The travel booking process has traditionally been fairly straightforward: deciding on a location, evaluating accommodation and travel options, making your decision, and then booking.
NB: This is an article from Hotelchamp
However, as travellers’ behaviour changed and the pool of choices grew, the booking process became a bit more complex. In 2022, a whopping two-thirds of travellers thought about sustainability and the environmental impact of their travels.
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More environmentally conscious than ever before, travellers now want to stay in places that align with their values, and they won’t budge. They’ve added the environmental impact of their stay on their mental checklist for booking hotels – and you need to meet their needs.
There are many ways for your hotel to become more sustainable. However, an essential part is your local community. Hotels need to engage with their local community to grow together sustainably and attract today’s eco-conscious guests. By doing so, not only will they provide more authentic experiences for their guests, but also help the community grow. It’s an all-around win-win situation for the hotel and the local economy.
If you are not yet convinced, here are 5 reasons why your hotel should engage with the local community. Moreover, we’ll look at some tips for hotels to make the best use of their local partnerships.
Why you should engage with your local community
1. Partnerships with the local community support your sustainability efforts
There’s no way to achieve true hotel sustainability without developing a relationship with your local community. It is one of the stakeholders you need to care for to improve your corporate social responsibility—much like your guests and employees. On top of that, investing in both your hotel and your local environment shows your interest in the long-term sustainability of local tourism.
Shorten your supply chain with local purchasing
Sourcing locally helps you cut down on fuel consumption, air pollution and shipping costs. And as hotels are massive resource consumers, you can introduce local purchases all along your supply chain. Think food, bedding, decor and even entertainment. Further on, we will explore some more specific ways to engage local businesses through purchasing locally.
As you purchase from local suppliers, you help the local economy grow. On top of that, you’ll develop beneficial partnerships for the future, resulting in more sustainable, long-term growth.
2. You can provide guests with a more genuine and authentic experience by engaging local businesses
Guests want personalised and unique experiences when they travel. Even more so, half of them want to be immersed in local culture while travelling. As a hotel, you are best positioned to bridge the connection between your community and your guests. Particularly by developing partnerships within your community, you can help your community grow and offer guests the unique, authentic experiences they are seeking.
