Planners who don’t take a hotel’s environmental policies into account when booking a meeting may find themselves behind the times these days. What research showed to be true just 10 years ago—that most hotel guests really didn’t care about things such as energy and water conservation, giving back to local communities, or preserving ecosystems—is no longer the case. According to a recent survey on behalf of the International Hotels Environmental Initiative, which was conducted by Small Luxury Hotels of the World, about 80 percent of American travelers believe that it’s important for hotels to take an active stance on environmental impact issues.
More surprisingly, 70 percent of American travelers say they are willing to pay an extra $50 to $150 for a two-week stay in a hotel with a responsible environmental attitude. And more than half say they are more likely to book a hotel with a responsible environmental attitude.
While this does mean that there’s one more item to add to the site-inspection checklist, being able to add a hotel’s environmental policies to a meeting’s promotional materials may be the final factor to convince a wavering green-minded attendee to come to the event.