Hans Pfister, president and co-owner of Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality (shown above with his staff) has been very much in the public eye of the responsible travel industry of late. He recently went to Singapore to receive the prestigious Conde Nast World Savers Award 2010 for Small Hotel Chains on Cayuga’s behalf. In connection with the press surrounding this event, he had the following conversation with Deirdre Campbell, owner of The Tartan Group, a PR firm specializing in travel and tourism.
Deirdre: Since starting Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality, what trends in sustainable hospitality have you noticed?
Hans: I’ve been in sustainable tourism over 15 years, and managed Cayuga for 11. We started with the sustainable business concept because it made both ‘sense’ and ‘cents.’ It was the right thing to do and saved on costs. Now, everyone talks about sustainability, best practices and certifications, but only a few really do it with passion and faith. By today’s standards, if you’re not using efficient light bulbs or recycling programs, you’re not even playing. We need to go beyond that. We’re fortunate in Costa Rica because the Certification for Sustainable Tourism Program (CST) requires strength in all four areas of sustainability, not just one. We need to be strong in conservation, hotel infrastructure and social responsibility, while communicating all this to guests. It’s difficult but, when done well, one truly achieves a responsible operation. We have four hotels with the maximum five CST leaf rating, and our two hotels that don’t are simply too small to certify or located in Nicaragua, where the application doesn’t apply.
Deirdre: What are the most underrated and overrated attributes of being sustainable as a resort or hotel?
Hans: In my opinion, the most underrated is involvement in the community and with the employees. Also the importance of communicating with the guests about what you are doing and how they can get involved. We take guests on tours through the back of the house to teach them about sustainability; it’s a huge success and guests love it. However, I see a lot of resistance by other hoteliers, especially bigger hotels and chains, to communicate with guests about what they are doing. I am not 100 percent sure why, but I guess you really have to be sure about your sustainability program when you allow people to go behind the scenes.
What is overrated is all the focus on energy savings. Yes, it is important and we are doing it, but it should be something totally “normal” and standard. Bringing down your electricity or water bills is a no-brainer and just not enough in and of itself if you’re claiming to be really sustainable.
Deirdre: What question do you get asked most from hotel owners trying to be more sustainable?
Hans: The hotels we manage have very committed owners. I don’t get questioned about what we are doing. Most concerns don’t revolve around what it costs to be sustainable or how much it saves. I think that there’s a balance between the two. My hotel owners are more concerned with how sustainability affects the guest experience: “Can we still provide the same level of service and luxury?” My answer is, “Absolutely!” and probably even more than before. I was just on this panel at the World Saver’s Congress in Singapore where the question was: Can sustainability and luxury coexist? And my answer is not only yes, but it goes beyond. I think certain aspects of sustainability are the new luxury. That’s what guests are looking for and what makes them feel good.
Deirdre: What surprises your guests most when staying at one of your resorts?
Hans: They’re mostly surprised at how much effort we put into sustainability, and how much work it takes. This especially becomes clear once they’ve participated in a sustainability tour. The other thing they comment on is our stake in sustainability outside our energy-saving measures. Guests really like our commitment to the communities we operate in and the people aspect that sustainability has for us. They often want to find out how they can help.
Deirdre: What does the future hold for Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality? What development in sustainable hospitality excites you the most?
Hans: The great news is sustainability in hospitality isn’t a trend, it’s here to stay. After receiving a number of awards and traveling to Asia to learn what others are doing, I’m very excited that Costa Rica and Cayuga are true world leaders in the field of sustainable hospitality. However, I’m somewhat worried the economic crisis has slowed down the process of hotels in other parts of the world to adopt sustainable operations, making it a priority. Of course, we still have a long way to go, but hopefully more and more people will begin to get inspired, and become truly passionate about sustainability and in turn motivate others. The other area I’m excited about is making sustainability more fun by creating experiences, learning opportunities, connecting with locals and bringing sustainability even closer to our guests. In motivating our guests to act more sustainable in their own lives, we’re making sure that we don’t “spend our planet.”
Deirdre Campbell is owner of The Tartan Group. Read more about her here.
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