WELCOME TO GREEN HOTELIER

While it is certainly easier to incorporate the latest sustainable design features into a new-build hotel, in order to address the environmental impact of the industry as a whole there is an urgent need to improve the efficiency of existing buildings. In the second of our two-part series on sustainable design, we discuss the potential and practicalities of upgrading existing hotel buildings through retrofitting. We argue that whilst retrofitting can be expensive in the short-term, there are a growing number of case studies to demonstrate that the return on investment can be achieved in a surprisingly short time-frame.

Elsewhere in this edition we look in detail at how to design hotel interiors with sustainability in mind, and we also examine the role that hoteliers can play in alleviating poverty and social exclusion in the countries in which they operate, taking Peru as an example.

Finally, we talk to Mr Kurt Ritter, President and CEO of The Rezidor Hotel Group—the longest serving hotel CEO in the world—about how the sustainability agenda has developed and gained momentum over his 35 years in the industry.

Please do contribute to the discussion on any of these items through LinkedIn.

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Stephen Farrant
Director, International Tourism Partnership