66% of guests are absolutely convinced that if we don’t act now to protect the planet, future generations will indeed be threatened.
It is also worth observing that millennials and women are generally more sensitive to sustainable development issues.
- Cut our hotels’ water and energy consumption and CO2 emissions,
- Sort more of our waste, so we can recycle more,
- Promote a more responsible diet,Fight food waste,
- Support the development of local communities, etc.
We can be even more effective in all these areas if we incite our guests to engage with us.
The opportunities to interact with them will be all the more effective because our guests are well aware of these issues. What is more, digital technology now offers new solutions that will allow us to interact even more with them.
Most of our guests already take action on a daily basis in their own homes.
And a majority would like to continue these responsible gestures when they stay in our hotels.
But we need to make it easy for them to take action: our guests are willing to make a gesture for the planet or for communities, as long as it is not too complicated. They are even happy to pay a bit more!
Our guests are engaged on a daily basis
85%
of Accor's guests try to avoid food waste at home
82%
buy energy-efficient appliances
81%
sort their waste
76%
buy locally manufactured products
Our guests are willing to help us
70%
of our guests are as concerned about sustainable development in the hotel as they are in their own homes
2 out of 3
guests are willing to pay a little more for a hotel that takes responsible action
64%
are willing to receive their invoice by email
61%
are willing to sort their waste at the hotel
57%
are willing to use their towels and bedsheets for two or three days
What we are doing already
Behind every gesture there are a host of positive initiatives.
For years, we have been taking action to encourage our guests to support our sustainable development commitments.
Plant for the Planet is a perfect example of the role they can play in our initiatives.
It was launched in 2009, and incites guests staying for more than one night to reuse their towels.
We use half the savings generated by this simple eco-gesture to finance the planting of trees in countries where we operate in order to develop agroforestry schemes.
In this way, we support small farmers and also reduce our environmental footprint.
Thanks to the support of our guests, we have already launched over 150 schemes in 25 countries and planted 5 million trees.
LE CLUB ACCORHOTELS
Ever since 2014, Le Club members can spend their loyalty points on a good cause. They can either support one of the Group’s solidarity projects, or finance trees in our plantations.
GUEST JOURNEY
From the hotel car park to the guest room, we communicate and invite our guests to support our initiatives and take responsible action. For example, several hotels encourage their guests to switch to electric cars by offering recharging stations. Thanks to a partnership with Tesla, this figure is on the increase.
MEETING 21
A sustainable meeting offer for companies which was launched in 2015. It features eco-designed meeting rooms and facilities, responsible restaurant and transport services, and more. It also includes Carbon Optimizer, a device to calculate and offset the seminar’s carbon footprint.
What we plan over the next five years
Using digital technology to help achieve a positive footprint
Our guests are willing to interact with us to support sustainable development initiatives, on condition it’s quick and easy.
Digital technology is a highly efficient way to make it easy for them to take action, and our group certainly intends to use it.
Since September 2015, the Accor mobile application offers our guests the opportunity to buy a tree in a few clicks and thus contribute to our Plant for the Planet program. This innovative approach is unprecedented in the tourism sector.
Subsequently, Accor.com will also allow guests to select their hotel based on sustainable development criteria.
It’s just a start. There are endless avenues that can be explored to create a community of engaged guests. We will therefore continue to innovate regularly so we can invite our guests to participate in responsible initiatives.