Guests directly account for over 50% of resource use in hotels and as much as 90% in self-catering accommodation. They are quite simply the most significant factor contributing to hospitality’s ongoing carbon emissions. Given the targets to reduce carbon emissions by 66% by the year 2030, it is imperative that practical solutions for the accommodation sector are created and applied fast. ‘How to Create Sustainable Hospitality: a handbook for guest participation’ is the first text to demonstrate how to actively persuade guests to participate in achieving sustainable hospitality.

Practitioners and commentators have tended to criticise guests, believing they won’t sacrifice while on holiday. However, social trends show there is increasing consumer expectations for more sustainable services, e.g. reduction of food waste, elimination of single serve plastic, as well as firm evidence that consumption is not linked to guest happiness. The opportunity is therefore to design experiences which deliver better hospitality by inviting guests to apply saving behaviours that do not mean they will have a less enjoyable experience.
Based on 16 years personally delivering sustainable hospitality experiences face to face with guests and conducting the first hard research on guest engagement at a variety of sites in Australia and Europe (from 1000-bedroom hotels and B&Bs to self-contained holiday homes and timeshare lodges), the author presents a tried and tested five step methodology on how to directly, effectively and successfully involve guests to conserve resources. This presents a new paradigm for tourism. ‘How to Create Sustainable Hospitality: a handbook for guest participation’ presents a clearly written, jargon-free, practical solution and:

* Is the first book to focus on guests as an active and critical component in sustainable consumption and production at their holiday or business accommodation; * Introduces a five-step methodology on how to directly and effectively involve guests in saving energy and water, reducing food waste and cutting carbon. It delivers a practical solution that has been successfully applied to achieve a fast ROI with scientifically measured savings;
* Uses social practice theory to describe why people do not save resources and how we can better design hospitality experiences
* Uses persuasive theory to explain how to communicate with guests and by so doing increase stay satisfaction, ‘delight’ and brand reputation; * Includes hundreds of case examples and scientific research to illustrate how the theories works in practice;
* Explains how to change - not just the need for change.

Part of the Responsible Tourism Series edited by Harold Goodwin, Director of Responsible Tourism, Institute of Place Management at Manchester Metropolitan University and John Swarbrooke, Associate Dean-International, Plymouth Global, Plymouth University, UK