We really don’t need another crisis on top of a global pandemic and a senseless war, but we have one, albeit a more silent one.
Energy prices are soaring and businesses just like yours are facing price hikes that must be dealt with. In conjunction with increasing labour costs due to staff shortages, property owners need alternatives that help cut costs without compromising on service quality.
Of course, there is always the option to pass the price increases directly onto the customer but with high competition and the inevitable price slashes that ensue, you could just run the risk of pricing yourself out of the market.
This is a serious dilemma that cannot be solved overnight.
However, both a short- and long-term solution is to begin reducing energy usage so that your bills stay as manageable as possible.
This cannot be adhoc or reactive, it must be strategic and proactive to make a sustained difference.
How to do this inevitably requires concrete changes in all areas of your daily operations to reduce energy wastage and improve on efficiency.
Advice on installing LED lightbulbs and water saving shower devices is already last decade. The changes go much further than this to include behavioural change and education about the way we use our buildings.
Buildings do not consume energy, the people in them do.
Once we embrace this fact, it becomes easier to see that, while modifications to installations can make a certain difference, significant and sustained change is only possible when we get the people who inhabit our buildings to make positive changes to the way they use them.
While this may sound like a challenge that you are not sure you have the energy to tackle right now, there is one way to change that mindset.
If you choose to see this as an opportunity to green your business, the work that needs to be done takes on a different meaning.
Sustainability is a buzzword that has punctuated every future of tourism conversation throughout the pandemic.
In late 2021, both Google and Booking.com launched the ability to publish your sustainability actions on your hotel listings. This is in direct response to consumer demand to be more informed, so they are able to make more conscious travel decisions.
If you missed out on the launch of these new features you can find out more here:
While most hotel owners are aware that building a more sustainable business is important, it understandably got pushed down the list due to the immediate need to focus on effective marketing in order to sell more room nights. Not to mention while trying to plug staffing holes and continue to pivot to your domestic market.
I feel you. It was always going to be a long haul.
Back in May 2020 I raised eyebrows when I mentioned in an interview that recovery from a global pandemic was predicted to take an average of 21 months by the WHO, but here we are, well past that date.
I am happy to say that with international borders opening up, Covid hospitalisations stabilising, and the seemingly non-critical flu-like Omicron symptoms people experience who are infected today, it does look like that journey to recovery has well and truly begun.
However, the war in Ukraine has thrown us a curve ball resulting in these escalating energy costs.
What has tackling them got to do with sustainability? I hear you ask.
It is quite simple in theory, and actually not as hard as you might expect in practice.
Building a more energy efficient business driven by the need to reduce energy bills, can be done in conjunction with implementing sustainability actions.
These actions tick the boxes of:
a) being kinder to the planet assuring business longevity and the ability for future generations to experience our destinations as we know them (and hopefully in an even better way),
b) allowing you access to the competitive advantage of aligning your business values with what we know your existing marketing channels (i.e. Google and Booking) are rewarding you for,
c) generating responsible employer branding that can be used to help you stand out from the crowd to attract and retain staff, and
d) creating fresh and appealing marketing content that allows you to tell and share your story in an authentic way to engage conscious-minded post-pandemic travellers.
I could go on about the benefits of committing to responsible business decisions on your journey to building a more sustainable business, but I don’t want to lose the point in hand.
You need to cut your energy bills.
To do this you need to make operational changes.
To make those operational changes sustainable over time, you need to educate your staff, so they understand why you are asking them to change the way they have always done things.
To educate them, you need to understand more. (Even if you don't have staff, you still need to educate yourself :) )
You need to know where to start.
I have created a free download to get you inspired. Detailing 13 smart energy saving strategies in different areas of your hotel, it is designed to help you cut your energy bills and inspire you to rethink the journey to creating a more sustainable business.
I invite you to embrace the new journey ahead. Turn the energy costs problem into part of the bigger solution of tackling climate change so that we don't just build back better post pandemic, but we can build forward and redefine how we do business.
Click below to get access to your free download where you will find 13 ways to get started on your green journey to cost efficient operations.
I am here to support you. Marketing is what sells your rooms and through this energy costs challenge you have an opportunity to redefine your messaging to stand out. I know a lot about how to successfully market tourism accommodations. My masters in Responsible Tourism Management fuels my passion to build more sustainable businesses and destinations, so this combination is gold dust to those who are willing to embrace the journey. It is the future of tourism, so it is time to get onboard or lose out to your more enlightened competitor down the road. While you percolate that, I leave you with my all-time favourite quote.
Found inspiration here? Scroll right down to the bottom and leave a comment. If you would like to receive more helpful, relatable, and actionable content relevant to your business, click here to sign up to my email list. No spam, no bombarding you. Just really useful stuff. I look forward to having you onboard :)