Implementing Transformative Hotel Sustainability Data Management Practices

As the European Union gets set to introduce new regulatory frameworks governing environmental, social governance (ESG) and sustainability reporting, many hotels operating in the region face a similar problem: the efficient management and availability of trustworthy data about their environmental footprint that they can easily share with stakeholders in a standardized format.

But this isn't just an EU issue, few hotels around the world possess the valuable insight required for them to reduce their harmful impact on the planet. That is, unfortunately, due to the industry-wide reliance on inefficient and manual processes - think emails, surveys, spreadsheets and checkboxes - to collect, analyze and communicate information concerning their sustainability metrics and operations across various stakeholders.

The global regulatory push towards sustainability (illustrated by a pledge at the latest COP28 Climate Conference to accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels), is just one reason why hotels - and the entire industry- must upgrade how they handle their ESG-related data. Equally important is the clear business case that exists for hotels to prioritize and communicate their commitment to more earth-friendly practices.

According to a 2023 report from Booking.com, 76% of consumers say they want to travel more sustainably in the near term, a 16% increase from the company's 2021 survey and 5% higher than in 2022. More importantly, at least from a growth point of view, is the willingness of nearly half of consumers (43%) to pay extra for travel options with sustainable certification. Hotels that can, therefore, effectively and easily share their sustainability story with end users, either directly or through third-party platforms like travel marketplaces and booking platforms, gain a unique competitive advantage over those that cannot.?

However, this competitive advantage is not absolute. While consumers do see the value in paying more for sustainable travel options, close to half also believe that what is currently on the market is too expensive.

One prominent reason why hotels with eco-credentials charge more relates back to the reliance on manual data collection and reporting processes, as well as the complexity of sharing that data across various stakeholders, like travel marketplaces, green certification entities and regulatory bodies. According to our internal data, we estimate that manual sustainability data collection and reporting alone costs hotel and travel brands a whopping $8 billion a year. Wouldn't that money be better spent on actually putting sustainable practices into place? Of course, it would.

The Steep Cost of Manual Sustainability Data Processes

If $8 billion (about $25 per person in the US) seems like a large number, consider a relatively simple use case. Up until recently, every time Booking.com wanted to check the status of a hotel's green certifications to determine if it qualified for the online travel agency's consumer-facing 'Travel Sustainable' badge, it was required to manually upload spreadsheets from the different certification entities to its database and individually map that information to its hotels. As you can imagine, this was neither seamless nor quick and necessitated the intervention of valuable human resources, and it was also very time intensive. The result? Infrequent uploads and data mapping errors, which in turn led to an erosion of trust on behalf of both internal stakeholders and Booking.com customers. It's a pervasive challenge across the entire hotel, travel and tourism ecosystem as well.

Imagine the burden and cost for hotels, which must collect the data, map it to the ever-evolving requirements from third-party certifiers, governments and regulatory bodies and then turn it into actionable insights. That $8 billion no longer seems far-fetched when you compound these challenges across the entire global industry.

In an environment of heightened legislation governing ESG reporting and compliance - one which is also supported by consumer demand - it's imperative that hotel and hospitality groups bring that figure down. They can do this by better cooperating with industry partners to operate within a connected ecosystem where the collection, management and communication of sustainability data flows in real-time between all concerned players, reducing and, in many cases, removing the significant reporting burden on individual entities.

This would increase transparency and make it far easier for hotels to gather all requirements to comply with multiple voluntary frameworks and regulations as they evolve or change. It would also empower hotels to innovate across crucial sustainability areas like waste management, resource allocation, energy consumption, etc., in a way that is financially viable in the short and long term. The number one way to do this is to ditch the spreadsheets and manual labor!

Sustainability Data Management and The Single Source of Truth

Where manual processes mostly fail is that they lead to a surfeit of double-accounting and confusion. How is anyone supposed to know which information is current and most accurate when duplicate metrics are flying around? Some frameworks have over 1,100 possible reporting metrics; where do sustainability managers and those tasked with reporting even start? What would happen if individual hotels were armed with technology that enabled them to enter all sustainability data into a single platform and being able to reuse that information repeatedly, instead of collecting sustainability metrics through emails, surveys and on paper?

How much more helpful would it be if that platform could also connect to any smart device on a property, like a water meter, to collect readings continuously in real-time? That platform would become an all-in-one hub operating as the single source of truth for anything sustainability-related for all players involved in the hospitality ESG ecosystem. In other words, it would not be unidirectional. Different stakeholders could receive information from, and share information with, the hub. By tapping into the relatively simple power of API technology, this data transfer is both easy and seamless. Instead of facing a barrage of information, however, every stakeholder accessing the hub could opt-in to receive only relevant content for their department or reporting requirements.

The best way to understand how this might work is to consider how a global hotel chain headquartered in the United States might manage the incoming (and frequently updated) rules around sustainability reporting for its EU properties. A good, centralized hub will automatically include all these rules in its database as a long checklist. That means managers are absolved of collecting requirements manually and simply need to activate the checklist for properties in the affected zones. Regional and even global leaders can then quickly assess any shortfalls at the property level and offer their support to ensure maximum compliance.

Translating Sustainability Requirements

One of the most laborious parts of manually managing hotel sustainability data is the mapping process. That's because there is a lack of standardized language across different stakeholders involved in evaluating a hotel's ecological compliance, whether voluntary or compulsory. And while it would be nice if everyone got on the same page, that's an unrealistic expectation. In a manual system, a person would be physically tasked with deciphering all the tasks required to comply with regulation A, certification B and the needs of marketplace C. With a sustainability data management hub, however, that tedious mapping work is fully automated, allowing hotels to upcycle their sustainability data and ultimately enabling them to achieve their sustainability goals with significantly less effort and resources.

And now is when things get exciting. A centralized hub rich with quality data can harness the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning to push hotels to be more proactive and develop operations that prioritize sustainability, especially regarding voluntary certifications.

Let's say a hotel is interested in qualifying for a new green certification, or maybe one of the certificates they've previously qualified for has changed its requirements. A hub that collects these requirements from the different certifying bodies and uploads them to a property's platform in real time could alert hotel managers to potential data gaps threatening their certification status, which they can take steps to rectify. An example of this might be an alert warning a property manager that they are about to lose their certification status because they are expending too much CO2. The hub can quickly analyze different areas of the hotel's operations to identify where they can reduce their CO2 in the immediate term and suggest more ambitious ways to cut emissions that might require a more investment-heavy approach for future consideration.

The Road Ahead

At the heart of effective sustainability management lies the ability to capture data from various sources and ensure data quality and accuracy. Hospitality brands must understand their data sources in real time-from energy consumption and waste generation to supplier practices and guest preferences. Leveraging technology that streamlines and automates data collection and analysis is the key to informed decision-making and the only way hotel brands can drive innovation on the sustainability front in a scalable and efficient manner.

Robust data management systems and reporting mechanisms enable hotels to transparently communicate their sustainability efforts to stakeholders, including guests, investors, and regulatory authorities. As more countries worldwide start to follow the European Union's lead around sustainability reporting and compliance, and as consumer demand for sustainable accommodations continues to grow, the hospitality industry will have no choice but to fall in line and adopt technology-backed practices that empower them to take big leaps and give back to the planet which has given them so much.

Reprinted from the Hotel Business Review with permission from www.HotelExecutive.com.

About BeCause

BeCause is an enterprise software company that enables sustainability data to flow simpler, faster and cheaper so travel and tourism companies can positively impact people, the planet and their profits. BeCause works with over 17,000+ companies, including sustainability-certified hotels, eco-labels, certification entities like GreenKey, industry partners including UN GSTC and marketplaces including Booking.com. The BeCause Sustainability Management Hub allows organizations to collect and display all their communication about their sustainability efforts in one place, empowering them to make sustainability manageable for their operations and a competitive advantage for their business. For more information, visit because.eco.