Hotel sustainability: key considerations for hotel owners

Key takeaways

• Sustainability is now a guest expectation, not a bonus. Travelers increasingly choose hotels that demonstrate real environmental responsibility, making sustainability a competitive advantage.
• Small operational changes can drive meaningful impact. Energy-efficient lighting, smarter temperature controls and water-saving fixtures can significantly reduce resource use without disrupting the guest experience.
• Technology helps hotels measure and improve sustainability. Tracking energy, water and waste through centralized systems enables better decision-making and continuous improvement.
• Reducing waste is one of the fastest wins. Cutting single-use items, improving recycling and minimizing unnecessary materials lowers environmental impact and operating costs.
• Sustainability should extend across the entire hotel experience. From eco-friendly amenities to local food sourcing, hotel sustainability works best when it’s embedded into daily operations.

Hotel sustainability goes beyond “going green.” It’s about reducing environmental impact through smarter energy use, lower emissions and more responsible day-to-day operations. While no single hotel can solve global warming alone, meaningful change happens when sustainability becomes part of how hotels operate - not just a passing trend.

In this article, we’ll explore why hotel sustainability matters and break down the most common practices helping properties operate more efficiently and responsibly.

What is hotel sustainability?

Hotel sustainability is the practice of operating a hotel in a way that reduces its environmental impact while supporting long-term operational viability. It focuses on using resources such as energy, water and materials more efficiently to minimize waste and emissions without compromising the guest experience.

At its core, hotel sustainability is about balancing environmental responsibility with day-to-day hotel operations, ensuring that the property can continue to operate effectively while reducing its footprint on the planet.

Why is hotel sustainability important?

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, hotels are accountable for one percent of global emissions. This number will continue to rise as hotel demand increases, which is why implementing sustainability initiatives in hotels is so important to mitigate this negative impact.

Beyond the importance of hotels reducing their impact on the environment, sustainability measures also pose an important strategy for attracting new clients. Accordingly to a sustainability report by Booking.com, 68% of clients are interested in searching out eco-friendly hotels and 87% of travelers worldwide state that they want to travel sustainably.

Furthermore, sustainability in the hotel sector is important to create a connection with the local population, while at the same time protecting the surrounding natural environment and biodiversity. Giving this local touch to a hotel experience helps distinguish a hotel from other hotels, providing high-quality experiences and contributing to creating an individual identity for a hotel.

What are the most common hotel sustainability practices?

There are so many opportunities to improve energy, water and waste efficiency in hotels but making choices around these elements aren’t the only common practices. Other common practices for hotels include making operational changes by using utility benchmarking and temperature adjustments, as well as other technical updates like high-efficiency water fixtures or LED lighting. Let’s take a look one by one at the most common sustainability practices for hotels.

Operational changes

Properties using hotel property management software have implemented changes using the reporting tools available from popular PMSs to benchmark utility use and provide setpoints for temperature adjustments. When the temperature is controlled and managed by the hotel it’s a lot easier to manage usage. Other technical improvements that can be implemented on an operational level are the use of LED lighting, as well as implementing high-efficiency water fixtures to control the use of water.

Waste reduction

Hotels produce an excessive amount of waste. In fact, UK hotels alone produce 289,700 metric tons of waste each year. Because of this, some of the most common sustainability measures are related to waste management.

Many hotels have implemented recycling in common areas, reusable food service materials and have made newspapers available in common areas rather than delivering to each individual room. Hotels have also implemented the use of reusable water bottles by having filtered water stations and giving guests a reusable water bottle instead of using plastic bottles.

Energy conservation

Energy conservation is one of the most important areas of sustainability because it has been found that reducing energy consumption can have the same effect on revenue management as increasing average daily room rate.

Some of the most common energy efficiency practices are energy tracking, having digital thermostats in the guest rooms and the use of LED light bulbs. Another popular way of contributing to energy conservation is to install a one-switch system for lights so that lights don’t get left on accidentally, as well as the installation of solar panels to power water heating.

Water conservation

Water accounts for a significant portion of hotel utility costs, with the highest usage coming from bathrooms, laundry, kitchens and landscaping. Reducing water consumption is both a cost-saving measure and a core sustainability practice.

Common initiatives include tracking water usage, installing low-flow toilets and using high-efficiency faucets and showerheads, which can reduce water use by at least 20%. Many hotels also encourage guests to participate through programs like optional towel and linen reuse, helping further reduce water and energy consumption.

Amenities and cleaning products

Choosing amenities and cleaning products that are more friendly to the environment is important to reduce a hotel’s impact. Hotels have chosen to put soap and shampoo dispensers that are refillable instead of miniature amenities, which create excessive waste. While this method is more popular among mid-range hotels, high-range hotels have experimented with creating custom-formulated amenities in recyclable or compostable packages.

In terms of cleaning products, many hotels are choosing to shift away from abrasive cleaning products, towards organic or natural cleaners that are less harmful to both housekeeping and to the environment. This also helps move away from the use of products derived from petrochemicals.

Sustainable sourcing

Sustainable sourcing involves selecting suppliers and materials that reduce environmental impact and support responsible production. Hotels often prioritize locally sourced products, recycled or renewable materials and vendors that follow ethical and environmental standards to lower emissions and support local communities.

Sustainable technology solutions

Technology supports hotel sustainability through digitalization and automation that reduce manual processes and resource waste. 

Automated energy and climate controls, digital check-ins, paperless operations and centralized reporting help hotels lower energy use, reduce material consumption and operate more efficiently with less environmental impact.

Improve hotel sustainability with Mews

Hotel sustainability is no longer driven by isolated initiatives - it requires consistent, data-led operations that make efficiency part of everyday decision-making. From energy and water conservation to waste reduction and automation, sustainable hotels rely on systems that provide visibility, control and accountability across the entire property.

Modern property management technology plays a critical role in enabling these efforts. With real-time reporting, automated temperature controls and centralized operational data, platforms like Mews help hotels benchmark utility usage, reduce unnecessary resource consumption and streamline processes that support both sustainability goals and long-term profitability.

Book a demo to see how smarter, automated operations make your hotel more efficient and sustainable.

Your guide to going green

Sustainability should be at the heart of your property's operations, but it can be hard to know where to start. The Green Hotel of the Future will tell you how. Our guide will help you become more eco-conscious with practical advice and inspiration, which in turn should also help you cut costs.

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