FINLAND: Short stay apartment operator Bob W has launched a campaign calling for the hospitality industry to reveal the ‘naked numbers’ behind their carbon footprint.
Bob W says it hopes to encourage collaboration and share best practice within the industry to be clear on reporting and allow travellers to make informed choices.
The ‘Show Us Your Numbers’ campaign shares GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions per guest night and has already been incorporated into Bob W’s website where travellers will be able to see emissions data for each apartment. SilverDoor has just launched a carbon calculator which shows similar data for its clients.
Bob W is calling upon the rest of the industry to do the same.
Niko Karstikko, co-founder and CEO of Bob W, said: “A lot of hospitality providers rely on vague reports and sustainability certificates but we believe it is time for a more meaningful approach.
“There is an urgent need for us all to come together, innovate and share best practice so that we can all operate in a way that is kinder to the planet. Transparency and facts are a key part of that.”
Karstikko acknowledged Bob W is not yet the ‘greenest’ accommodation provider but said “we are determined to be the most honest, and we’re working really hard to help our guests make informed decisions.”
He added: “We are totally open to hearing what other providers think the industry’s standardised sustainability metric should be. In fact, that would be the perfect start.”
When travellers book an apartment with the operator they can see the emissions associated with each night of their stay. For example, one night in an ‘Epic Studio’ in Tartu, Estonia, equates to 28.7kg CO2, which Bob W then offsets.
Sustainable Hotel News asked Bob W how it made its per guest per night calculations and COO Jeremy Slater, who has led the company’s sustainability initiative, explained that the company’s internal bookings management system shows the total guest nights in a specific period. To calculate the emissions Bob W takes the building-specific purchased electricity and gas (non-renewable Scope 2) and purchased goods and services directly related to servicing a guest stay (Scope 3 e.g. consumables, housekeeping, laundry) and then divides the CO2eq KG by the number of nights.
Scope 3 Capital goods (furniture) and other HQ business costs are not included.
In its newly released sustainability report Bob W has calculated that it emits on average 29 kg (CO2-eq/guest night) of carbon emissions (figures from 2022) which is lower than the 41 kg reported the previous year.
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