Accor Hotels has released the results of its first survey on sustainability, part of its new Earth Guest Research platform. The survey interviewed nearly 7,000 respondents who had spent at least one night in a hotel in the previous 12 months, including a cross-section of hotel types (chain, independent) and segments (budget, economy, midscale, upscale, and luxury). Key findings include:
- Sustainable development seems to be of more concern to men (82 percent) than to women (72 percent). What’s more, business travelers showed more concern about the topic than leisure customers, and economy hotel guests seem more sensitive to sustainable development issues.
- Optimizing water and energy resources and reducing waste were by far the main concerns worldwide.
- Guests identified the fight against child sex tourism as a key priority for the hotel industry.
- When asked about their sustainable development-related expectations, Chinese hotel guests ranked health and well-being high on their list, while Brazilian travelers seem more concerned with fostering local economic development.
- NGOs and international organizations rank last on the responsibility scale. One in three guests believes that sustainable development is first and foremost the responsibility of individual citizens.
- Seven out of 10 guests said they would select a responsible hotel even if it was less well-situated and slightly more expensive.
- 66 percent of respondents do not expect comfort to suffer in a hotel engaged in a sustainable development process.