Results are in! The Bouteco Sustainability Report

Not so long ago, we shared a call out for survey respondents wanting to have a say on sustainable travel. Eco-focused social enterprise Bouteco was looking to find out how much we all care about hotels having big hearts. And turns out, we care a lot. Having surveyed hundreds of travellers through its Sustainability in Hospitality survey, Bouteco has published its findings at stopthinkdiscuss.com.

#StopThinkDiscuss is Bouteco's way to inspire intelligent informed conversation and shine a light on the humans and hotels making our world a better place. The social enterprise was founded by travel writer and editor Juliet Kinsman together with Holly Tuppen, a fellow eco evangelist and former editor of Green Hotelier. The aim? To push purpose higher up the agenda for hotels.

Bouteco celebrates the people and places inspiring positive change in boutique travel. Fed up with sustainability being reduced to an eco buzzword, together Holly and Juliet strive to turn the volume up on sustainability in the boutique hotel sector.

SURVEY SAYS…

• The youngest and oldest among us care most about sustainability when choosing a hotel. While very few 30—44 year olds “didn’t care at all”, sustainability isn’t as definitive an issue for this group and there are other priorities at play; this age group is most likely to be time- and/or  cash-poor.

• Younger guests are willing to pay more to stay somewhere they know is sustainable — but they’re not necessarily willing to compromise on comfort. The 25—34-year-old generation of ethically minded, community-conscious consumers  want to see their values reflected in all that they do and consume, including holidays. Travellers  over 45  have a similar profile when it comes to paying more, but they’re not wanting to sacrifice comfort. 

• Provenance, nature and energy, waste and water management are of equal interest on the green agenda. Supporting local farmers and producers and community outreach are more interesting to those evaluating social and community themes, rather than supporting the arts, health, education and empowering disadvantaged groups of people.

• A hotel’s website is the go-to for understanding a property or brand’s community and eco initiatives. When considering the integrity of a hotel’s sustainability,  most people favour a prominent section of dedicated online content.

• Unsurprisingly, sustainability stories discovered through social media are more important to younger people, whereas older clients are more likely to recognise formal accreditations.