Initiative eco-responsable et RSE

🏡 Starhotels, Italy's premier private hotel group, acquired Hermitage Hotel & Resort, expanding its luxury Starhotels Collezione. The eco-friendly resort, established in the 1970s by the Maschietto family, is located in the heart of Versilia, featuring a 4,000 m² luxuriant park, 59 rooms and suites, a bar, a restaurant with its own vegetable garden, and a large pool. The acquisition reinforces Starhotels' upscale Italian hospitality. The hotel will join the Collezione portfolio by summer 2025.

🏨 Accor announces the 14th edition of the Take Off! Student Challenge for 2025, focusing on local engagement and inclusivity. The challenge, initiated 13 years ago, evolves to include local market-specific challenges in native languages, targeting students in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Brazil, China, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Mexico, and more. Aimed at breaking down cultural and linguistic barriers, the 2025 edition emphasizes accessibility and inclusion, with innovative hotel projects catering to clients with specific needs. Over 400 Accor hotels are 'Tourism & Handicap' certified.

🏝 On Earth Day, Kerzner International joined the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, joining over 100 organizations. Kerzner, known for Atlantis, One&Only, and SIRO brands, aligns with a global movement encompassing over 66,000 hotels and 8 million rooms worldwide, aiming for net positive hospitality. The initiative seeks to ensure the hospitality industry contributes more to the environment and society than it consumes, improving overall impact. CEO Glenn Mandziuk welcomed Kerzner and highlighted the importance of sharing best practices for a sustainable future.

🌍 Travelers increasingly prioritize environmental sustainability, influencing transportation choices and accommodations. Eco-certifications for hotels address resource management, environmental impact, and waste recycling, among other criteria, to avoid greenwashing. Green Key requires compliance with 13 stringent criteria, while EU Ecolabel showcases environmentally-impactful goods and services. Travelife Certification focuses on eco-friendly practices and consumer behavior. LEED certifies energy and environmental design, present in over 180 countries. BIO Hotels, popular in German-speaking countries, endorses organic products and eco-responsibility. B Corporation looks at positive business impacts and demands a verification process. Green Globe, affiliated with the United Nations' World Tourism Organization, evaluates sustainability through 44 criteria and 380 indicators. Eco-certifications not only reflect ethical choices but also offer strategic market differentiation, brand reputation improvement, operational cost reduction, and potential for public incentives and European grants. Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) promote eco-friendly establishments, influencing booking potential. Zak by Wubook, a Property Management System (PMS) for hotels, practices green coding, limiting chat and message communications, and managing resources efficiently.

📍 Airbnb announced a significant change to their pricing presentations called "Total Price" on Easter Monday. Over the past two years, guests preferred the total price option over basic rates without fees, as evidenced by over 17 million activations. The company, reacting to negative feedback and government pressures, like those from the Biden administration, implemented the change. Additionally, 300,000 hosts have eliminated or significantly reduced cleaning fees. As of yesterday, all listings now display the total cost upfront, excluding taxes. This shift towards transparency aims to uphold Airbnb's foundational principle as an affordable hotel alternative. ???? Please note that I wasn't able to include some of the numerical details due to the word limit constraint.

❄ Orcières Merlette 1850, a ski resort in the French Hautes-Alpes, unveils a modernized logo reflecting ambition and commitment to the future, amid climate change's impact on the ski industry. Known for 300 sunny days annually and a high-altitude domain (2725m) ensuring exceptional snow coverage, it attracts visitors from PACA, Paris, and Belgium. Besides skiing, it offers off-slope activities and events year-round, and hosts high-level training and competitions on the FIS-approved Camile Ricou slope.

🏦 Kempinski Group announces a multi-year investment plan to support its successful partnership with BTG Hotels. Key initiatives include expanding the Chinese heritage portfolio for Kempinski, launching a new lifestyle hospitality brand for 200 hotels in China over the next five years, supporting Bristoria brand portfolio, and strengthening NUO brand for global luxury cultural hospitality. BTG and Kempinski have been successful for two decades, with China's travel and tourism evolving significantly over the last 25 years.

???? BeMed supports 12 local initiatives to combat plastic pollution in the Mediterranean by 2025. These initiatives include reducing single-use plastics in La Ciotat, France, and promoting waste reduction in Gračanica River, Montenegro. Additionally, a project aims to make Ibiza and Formentera zero-waste islands by 2030 through public-private collaboration.

🌱 Ivy acts as a natural thermal ally, creating shade in summer to limit heat absorption by walls and serving as a wind barrier in winter to reduce heat loss. This leads to lower heating and cooling needs, resulting in energy savings.