Room2 Chiswick – Sustainable Hotel News

UK: The National Geographic Traveller (UK) has announced the winners and runners up of its hotel awards.

The awards celebrate the best new hotels across the world and acknowledge those who are trailblazers in the sector.

There are 14 categories, which each have a winner and two runners-up.

The winner of the “Good Egg” award, which is the award for the Best Sustainable Hotel went to:

Wilderness Safaris DumaTau, Botswana. This low impact safari camp is vital in preserving the wildlife corridor of the Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, where African elephants roam free. The hotel also supports research into endangered species. The safari camp has eight tented suites and is run by a solar plant. To keep the cuisine as sustainable as possible, guests are invited to create their own menus from seasonal, local ingredients.

Runners up were: Oasyhotel, Italy and Room2 Chiswick, London.

Oasyhotel is the only hotel in Tuscany’s WWF-affiliated Oasi Dynamo nature reserve. The hotel’s revenue goes towards conserving and cultivating the 2,500-acre reserve near Florence. Guests staying at the 16 grass-covered lodges can also enjoy activities like horse riding, e-biking, and cheesemaking.

Room2 Chiswick, in London, claims to be the world’s first hotel, which can say it’s entirely carbon neutral – (as well as being carbon neutral on the operational side, the hotel has is carbon neutral including the embedded carbon, which is the carbon created during construction and demolition). The 86 rooms were designed with input from local artisans and carpets are crafted from recycled fishing nets, while the furniture is all made within 10 miles of the hotel.

For the rest of the categories and winners see the October issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK) on sale from today.

In July Marie Claire Sustainability Awards recognised those hotels making environmentally sound choices.

Image: African elephant. WWF.

WORLDWIDE: Marie Claire’s UK Sustainable Hospitality Awards have recognised several hotel groups and independent hotels for their efforts in actively implementing change for sustainability.

Global hospitality group Accor has won the Marie Claire Sustainability Award for Best Sustainable Hotel (global group) while London’s Room2 Chiswick has won for Best Sustainable Hotel (independent).

The awards, which are judged by an independent panel of industry and sustainability experts, celebrate the brands and organisations that are actively implementing change for a sustainable future.

Accor has a longstanding commitment to sustainability and in March last year it was the first major international hotel group to set out its long-term science-based targets to reduce carbon emissions in line with the 1.5°C ambition of the Paris Agreement.

The global group also pledged to ban single-use plastic by the end of this year and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. It became the first international hotel group to commit to this.

Duncan O’Rourke, CEO Accor Northern Europe, commented on winning the award: “Sustainability impacts every element of the hospitality industry from how consumers and businesses perceive us, to how we attract, engage and retain employees, interact with the communities we operate in, and design our hotels and food and drink choices. Above all it is our corporate responsibility to act positively. This is why it is integrated into every part of our business. We’re delighted to receive this recognition and will continue to keep striving to do better and lead the industry on sustainability issues every day.”

Room2 Chiswick is the world’s first “whole-life net-zero ‘hometel’”, and its zero carbon footprint also recognises the embodied carbon used in its development, meaning that all carbon emissions associated with its creation from beginning to end, and now in its operation, have been taken into account to deliver its zero-carbon footprint.

Sani Resort won the Best Sustainable Holiday (with kids) Abroad. In 2020 the resort was the first certified carbon-neutral resort in Greece. Its location already attracts those interested in the environment as it is set in a 1,000-acre ecological reserve, with 7km of Blue-Flag beaches, 20km of forest trails, and 270 acres of wetlands.

Andrea Thompson, Marie Claire’s editor-in-chief and Sustainability Awards judge said: “What really makes Sani Resort stand out is its environment-focused activities for kids, which teach the next generation all about ecosystems, recycling and other ways they can protect the planet.”

The recognition for sustainable practices comes as Booking.com’s sustainability report found that more than half of UK travellers are looking to book sustainable accommodation on their travels.

Image courtesy of Accor Hotel Group.