In 2017, I set out on a mission to help Green the Hospitality Industry, there has been many up and downs since then, but one thing remains - my belief that this is the best way to go for the industry.

We keep hearing in the news about Climate Change, how many years we have left, what will happen in 2050 if we don’t change…Some people believe it, some people don’t.

Regardless of your personal opinion on Climate Change, the reality is that every person, and every Hotel in the world, can do something to reduce their Carbon Footprint.

Sustainability In Hospitality

Hotels waste thousands of Euros every year, by having poor processes and behaviours around energy, water and waste. This has, not only a negative effect in the environment, but also to the business bottom line. We spend time, money and resources on promoting our business, bettering our customer service, providing unique visitor experiences… And then we throw a lot of our hard earned sales literally in the bin or down the drai...

Last weekend the Irish Nation voted for change at the #GE2020, with the main two government parties not receiving enough votes to form a majority coalition. I am personally really happy that this is the desire of the Irish people, and of course, the raise of the Green Party to 12 seats.

The proposed raise of Carbon Tax by some political parties worries me, and makes me wonder, is that the “change” the Irish public want? Have we succumbed to believe the only approach to climate change is the raise in tax?

I personally believe there could be other initiatives to consider.

A few years ago, I completed a FETAC level 6 course on dog training. Now I am not comparing Irish citizens to dogs, that’s not mi intention at all! But hear me out for 20 seconds.

Dog training is all about positive reinforcement, reward positive behaviour instead of punishing negative behaviour.

There are trainers out there of course that do not follow this rule and punish animals for mis-behaviour. In most cases, ...

The phone has not stopped ringing this past two months, with more and more Hotels interested in sustainability. I love seeing the mind-set of our industry managers changing, and becoming interested on running greener Hotels.

What Is Sustainability? 

Undoubtedly, there are misconceptions out there as to what “sustainability” means, in fact, the word itself does not really explain its concept. Many experts have different definitions, but to me and the Fifty Shades Greener team, sustainability for a Hotel should involve three clear pillars:

Water Conservation

Waste Reduction

Energy Reduction

The overall vision or goal for any Hotel wishing to become a Green property, should be a reduction of Carbon Footprint, and at its best, Carbon Neutrality. After Hotel Doolin’s announcement last month of becoming the first Carbon Neutral Hotel in Ireland, many hotel managers are looking to achieve the same - but Carbon Neutrality is not  a quick fix or something that can be achieved in a s...

Green Hotels are currently reaping the benefits of not having a huge amount of competition.

The Hospitality Industry, are very slowly moving towards sustainability, not realising the huge benefits that running a Greener Hotel can offer.

Make Strides Towards A Sustainable Business

Every week, I see social media posts about hotels or every larger chains of hotels making a pledge to abolish mini toiletries, or using only compostable take away cups, etc.

Yes, it is great to hear the industry is making small changes to reduce the enormous amount of single use plastics it creates, but running a Green Business, goes well beyond that.

I have worked in the Hospitality Industry for 20 years, I met my best friends working in Hotels and it has shaped me into the person I am today. You could say I LOVE IT. But I am also painfully aware of how damaging this industry is to the environment.

What really frustrates me, is that there are so many small actions, any Hotel Team can take on their daily...

Running an Eco friendly business is becoming more and more important in current times. Society is asking for change. Our customers of tomorrow, are the children of today, and they have been striking for Climate Action every week for the past year.

A huge opportunity lies for those businesses ahead of the curve, implementing Green Actions on their daily activities, to attract a large % of the market by setting themselves ahead of the rest.

Yet, the Hospitality industry is reluctant to embrace the necessary changes to create a Greener industry.

Environmentally Friendly Business Ideas For Your Hotel

Change is actually easier than most people think. It should not be viewed as an “extra task” to perform, it should consist on a change of mind set across all departments of your business and your team. It should be just the new way of running your business.

Many business owners still do not understand the concept of running a Greener business. The general perception out there, is that it ...