know your demands/requests for environmentally responsible services. There are multiple ways you can do this, and I have provided you with some on this page. You can give feedback to a hotel by printing off guest cards, ideas for specific sustainable solutions, or the post card posted on this site.
These are just a few of the ways you can let a hotel know about your concerns directly. By doing this, you are helping the customer demand of green hotels rise, which will hopefully change this industry to a more sustainable and environmentally conscious one.