- «Tourism can do harm to the very places and the communities that it feeds. As the planet is found facing climate change and the increasing inequalities, we need bold, urgent and sustainable action that places the people and the planet above all.»
These words the Secretary-General of UN Tourism chose to introduce the upcoming celebration of this year’s World Tourism Day which is celebrated, as every year, on 27 September, this time with motto «Tourism and Sustainable Transformation».
The reference of Zurab Pololikashvili to «bold», «urgent» and «sustainable» actions in tourism, so that it does not constitute simply a «golden cloak» of uncontrolled local development but places the climate and the human in the center, is not random. It is an alarm that sounds more and more loudly the last years, especially in intensely «touristic» countries, such as Greece, and a clock that counts backwards for the modern local societies and economies to win the battle with time and to make reality the much-desired –but complex in nature– sustainable transformation.
The hotels, perhaps the most important productive units of tourism worldwide, which as such –ought to– perceive the command included in the appeal of Pololikashvili, the gradual turn of demand from the travelers to more «green» services but also the reduction of energy consumption that derives from them, have begun timidly timidly to make their first steps in the unexplored continent of sustainability.
According to the World Tourism Organization, 73% of the tourists worldwide (2023) prefer to stay in hotels that apply sustainable practices. The same year, was recorded increase 20% in the number of hotels that were certified (Bioscore, Green Key, EarthCheck, LEED). At the same time, the report of UNWTO mentions that the application of sustainable practices increases by 12% the total revenues in comparison with the traditional practices.
Also, the hotels that adopt sustainable practices often cooperate with local suppliers and participate in community initiatives, which strengthen the local economic development and reinforce the social fabric of the areas in which they operate.
Actions of sustainability in Greek hotels
Where are found in the puzzle of sustainable transformation the Greek hotels? Recent study of the Institute of Tourism Research and Forecasts (ITEP) revealed that the Greek hotels, particularly the categories of four (78 million euros) and five (30 million euros) stars, carried out during the past year investments of value 200 million euros in actions of sustainability.
This fact is particularly encouraging for the progress of the transition of Greek hospitality to a more sustainable model, as the hotels of four and five stars constitute the 27% of the total hotel capacity and the 54% of hotel rooms. The amount indeed of 200 million euros represents the 19% of the total of the investments of Greek hotels in 2024, which exceeded the 1 billion euros.
Moreover, 49.5% of hotels possess Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and 13.4% Certification in the sectors of Environment, Energy or Sustainability.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), sustainable tourism must…
- Make full use of the environmental resources that constitute basic element of the tourist development, maintaining basic ecological processes and contributing to the preservation of the natural heritage and the biodiversity.
- Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of the hosting communities and
- Ensure sustainable, long-term economic activities, providing socio-economic benefits to all the interested parties that are distributed fairly.
The most recent report of the European Travel Commission (ETC), with title «Future Proofing European Tourism Through Scenario Planning and Strategic Foresight», the climate change, the rapidly developing technology and the turn of the younger-aged travelers to sustainable experiences are among the 6 most important forces that will shape tourism in 2035, igniting a mixture of unpredictable developments.
How can therefore the hotels reduce their footprint on the environment, contributing at the same time to these goals?
According to the school EHL Hospitality Business School, the successor of the historical École hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland, the energy consumption in the sector is high, with cooling, lighting, heating and ventilation responsible for up to 60% of the CO2 emissions of a hotel.
Energy-consuming additional functions, such as heated pools, excessive use of water and plastic and the waste of food, contribute also to the environmental impacts of the sector.
How the hotels can utilize the smart technologies
With these energy requirements, the hotels must increase the energy efficiency and reduce their environmental impact, providing at the same time excellent experiences to the clients. One way by which they can achieve more sustainable practices is through sustainable technologies, namely devices and systems that use data and connectivity on the internet to interact smartly with people and devices.
To achieve improvement of sustainability and efficiency, the hotels turn more and more to devices of the Internet of Things (IoT), such as sensors and devices that connect wirelessly in a network. They can be monitored remotely and be automated to provide detailed control of the systems of the hotel. The EHL Hospitality Business School makes reference to some examples…
Automated HVAC (temperature, air quality, circulation) | The hotels traditionally relied on conventional HVAC systems that operate with predefined schedules or operate manually from the guests. Often they operate in empty rooms and waste huge amounts of energy. Using smart thermostats and occupancy sensors, the hotels can reduce large part of this waste. When the rooms are empty, they can adjust the systems of air conditioning and heating to avoid the excessive use of the empty spaces. This can reduce the operational cost and reduce the impacts on the environment.
Improved use of energy | The hotels use more and more smart technologies and predictive analysis to foresee the peak hours of use and to adjust dynamically the consumption of energy. They can examine the weather conditions, the occupancy rates and the preferences of the guests to prevent the peak in the use of energy during periods of high demand. This permits the management of the hotel to identify areas where energy is wasted, to reduce the operational cost and to contribute to a more sustainable energy network, while optimizing at the same time the comfort of the guests.
Management of water | The average hotel room uses about 1,500 liters of water per day, amount that is up to eight times more than the local population in destinations with water scarcity. This makes the management of waters basic priority of sustainability for the hotel managers and constitutes one sector where the smart technologies can help. The IoT sensors can monitor the consumption of water in the rooms of the hotel and detect excessive use and leaks in real time. The smart technology can also be combined with practical devices, such as low-flow shower heads, for the reduction of the use of water. Some hotels also possess automated irrigation systems that use local weather data to determine when to water the gardens. Hilton is an example of hotel group that has reduced significantly the consumption of water by 43% since 2008, applying smart water management system.
Reduction of food waste | The hospitality sector is responsible for significant amounts of food waste, with research indicating that only the hospitality sector of the United Kingdom produces 920,000 tons of food waste annually, of which 75% can be avoided. This is another sector where the smart technologies can help the hoteliers to achieve significant gains of sustainability. The IoT sensors can monitor the refrigerators and highlight automatically when they do not operate effectively, limiting the spoilage of products. The sensors can monitor the expiration dates and notify the kitchen staff when food needs to be used, and the automated inventory systems use big data for the monitoring of use, the determination of stock levels and the prevention of over-ordering.
