Services
Services
Filling in the documentation needed for ecolabel certification (e.g. Green Key) can be very time-consuming and cumbersome. Additionally, the requirements can be very overwhelming and often a personalized roadmap has to be made in order to comply to all criteria. The consultants of Ecotel Consultancy are specialized in this matter and will save you from this hassle, saving your hotel time and money. Find out more.
Preventing food waste should be one of your top priorities. Food cost accounts for around 25% of a hotel’s revenue, that is enormous. Reducing this food cost with only 2% can already translate in huge savings and a growing profit. However, this is a very challenging task without having a concrete plan and the necessary knowledge. Therefore Ecotel Consultancy uses specific tools to fight food waste. Find out more.
Establishing a leading corporate sustainability strategy is important for creating consistency in the brand and keeping up with the demand for sustainability. Ecotel Consultancy identifies the gaps in the current strategy or develops an entirely new strategy. Next to that, opportunities and attainable goals are identified for the entire hotel (chain) based on data and measured by metrics. Find out more.
It can be hard for hotel managers to translate corporate environmental policies into concrete in-house actions. Incorporating sustainability into the hotel’s operations can be a complicated task. Our consultants will look at the current processes and products to identify more sustainable and cost-efficient opportunities. Several alternatives will be evaluated and offered so you can make an informed choice. Find out more.
Renovation is the perfect time to integrate sustainability and reconsider your hotel’s strategy and the way of doing future business. Sustainability should definitely find its place in that future and we are here to help you with it. Renovating your hotel presents ideal opportunities to make sure you are set for a sustainable future and as such offer your guests a fantastic stay. Find out more.
It is a critical task to manage the hotel’s energy consumption and identify where improvements can be made. Often, a lot of energy (and costs) can be saved without loss of comfort with small adjustments. Through the creation of an energy policy and through an assessment of the current systems and installations, our certified energy experts will help you with the energy management of the property. Find out more.
Certification Guidance
It is a label of environmental, social and economic performance an accommodation can achieve by complying to a fixed set of criteria. These criteria are usually divided in different sections: water, energy, waste, cleaning, F&B...
Benefits:
Reputation
Getting certified with an internationally recognized ecolabel makes your hotel more credible and trustworthy. Tourists value the effort you put into certification which effectively strengthens your reputation and brand.
Tourists
According to Booking.com’s 2021 Sustainable Travel Report, 73% would be more likely to choose an accommodation if it has implemented sustainability practices. An ecolabel attracts tourists and gives them an extra push to choose your accommodation.
Employee Engagement
An ecolabel focuses on a wide range of functionalities of a hotel; the restaurant, the reception, the rooms… This gives the employees a common goal to strive for which in return boosts the employee morale and empowers the whole team.
Cost-savings
Sustainability is not only about the environment, being sustainable also means being operationally profitable. Sustainable practices will offer positive returns environmentally, economically and socially; saving the planet and saving money.
Business Clients
Sustainability is priority in a lot of industries. Businesses are constantly searching for the ideal location that meet their needs and lowers their environmental footprint. Therefore, an ecolabel can even be a prerequisite to attract corporate clients.
Marketing
Engaging in sustainable practices and communicating about them is a highly effective marketing tool. People will be impressed with what your accommodation does for the environment and will automatically take your hotel into consideration for their next trip.
How does it work?
Intake:
We start by scheduling an intake talk at your hotel to give you more information and listen to your expectations and desires.
Preparation:
After agreeing upon the best choice for you, Ecotel Consultancy will prepare the necessary documentation and everything we need to help the best possible way.
On site:
We will visit your hotel and fill in the necessary forms you need for certification. Meanwhile, we will inform you about everything you need to know about sustainability and the certification method/procedures.
Certificate:
An external auditor will evaluate the necessary documents and compliance with the criteria. Hereafter, a formal decision will be made to issue the certificate. Congratulations, your hotel is now certified!
Renewal:
Most certificates have to be renewed every year which means that the necessary forms have to be filled in again (with updated information) and another audit has to be done. For most of the ecolabels, the criteria change every 4-5 years. As Ecotel Consultancy strives for a healthy, long-term relationship, we are always up-to-date with the most recent version of the criteria so we can optimally guide you.
Sustainability Consulting
There is an increasing demand for:
- Water Conservation
- Waste Reduction
- Optimal Supply Chain
- Organic Products
- Transparancy
- Respect for the Planet
- Sustainable Partners
- Environmental Protection
- Traceability
- Fairtrade Products
- Sustainability Label
- Energy Effiency
Sustainability Facts
In the current competitive hospitality landscape, sustainability is a must to sustain your business and should be integrated throughout the hotel’s premises which consist of different spaces such as a lobby, a restaurant, guest rooms… In all these spaces, there lie many opportunities to engage in sustainable practices that add to guest satisfaction as well as to cost-savings.
In addition to a complete screening of these rooms, our consultants also identify solutions in the supply chain as this is often a bottleneck for sustainability. Many sustainable improvements can be made through responsible purchasing, which is a key point in central management. Regional, seasonal and organic products charm guests and benefit your hotel and the local community. Furthermore, making optimal decisions in the supply chain result in economic gains and is an area of focus for Ecotel Consultancy.
Next to that, we will link the identified opportunities to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) if desired. For example, improvements in the supply chain relate to SDG 12 – responsible consumption and production, while tackling energy and water (over)consumption link with SDG 6 & 7 – clean water and sanitation & affordable and clean energy.
How does the sustainability consulting work?
Intake:
We start with an intake talk at your hotel, to give you more information and listen to your expectations and desires (e.g. focus on a specific aspect of sustainability).
On site:
Our consultants visit your hotel and screen every functional space in function of sustainability. We identify opportunities and offer alternatives, from an environmental and economic point of view.
Report:
After the screening, a custom-made report will be made with all the current level of sustainability at your hotel, together with opportunities and solutions. With these valuable and actionable insights, you will be able to increase your hotel’s level of sustainability.
Sustainable Hotel Renovation Guidance
Passive Design
When building or renovating a hotel, it is important to maximize natural lighting, air flow and heat. This way, the need for energy will be reduced dramatically.
Passive Design
When building or renovating a hotel, it is important to maximize natural lighting, air flow and heat. This way, the need for energy will be reduced dramatically.
Materials
The choice of (construction) materials can be very difficult as there is a great variety on the market. Incorporating the environment in the building offers many advantages.
Materials
The choice of (construction) materials can be very difficult as there is a great variety on the market. Incorporating the environment in the building offers many advantages.
MEP
Mechanical, electrical and plumbing installations such as bathroom equipment can heavily influence water and energy consumption and therefore must be considered.
MEP
Mechanical, electrical and plumbing installations such as bathroom equipment can heavily influence water and energy consumption and therefore must be considered.
Energy Installations
Selecting the right (sustainable) energy systems to power HVAC, MEP, appliances is important to offer guests the best experience while paying attention to costs & the environment.
Energy Installations
Selecting the right (sustainable) energy systems to power HVAC, MEP, appliances is important to offer guests the best experience while paying attention to costs & the environment.
During a hotel renovation, many factors should be taken into account and one of them is sustainability. The planning phase is the perfect time to evaluate the as-is state of your hotel and decide upon the desired to-be state. Usually this goes together with assessing the systems in place and looking for ways to uplift your hotel. In this respect, thinking of and involving sustainability into the picture is a great idea.
How does it work?
Intake:
In our intake talk, we listen to your expectations and desires concerning the renovation. Which spaces will be renovated, are systems getting renewed…? These are the initial key questions.
Report:
Our consultants look for opportunities and sustainable solutions that are long-lasting and futureproof. Alternatives will be given and discussed to allow for an informed purchasing decision.
Implementation:
After our advice, you can decide which ideas you would like to implement in your hotel and make a worthwhile investment.
Food Waste Audit
Why does your hotel need a food waste audit?
Cut food waste and save money
The hotel industry has been looking into resource inefficiencies more profoundly in the light of sustainability. However, food & beverages remain an untapped potential for savings. The average restaurant food cost percentage is between 28 and 32% of total food sales. Together with the labor that goes into processing this food, this percentage constitutes 90% of total food sales. This means that every kg of food waste is a real loss as it represents an extra disposal cost, wasted labor and of course food that should not have been purchased.
However, most of the times it is possible to reduce these costs by executing a food waste audit. The audit saves a lot of money on a yearly basis by making more responsible purchases and by creating less waste.
Increase your hotel’s reputation as a sustainable brand
Not only the hotels themselves but also the tourists and corporate clients are more and more aware of eco-friendly practices. According to a recent research of Booking.com, 70% of travelers are more likely to choose an accommodation that has implemented sustainable practices.
Managing your hotel more responsibly and looking for sustainable options such as buying local, seasonal and organic products, recycling waste, dispose fats to use as a resource for biofuel… can help you stand out for guests and increase your popularity.
Furthermore, by reducing food waste, your hotel contributes to Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By 2030, the United Nations set a target of halving the global food waste and by helping to achieve such a goal, your brand will become more purposeful and differentiated from others.
Reduce your carbon footprint
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United States (FAO) reported that globally one third of all food produced for human consumption eventually goes to waste. This is a staggering amount that gets lost throughout the supply chain: from agricultural production to final household (or hotel) consumption. Moreover, food production goes together with the emission of greenhouse gasses. Avoidance of food waste also means avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions and thus a lower carbon footprint for your hotel. This way, you also contribute to Goal 13: Climate Action of the SDGs.
How does it work?
Intake:
We start with an intake talk at your hotel to give you more information and listen to your expectations and desires about the food waste audit.
Preparation:
We prepare the necessary documents and attributes to conduct the food waste audit so that the goals and expectations are set beforehand to make the on site analysis as smooth as possible.
On site:
We visit your hotel and attend every meal (from breakfast to dinner – if applicable) from the beginning until the end of the service. Every finished plate gets weighed and visually observed for a period of one week.
Report:
After the audit itself, a custom-made report will be made with all the data that was collected during the audit. You will get valuable insights and actionable recommendations that can dramatically lower your food cost.