Make your hostel planet friendly
The world faces more environmental problems now than ever before; global warming, freshwater shortage, deforestation, pollutions of all kinds, and the list goes on and on…and it cannot be left to “specialists” anymore to save our planet, each of us plays an important role individually too. For that, there needs to be a radical change in our attitudes, beliefs, values, needs, desires, expectations, and behaviours with saving this planet and hostels can act as great catalysts to this change.
Sustainable practices can only make a difference if it’s incorporated into our daily lifestyles, wherever possible, whether at home or travelling!
Hostels worldwide receive thousands of guests every year, and they can play an important role in educating their guests about sustainable practices. Of course, you cannot influence all of them, but at least you can set off a little conscious spark within them.
Now, there are a lot of hostels out there who are already doing their bit (special shoutout to The Urban Jungle Hostel, Málaga and Eco Hostel Floreale, Ercolano) however, one of the major concerns that many hostel owners have is that going green is an expensive process.
However, we’re here to assure you that it does not have to be! We’ll take a look at the inexpensive things as well as the most expensive ones, which in the long run helps you save a lot of money, actually, but let's begin with the little things :)
Plants, plants & plant more plants.
Plants are a great way to decorate your hostel, indoor and outdoor!
They are inexpensive and not only do they elevate the look of the hostel but they’re also known to elevate human moods (I mean, who doesn’t like plants), they are natural air purifiers and they won’t require a lot of maintenance depending on the plants you chose.
If your hostel has an outdoor area, where you can create a small garden, that’s even better! Also, if you have an in-house hostel cafe or restaurant, you could get your herbs straight out of your garden! It is a great initiative (and did we mention it’s inexpensive?) to reduce your hostel’s carbon footprint and have your own garden, either on the rooftop or outdoors, it always makes for a great guest experience and impression!
“It’s the little things that create big impacts”
Waste reduction, recycling and management
The separation of waste is essential to diverse the waste from landfills and to maximise the collection of recyclable items.
Now banning plastic and segregating waste are concepts we are all familiar with, and most hostels already practice them. However, if you want to go a step further and if you have the space to do so, compost pits are a great way to reuse kitchen waste and decomposed organic material to nourish the soil. Also, it’s perfect, especially if you already have a small garden. Compost pits or bins are again an inexpensive way to go green and great for recycling and managing waste.
Other daily waste materials like glass bottles, bottle caps and old furniture can also be creatively repurposed and reused as part of the hostel’s decor, it could be a time-consuming process but the key is to have fun with it, and you can bet that your guests would take notice and appreciate it!
“Waste isn’t waste untill we waste it.”
Earth-friendly technology
A lot of hostels still use outdated processes when it comes to all things behind the counter; pen & paper systems, bookkeeping with registers over registers of booking and guest information stacked in overcrowded drawers and cabinets!
An environmentally friendly alternative to all that paper wastage is installing a Property management system, which not only helps manage your hostel better but also stores every guest detail and every booking all stored in one place which can be accessed remotely from anywhere. Again this does not have to be expensive, there are extremely user friendly, zero training PMSs available that are absolutely free like counter!
“Use technology not to conquer nature but to co-exist with it”
Plastic key cards are also extremely detrimental to the environment, and of course, every hostel keeps spare key cards because guests losing keys is not uncommon, which again contributes to an increased usage of them. Switching to smart locks. Goki smart locks are a great alternative, and especially in times like these with a pandemic on the loose, it can help assure your guests that your hostel is taking all measures to provide the best health & safety measures!
The big gun — solar panel systems
Solar panel systems are definitely an expensive affair, and not to mention their high maintenance cost! After all, they are a high involvement product.
So it’s important to know how many Kilowatts of electricity the hostel consumes in a day, in order to install the right size of the system. Also, the possibility of installing the system depends on a lot of factors like roof space and tilt, tree shading, general weather conditions, etc. However, if all the pre-installation criteria can be met, it’s absolutely worth it and a very sound investment for the long run!
Production and usage of Solar power energy help reduce the emission of greenhouse gases considerably and also help reduce your yearly power bill to 1/3rd of what you’d normally pay as your annual power bill!
Solar panels systems can last up to twenty-five years, (a substantial investment if you are a medium to a large-sized hostel) cutting your electricity costs by 2/3rd will help you break even quickly. In some countries, the government may provide a subsidy for installing solar panels as an act to encourage residents and small to medium-size businesses to switch to solar. What’s even better is that there are plenty of solar companies that provide $0 lease plans specifically designed for such businesses!
“solar makes a bright future & the sun does not charge taxes”
Other big-liitle things
There a quite a few other ‘little things’ a hostel can do proactively to further contribute to the green initiative-
like installing an energy-efficient lighting system, making a water station available to guests and providing them with free eco-friendly refillable water bottles (this is also a smart branding technique), avoiding usage of disposable cups and plates, using eco-friendly kitchen cleaning products and toileteries, installation of low-flow faucets, showerheads, and other fixtures, switching to low water laundry machines, and installing low-cost rainwater harvesting systems. They are all effective yet economical ways to go green.
Sustainability has become a necessity at this point, more and more businesses have started realising its importance and its benefits.
Going green also has quite a few advantages, especially if you are in it for the long run like saving costs, competitive advantage, risk management, and customer appreciation and loyalty.
However, what’s most important is that hostels play a pivotal role in ensuring that they sustain the environment that surrounds them for the forthcoming generations of travellers. And when your guests notice the efforts your hostel has taken towards sustainability, they will naturally want to do their part as well!
