Staff engagement is critical for hotels to continually improve their sustainability efforts and gain a competitive advantage. Director Stephen Farrant explains that hospitality is a people business relying on interactions between staff and customers, so staff must be engaged and motivated to deliver the brand promise. Seeing sustainability as an ongoing journey to address challenges through innovative solutions requires staff involvement. Farrant also notes the market potential for environmentally responsible hotel products and services is growing long-term as major companies factor sustainability into decisions and seek standardized metrics on impacts.

1. Interview with: Stephen Farrant,
Director, International Tourism
Partnership
“Enhancing the sustainability of your
hotel business will give you a
competitive advantage if you do it right.
That starts with staff engagement and
seeing it as a question of continual
improvement,” says Stephen Farrant,
Director, International Tourism
Partnership. “Hospitality is a people
business. It is about interactions
between people on the ground. That is
where the brand promise is delivered.
Staff engagement is critical for finding
innovative solutions,” he goes on to say.
A speaker at the marcus evans EMEA
Hospitality Summit 2013, in
Montreux, Switzerland, 11 - 13
November, Farrant talks about the
market for environmentally and socially
responsible products and services in the
hotel and tourism industry, and how
hotels can gain a competitive advantage
by better engaging staff.
What is the market potential for
environmentally responsible
products and services in the
tourism and hospitality industry?
Will this be a long-term trend?
It is absolutely the beginning of a long-
term trend. We are already seeing signs
of that, particularly in the corporate
marketplace. In the B2B procurement
market, major companies, organisations
and national governments are beginning
to factor environmental and social
impact into their commercial decision-
making criteria.
If a company has to report on its carbon
footprint, it will consider how and where
it hosts conferences and where its
employees stay on business travel.
The International Tourism Partnership,
working with the World Travel and
Tourism Council, has brought all the
leading hotel companies together to
design and deliver a consistent and
standardised way of measuring and
reporting the carbon impact of overnight
stays, conferences and events.
Corporate customers today are asking
for credible, consistent and comparable
information on carbon, energy, water,
waste, and a range of other
environmental and social metrics.
What is the business case for “going
green”? How can hotels ensure a
profitable outcome?
Effective utilisation of scare resources
brings about cost efficiencies and
savings, especially as some resources
become more expensive. However, the
bigger argument is about building a
competitive advantage to drive revenue.
Companies that are genuinely acting in
a responsible manner will see higher
valuations, as the financial and
investment community’s focus on ESG
parameters begins to directly impact
them.
The competition for talent, the ability to
recruit and retain the brightest and
most motivated staff is another reason.
The company’s ability to speak credibly
about its sustainability credentials will
increasingly make a difference.
Companies can only deliver profitability
over the medium-term if they are also
delivering a responsible approach to
business, environmentally and socially.
The revenue generating opportunities
come from the enhanced perception of
the company, making customers feel
good and by retaining the very best
staff.
Why is staff engagement critical?
Staff must be motivated and productive
in this business. They must be happy to
turn up for work every day.
Sustainability is a journey of continual
improvement and finding new solutions
to challenges. Staff must be engaged
and motivated to help deliver on that.
Ultimately, sustainability will not be
achieved through grand strategies that
are cooked up at the head office, but by
the workforce on the ground. They must
be motivated to deliver the brand
promise and customer experience.
Sustainability
is a journey
of continual
improvement
and finding
new solutions
to challenges
How Hotel Staff Influence its
Environmental and Social Profile

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About the EMEA Hospitality Summit 2013
This unique forum will take place at the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace, Montreux,
Switzerland, 11 - 13 November 2013. Offering much more than any conference,
exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed
industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive
networking event. The Summit includes presentations on crafting a distinctive guest
experience, driving ROI, adopting the latest design trends and integrating green
building strategies.
www.hospitalitysummit.com
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To view the web version of this interview, please click here: www.hospitalitysummit.com/StephenFarrant