Sustainable hotels for business travel: how to choose responsible suppliers

A sustainable policy is increasingly making its way into the landscape of business travel. First of all, companies today are more thoughtful and evaluate whether a business trip is really essential or whether the same objective can be brought home without traveling. Company policies also massively include flights that, for example, do not include stopovers or that the aircraft are powered by SAF fuel, or the rental of electric cars for its employees on business trips. But a particularly important item is that of sustainable hotels to choose from during your business trip. Obviously the responsibility cannot be completely delegated to the individual employee and the company itself must guide him in organizing the trip. In fact, to achieve a cleaner and more accessible future it is necessary to all proceed in the same direction, choosing partners who respect the same priorities. In other words, the company itself must proceed with a careful selection of suppliers who reflect the company's sustainable philosophy. But how to identify sustainable hotels with which to form partnerships?

What is a sustainable hotel?

It might seem like a somewhat banal question, yet the concept of sustainability is usually associated exclusively with environmental protection, which however constitutes only one aspect of it. A sustainable hotel is a structure that implements practices, services and some architectural and engineering measures intended to reduce the overall environmental impact . Thanks to the development of eco-sustainable architecture and the use of renewable energy sources, an increasing number of hotels have reduced their carbon footprint, saving first and foremost in terms of consumption. In fact, the concept of sustainability is not the exclusive prerogative of new buildings, but can also be applied in the case of long-standing hotels converted into innovative and environmentally friendly hotels. The factors to take into consideration, whether we are talking about construction from scratch or renovation, are the bioclimatic study of the area, the functioning of the air conditioning systems, the use of natural materials and the conscious consumption of natural resources.

What are the requirements for eco-sustainable hotels?

Regarding environmental sustainability, there are some parameters taken into consideration by the associations that issue sustainable guarantee certificates to tourist facilities. Among these factors are:

• use of environmentally friendly products for cleaning rooms (for example by giving up chemical detergents and offering natural soaps to guests), but also for the hotel kitchen (perhaps preferring 0 km ingredients);
• moderate use of heating, electricity, other resources and use of renewable energy sources (such as solar panels for water heating);
• separate waste collection and reduction of polluting substances;
• active policies for the protection of nature and the local landscape (for example the promotion of two-wheel tourism).
• wastewater recycling

There are various environmental brands in the tourism sector that issue certifications to hotels, but also campsites, which indicate how respectful the operator is of the environment, but also of the needs of all guests. The choice of transport greatly influences the awarding of the certificate, but also the perception of sustainability by guests. To promote sustainable mobility it is important to facilitate travel by bike or by public transport or private shuttles. Another initiative which in this sense enjoys excellent appeal is the presence of electric charging stations in the car park to recharge guests' green vehicles.

Sustainable hotels for business trips

Business travel represents an important slice of the travel sector and in recent years it is increasingly discovering the importance of using digital tools to streamline travel planning and reporting practices, but also to encourage more virtuous and respectful choices of the environment. It is pleasant evidence that more and more companies are showing a certain sensitivity towards the future of the planet and are therefore committed to reducing their environmental footprint. In addition to the choice of digital means, the right selection of suppliers to choose from is also important with a view to a cleaner future . Choosing sustainable hotels for the stay of your off-site employees means guaranteeing a concrete contribution to the future of the planet, but also to the reduction of emissions linked to each trip and therefore to the company's sustainability balance sheet.

AlmaTravel is a travel agency specialized for decades in business travel that responds to the new needs of companies both in terms of technology and sustainability. In fact, AlmAPP is the digital tool that allows you to request proposals and obtain responses in real time. The system processes all the information of each trip, from planning to reporting phases to improve the company's decision-making processes over time . but at the same time AlmAPP provides detailed reports on CO2 emissions based on travel services and the choice of means of transport .

On the other hand, Alma Travel makes environmental protection a priority to share with its customers, suggesting the best solutions to increase efficiency, reduce travel costs and promote employee well-being. In addition to reducing CO2 emissions as much as possible by optimizing travel, Alma Travel is also committed to suggesting sustainable hotels so as not to reduce the commitment to just traveling by plane, but to bring change also on earth, for Earth .