Green Globe: Make Sustainability Your Competitive Advantage

Green Globe Business Development Manager, Mireille Schmerbeck 

Reports the Benefits of Green Globe Membership

I was recently pleased to read an article in Hotel Business Review, which identified the Five Important Benefits of Green Certification. It is great to see that research is so clearly supporting the trend for utilising a green label within the hospitality industry. And moreover, through their studies, the University of San Francisco has been able to clearly identify the key drivers of this trend to transparency and sustainable operations. I’d like to quickly address those five important benefits as they relate to our Green Globe membership.

First and foremost for hospitality businesses is the Increased profitability attained via the Green Globe process and its related management activities. From our own experience at Green Globe we have seen how our members are getting instant cost reductions in energy and water usage not only in the first year, but greater efficiency each year after that.

And there are not only bottom line savings that increase profit, but top line benefits as well. Sustainability, or being green, has attracted higher premiums across a range of consumer sectors and in hospitality we have seen how our members commitment to Green Globe has contributed to maintaining their lead position in markets and importantly hold up room rates as travellers seek quality accommodation.

Further to underpinning this guarantee of quality, Enhanced brand image, reputation, and community involvement, has been another benefit. Our members know that the key driver to guests coming to stay is the destination in which their property is located. Green Globe requires its members to go above and beyond and use their CSR (Corporate & Social Responsibility) activities to make demonstrable differences to their communities. What we have found is that these efforts form a virtuous cycle, whereby the community provides most of the staff to the hotel, so activities that support community create better staff, who then have greater allegiance to the hotel and deliver higher service levels.

Differentiation from other hotels is key when hotels are looking to get their fair share of the market. Not all hotels can complete the rigorous Green Globe process along with the required independent on-site audit. So in any given destination only the best will be able to use our label.

For travellers, the booking process is now so dominated by the OTA (Online Travel Agents) to the point where a simple request returns an overwhelming set of unqualified results. Being Green Globe certified allows travellers looking for quality, to cut through and find the best in-class and make a good choice.

Along with differentiation, we have found that our label has been well used to Expand marketing opportunities. While the research article, referred to above, identified opportunities in the FIT market, we have found that the corporate traveller, particularly for meetings and conferences, can be successfully targeted using the Green Globe label. Many companies sending their staff to travel for business and/or conferencing have corporate polices stipulating low-carbon transport and green hospitality suppliers. Our members, particularly congress centres and their partner hotels, are well versed in pushing their Green Globe membership to attract business travellers from a great variety of sources.

And finally, our members for many years have enjoyed the great benefit of being able to Provide clarity around achievements and activities that make them a green business. Some companies and hotel chains spend time and money trying to communicate their "green" activities, while also trying to run their day-to-day operations. Green Globe members continue to renew and be certified, because they appreciate the significant efforts we put into communicating all the up-to-date and real-world activities that truly deliver sustainable tourism.

Far from having to become experts in promoting green travel, our members benefit from being able to affix the Green Globe label to, not only their hotels, but all the good work they do and know that guests, travellers and community immediately understand and appreciate their efforts.

I recommend any hoteliers interested in understanding the competitive advantages of being a Green Globe member take time to read the University of San Francisco article cited above. It is clear that the time has arrived where business and leisure travellers want a simple way to choose the best. Green Globe is the leader in sustainability and with its efficient systems and global communications, help our membership get on with better business that also does a world of good.

About Green Globe

Green Globe is the worldwide sustainability system based on internationally accepted criteria for sustainable operation and management of travel and tourism businesses. Operating under a worldwide license, Green Globe is based in California, USA and is represented in over 90 countries.  Green Globe is an Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). For information, please visit www.greenglobe.com

Contacts:

Mireille Schmerbeck
Business Development Manager
Green Globe Certification
5230 Pacific Concourse Drive, Suite 102
Los Angeles, California 90045
U.S.A.

phone +1-310-337-3000
fax       +1-310-626-9982
email    [email protected]
web     www.greenglobe.com