Sustainable Design is What the Market Wants

According to a recent ULI sustainability in hotels report, titled: Sustainability in Hotels: Opportunities and Trends Shaping the Future of Hospitality, as sustainability in hotels demonstrates, embracing resource-efficient and resilient development practices is good for business as well as communities. According to W. Edward Walter, sustainable design is what the market wants—younger and older generations place a high priority on green and sustainable development in how and where they live, work, and play. “It’s also what cities want and need, as they seek to become more resilient, competitive, and livable.”

The report pointed out that “Opportunities exist for any hotel to improve efficiency and sustainability while also achieving significant financial benefits—and this report lays out some ways to do it, including in-room lighting and HVAC retrofits, renewable energy installations, replacement of water fixtures, and on-site composting.”

The report also noted that the hotel industry faces a number of unique challenges in executing on sustainability improvements, including a lack of utility data, complicated ownership models and structures, and concerns about improvements disrupting the guest experience.