create a green initiative
Here are some suggestions to move your hostel towards sustainability:
- Create a hostel mission statement: Identify some goals for increasing hostel sustainability. Post that mission statement in a visible area for all to see.
- Educate hostel owners, workers and guests: Hostel leadership should inspire hostel managers, workers and guests to research ways to save resources. Owners and managers should openly invite and reward employee and guest participation.
- Seek outside expertise: The most innovative idea often come from outside. Create partnerships with other eco-hostels, private consultants, and/or non-profit organizations to learn more about what your hostel can do.
- Develop strategies for linking sustainability to the hostel: Link sustainability to the hostel’s core values — such as guest comfort, or enrichment of the guest’s cultural experience. For example, encourage the use of public transportation to visit locally- or culturally unique destinations. By doing this, you increase cultural understanding and preserve natural resources.
- Involve local companies and guests in your sustainability initiatives: Hostels have the power to sway local companies and governments to participate in ecological projects. Some hostels analyze the needs of their guests in order to develop systems to recycle used products.
- Establish benchmarks and measure progress: These might include specific goals for reductions in emissions, waste and energy use or benchmarks for gauging a hostel’s impact on disadvantaged regions or social groups and sensitive ecological areas.
- Celebrate and share successes: Publicize the results of your efforts. Be sure to highlight environmental and social gains achieved and make some goals for the following year. Use this information on your brochure and website.