Eco-Friendly Hospitality Industry Argumentative Essay
It is widely accepted that hospitality industry is one of the most powerful industries marked with a response to a growing demand for resources such as energy, water supply, etc. The hotels and resorts worldwide consume significant amounts of energy, thus negatively contributing to the environment and leading to the exploitation of the resources. However, the scientific and technological progress nowadays makes it possible to accommodate hospitality industry to the Earth-friendly manner by means of broad application of eco-design in hospitality architecture. Although it demands a tremendous amount of efforts, time and finance, the underlying aspect of industry is beneficial for a human-being as well as for the environment in a way that it is resource-saving.
It is reasonable to assume that the eco-friendly hospitality industry is far more advantageous for the well-being of natural resources. Planning and designing a hotel facility should be brought into accord with new resource conservation approaches that bring into focus rather economical application of the resources. The tangible links exist between hospitality and construction industry that are also connected with the tourist’s expectation and the use of the resources to the full extent possible. According to Sloan & Legrand, “it is not feasible or desirable to continue at current levels of resource use in the construction industry” (111). Eco-friendly design in hospitality industry actually means sustainability, or channeling energy into the appropriate fields of work.
Not surprisingly, the purpose of eco-design in hospitality industry is to ensure the safety of the natural resources and the environment in general. Although conflicting views exist concerning the matter of eco-friendly hotels, I deem it reasonable to admit that tourists may benefit from them in the same way they do in the simple ones. However, eco-friendly architecture aims at preserving natural resources such as vegetation so as not to deprive animals of their inhabitancy. In addition, vegetation, trees in particular are mitigators of CO2 and the decrease in them may lead to the undesired effects that are foreseen by the ecologists. As long as the vegetation is preserved, animal rights for a living are not broken.
Eco-design architecture is built on economizing the resources. One may be surprised to find out that there is still no clear definition for the term of green hospitality industry or business in particular. Kasavana states that “being green can range from encouraging guests to reuse towels, to waste recycling, to using wind electricity, to cooking with organic foods, to reducing carbon emissions, to installing rooftop solar panels” (140). However, this particular list is not full due to the reason that the notion of ‘green hospitality’ is extremely broad and related to the construction of green hotels and their management.
Apart from preserving vegetation, green hospitality industry presupposes the use of renewable sources of energy that are economical. Among them, one may determine solar and wind energies. These types are considered the most effective ones due to the reason that they may be applied in accordance with the orientation of the building. In addition, creating wind energy may be achieved with the help of special wind turbines that would ensure the energy-saving environment.
Bearing in mind the previous points, one should also pay attention to the matter of consumers’ attitude to green hospitality industry and their readiness to perceive the changes. In this context, it is necessary to point out the main characteristics of a green hotel that does not contribute to the environmental deterioration and the waste of resources in contrast to a conventional one. Barber defines the green hotel as the one which performs eco-friendly practices. Due to the reason that such hotels are environmentally-oriented, they presuppose different environmental improvements that have several implications in the consumer attraction and management.
Although the construction of green hotels and application of eco-friendly practices in them are strictly contributing to the environmental well-being, it is definitely true that eco-friendly design provides benefits for hospitality industry. The most important factor in this particular context pertains to the matter of competitive advantage. Green hotels may create a level of competitive advantage by means of applying practices that are followed by many people who are in favor of environmentally-oriented approaches. Interestingly, Barber calls green hotels as “leaders in environmental concern” and enlarges upon the assumption that such hotels should seek help in marketing, advertising in particular, in order to attract the consumers from all over the world. The aim of marketing in this context is highly valued due to the reason that with the help of advertising, consumers may become aware of their options.
Green hospitality industry is also marked with the notion of green management. This very notion relates to the practices with the help of which the hotels may acquire positive images and loyalty from the customers. Hays & Ozretic-Dosen dwell upon the significance of green hotel brand management and view it as the influential contributor to the competitive advantages as well. Nevertheless, the authors bring into focus the challenges that green hospitality industry actually faces. Among them, one may find the assumption that services in green hotels are heterogeneous. Not surprisingly, this matter has implications in the customers’ attitude. According to Hays & Ozretic-Dosen,
Although customers worry about ecological problems, they are oftentimes not ready to change their lifestyles. This makes them averse to ecologically responsible decisions – they are not ready to sacrifice comfort, accept lower quality or pay a higher price for services with a green touch. (89)
The above-mentioned problem seems to be the most relevant in the context of green hospitality industry and the creation of eco-friendly design. However, one should not forget that the sacrifices that the customers make are for the sake of vegetation, animals and preservation of the resources that are usually being wasted in the conventional settings. The outcome for the environment is undoubtedly the turning point in such hospitality industry. Therefore, the customers should not object to the services in green hotels due to the reason that they enforce sustainability and provide protection.
To sum up the foregoing, the green hospitality industry aims at constructing environmentally-friendly hotels that would play an indispensable role in the preservation of natural habitat and in saving energy. Evidently, there are some challenges that eco-industry face as the customers are still not ready to be subjected to the extra-ordinary services. However, the central point of the argument consists in the fact that green hospitality industry is beneficial for our nature that should be taken into consideration beforehand. Thus, the new approaches concerning green industries should be welcomed. As the hospitality industry is the most resource-consuming, its meaning should be reconsidered taking into account new ‘green’ opportunities that would ensure the protection of nature and strengthen competitive advantage.