Hotel Sustainability Basics is a globally recognised and coordinated set of sustainability indicators that all hotels should implement as a minimum. Developed by the industry for the industry, they represent the 12 actions that are fundamental to hotel sustainability. WTTC is calling on destinations and accommodation stakeholders around the world to implement the criteria and raise the bar of sustainability in the sector.
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The Hotel Sustainability Basics are intended as the first step of a progressive sustainability journey that can then be expanded to follow more ambitious pathways (e.g. ‘Pathway to Positive Hospitality’ or the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria).
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8 criteria
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12 criteria
Advance on to greater sustainability
By officially supporting the initiative and getting involved, you are strengthening a global call for an inclusive, more sustainable development in the hospitality industry and commit to lead by example by ensuring that your hotel(s) are or will implement the criteria as a bare minimum.
The Basics enables hotels to demonstrate their sustainability credentials and meet the needs of a growing traveller segment seeking sustainable accommodation options.
Positive sustainability initiatives contribute to building B2B, B2C, and B2G trust and strengthening hotels' position as sustainability leaders.
Comprehensive tracking and benchmarking of progress allows hotels to better understand their environmental, and social impacts while identifying opportunities for operational enhancements.
Embracing sustainable business practices, such as resource efficiency and smarter supply chain management can lead to cost savings.
Having basic sustainability indicators allows hotels to take the first steps towards complying with evolving regulatory landscapes and mandatory reporting requirements.
Hotel Sustainability Basics is aligned with several national and international recognised schemes, allowing hotels flexibility to explore and adopt these schemes as part of their journeys to sustainability.
"The hospitality industry is a force for good and while many companies are taking great strides and leading the way, others are only now taking their first steps. By offering an understanding of the simplest steps hotels can take to become more sustainable, the Hotel Sustainability Basics will help to raise the base level of sustainability across the entire hospitality industry"
Wolfgang M. Neumann
Chair, Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (SHA)
"While Accor is actively working towards achieving carbon neutrality in line with its science-based targets, we welcome the WTTC's Hotel Sustainability Basics Initiative. We believe that this framework is a useful step towards ambitious sustainability goals and practices for the hospitality industry"
Sébastien Bazin
Chairman and CEO, Accor
"Radisson Hotel Group has committed to Net Zero. We are setting Science-Based Targets and have an award-winning sustainability program focused on People, Planet, and Communities. With the Hotel Sustainability Basics, we have collectively defined the common starting point accessible to all hotels and the industry framework to grow sustainable travel. I am pleased to see the hotel sector take a coordinated and non-competitive way forward to facilitate a true and effective response to the climate change challenge we face"
Federico J González
CEO, Radisson Hotel Group
"The Hotel Sustainability Basics initiative is an important add-on to Azerbaijan’s overall sustainable tourism development strategy. We are committed to prioritize sustainability through the entire value chain and customer journey. A focus on remote communities by improving livelihoods of people, carefully use of tangible and intangible resources of the country, and putting unique landscape of Azerbaijan into the foreground of activities through low impact experiences, like bird and butterfly watching, hiking or Slow Food Travel are among some of the projects implemented."
Florian Sengstschmid
CEO, Azerbaijan Tourism Board
"Nayarit está comprometido con asegurar un desarrollo sostenible en material turística en todos los aspectos que lo involucran y adherir a la iniciativa Hotels Basics es un paso importante para fomentar esta conciencia en la cadena de valor en el destino. Debemos planear un desarrollo sustentable para que el crecimiento del turismo en el estado impacte positivamente a las comunidades. Formar parte de esta importante iniciativa contribuye a que Nayarit se consolide como un destino modelo en la región de América del Norte"
Miguel Ángel Navarro Quintero
Gobernador del estado de Nayarit, Nayarit
"At HBX Group we believe we can transform travel into a force for good. We want to ensure that the tourism industry continues to thrive, while also ensuring a positive impact on society and the environment. That's why we believe joining WTTC's Hotel Sustainability Basics initiative is an important step in the journey towards responsible travel, both for HBX Group and our brands (Hotelbeds, Bedsonline and TravelStack) as well as the wider industry. This programme provides us with a solid structure to define efficient practices and work closely with our partners to implement them. For us, sustainability is not just a buzzword, but a fundamental part of our culture and strategy, and we are committed to leading the way with WTTC towards a better future for our industry"
Nicolas Huss
CEO, HBX Group
The 12 criteria have been selected following an intense process of industry review and based on their significance as actions which represent a base level of sustainability activity that all hotels should be undertaking. They represent both back of house and guest facing activities, both of which are critical to making real sustainability progress, and include both environmental and social aspects. During the review process it became clear that reducing the number of criteria would compromise the robustness of the initiative, by eliminating some key and fundamental actions, but a phased approach has been suggested to allow time for the full set to be implemented. Furthermore, any more would dilute the focus and overwhelm those trying to put them into practice.
It is recognised that the 12 criteria although basic in nature, will still take time and effort to implement particularly in hotels which are starting out on their sustainability journey. For this reason, 8 of the criteria should be in place within the first year of implementation, and the remaining 4 by year three. There is flexibility in terms of which criteria hotels may choose to prioritise for year 1.
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