Hotel Industry Rallies Behind Sustainable Stay Initiative
The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) today announced Responsible Stay, an industry-wide commitment to make meetings, events and guest experiences in America’s hotels more environmentally and socially responsible.
Responsible Stay is focused on prioritizing hotels’ environmental sustainability efforts in four key areas:
- Energy efficiency: optimizing energy efficiency through operational improvements and adoption of clean energy technologies
- Waste reduction: investing in waste reduction programs and new, innovative alternatives to reduce, reuse and recycle waste across properties
- Water conservation: ensuring the reduction of water usage by implementing water-efficient practices in core areas like laundry, food and beverage, and landscaping
- Responsible sourcing practices: sourcing responsibly and prioritizing sustainability in supply chains to prevent harmful environmental and social impacts.
By focusing on these four core principles, AHLA and its members are united on a commitment to strengthen environmental programs, education and resources to provide a ‘responsible stay’ for guests, protect the future of the planet and support communities across the country.
“The hotel industry has shown a longstanding commitment to sustainability, and many of our member companies have been on the leading edge of these efforts. We’re thrilled that the industry is committed to this critical issue that will shape how we travel for years to come,” said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA. “The launch of Responsible Stay is the next step of our industry’s sustainability journey, and we are uniting as an industry to provide a responsible stay for our employees, guests, communities and our planet.”
Wide Industry Support
Responsible Stay has elicited broad support across the sector, with members, state association partners and other industry stakeholders endorsing the program and its principles. HT's 2022 Visionary Award winners, Hilton and Hyatt are among the brands rallying behind the initiative.
“For over 100 years, Hilton has operated under the belief that hospitality can be a powerful force for good. We recognize that there has never been a more important time to support our industry’s efforts towards a more resilient and vibrant world for travel and are proud to support AHLA’s ‘Responsible Stay’ priorities. Together with our industry partners and guided by our Travel With Purpose strategy, we look forward to strengthening our collective efforts to protect the communities and destinations we serve while creating a more responsible stay for our guests,” said Danny Hughes, Executive Vice President and President, Americas, Hilton. Consumers want more sustainable options. Hilton’s 2023 travel trend report reveals that consumers want engaging, frictionless experiences that are also sustainable. (And technology will be required to make all of this happen.)
Hyatt is among the brands committed sustainable business practices, and "to advancing environmental action through our 2030 environmental goals as part of our World of Care ESG platform. We are proud to support ‘AHLA’s Responsible Stay,’ as an important tool in our industry’s sustainability efforts and helping to ensure the communities we all serve remain vibrant now, and in the future,” said Mark Hoplamazian, President and CEO, Hyatt.
A full list of endorsers can be found on the Responsible Stay website here.
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Responsible Stay aims to advance environmental initiatives and help hotels shift operations to be more sustainable. This commitment to provide a ‘responsible stay’ builds on existing initiatives by AHLA to support industry efforts to reduce carbon emissions, water and energy usage, waste and more, including:
- AHLA’s Sustainability Committee, comprised of industry leaders, communicates, educates and advocates on behalf of the lodging industry to showcase environmental efforts and elevates environmental sustainability and resilience;
- AHLA’s new partnership with the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance works to amplify, collaborate on and support hospitality sustainability programs and solutions;
- AHLA’s long-standing partnership with the World Wildlife Fund and the Hotel Kitchen program, which uses innovative strategies to engage staff, partners and guests in curbing food waste from hotel kitchens;
- AHLA’s ongoing partnership with the Department of Energy Better Buildings Initiative highlights energy efficiency and drives leadership in energy innovation in the hospitality sector by accelerating investment and sharing successful best practices;
- AHLA’s newly formed research initiative with GreenView helps quantify and benchmark sustainability practices across the hotel industry in the United States, which will allow for better insights, best-practice development and sustainability progress tracking over time.