More than 60% of consumers will give better ratings to hotels with high indoor air quality, LEED certification, and programs in place to improve energy efficiency, conserve water and recycle

MindClick SGM and Expedia.com® today announced the results of a study of 5,000 consumers conducted in early January 2012 that measures awareness, expectations and the impact of hotel sustainability efforts. The study revealed that consumers applaud such efforts, but need to better understand the tangible impact to their travel lives.

Over the past decade, hotels have implemented and promoted sustainability programs including greener operations-energy efficiency, water conservation and recycling, and green building through the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® certification program. With operational sustainability awareness levels at 80% among consumers surveyed, the industry has succeeded in telling at least part of the story.

This means that the concept of hotel sustainability is being factored into hotel purchase consideration. Hotel air quality is a prevailing consumer concern: four in ten consumers list indoor air quality as a highly important in their selection criteria. Hotels that promote higher indoor air quality earn higher favorability ratings among almost two-thirds of consumers surveyed.

At the same time, the study showed that there is a gap between how the industry communicates its sustainability efforts and the areas of sustainability that consumers see as important. On the one hand, emphasis on promoting the operational aspects of sustainability has resulted in high consumer awareness of energy efficiency, water conservation and recycling. At the same time, in spite of the fact that consumers see air quality as important, only one-third of those surveyed recalled promotion of indoor air quality as part of a hotel’s offering.

75% of the Expedia® consumers surveyed completely agree that sustainability for hospitality should be defined as: building, furnishing and operating hotels in ways that are better for the guest, better for the community and better for the planet.™ (See below for a listing of some of the questions the survey addressed.)

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Source: Hspiconsortium.com