A new coalition for sustainable hoteliers in Asia Pacific – Hotel Owners for Tomorrow (HOT) – has launched at HICAP 2016. The founding signatories of the HOT initiative will represent the first high profile coalition of hotel owners in Asia committed to a fixed set of sustainable actions, supported by brands, management companies, and industry supporters.
With the region becoming a target for rapid growth, sustainability needs to be high on the agenda, so a wide range of industry leaders are introducing HOT as a rallying platform to hotel owners in Asia. Launch partners including AKARYN Hotel Group, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, Horwath HTL Asia Pacific, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, ITC Hotels, the International Tourism Partnership, Kokotel, Marriott International, Meritus Hotels & Resorts, Nikoi Island, PATA, Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, Swire Properties, TAJ Hotels Resorts and Palaces and Wyndham Worldwide.
Eric Ricaurte, Greenview Founder and CEO said, “The initiative is simple. Commit to five actions to raise awareness and spread best practice. We will build the coalition to provide recognition for hotel companies, global industry organisations and hotel development players who are committed to the future of the industry.”
The five actions for building a sustainable future are: to incorporate sustainability from the beginning of investment decisions; to evaluate one renewable energy project and one efficiency project per property per year; to routinely monitor and benchmark sustainability performance; to support brand efforts; and, to share best practices.
Ricaurte said, “By becoming a signatory, owners will not only receive distinction for helping shape the industry in their destinations, they will also benefit by identifying future costs of regulation, opportunities for increased ROI on investments, and accessing capital from equity partners which require strategy, disclosure and action on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues in order to do business.”
“Asia is the centre of the planet’s future. It is also the battleground for sustainable development. More hotels are going up in Asia than the rest of the world put together. More people live in Asia who will attain a better quality of life. More resources will be needed in Asia to support this growth than anywhere else. The solutions to the planet’s problems will be scaled in Asia and that’s why we are here driving this initiative and inviting all hotel owners to join us.”
Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas president Bernhard Bohnenberger said, “We are delighted to be a partner in Hotel Owners for Tomorrow. Sustainability lives at the foundation of Six Senses and is one of our highest priorities when it comes to building properties and operating them. We look forward to participating in this important initiative and making an impact through our actions.”
Daphne Tan, Vice President of Owner Franchise Relations, Marriott International said, “At Marriott, one of our core values is Serve Our World and this includes supporting local communities and protecting the environment. To be able to do this with our owner franchise community – our key business partner, especially in this region, is why we helped form the HOT coalition. HOT allows us to strengthen that relationship and support our owners and franchisees who want to help make a difference with their investment.”
AKARYN Hotel Group (AHG) founder and managing director Anchalika Kijkanakorn said, “Acting responsibly towards a destination and the immediate community in which we operate as a hotel and resort owner has always been a cornerstone commitment for us. We have developed barefoot luxury experiences throughout Thailand over the past decade and we will soon launch our first hotel in Laos. We are delighted to support HOT in this initiative across Asia.”
For more information on HOT and how to sign up please visit: http://www.hotelsfortomorrow.org/
This article was first published by Green Hotelier. Read the original article here: New coalition for Asian green hoteliers launched | Green Hotelier
