I recently picked up the September issue of Condé Nast magazine, which had a great feature story about the most socially responsible travel companies.

I've been meaning to write about this topic for several months now, collecting stories of hotels that are doing good — and this magazine article served as a catalyst to finally publish this now.

As author of this hotel marketing blog, I have to approach this subject with caution. I'm extremely sensitive about companies that launch socially responsible endeavors with the intention of using it as a marketing or PR ploy. That is not something I endorse in any way — though if a company gets recognized for a legitimate socially responsible initiative, that's great.

One of the hallmarks of great companies and organizations is that they work to improve the lives of people they come into contact with. As someone who has worked with nonprofits for years and is passionate about micro-enterprise development — I view business as a way to change the world, not just make a profit.

I think hotels and hospitality companies are in a great position to be a force for good in the cities they're located in. Conde Naste Traveler's editor-in-chief Klara Glowczewska said it well in a statement: "The travel industry is on track to generate $7.3 trillion in revenue this year, a number that represents an enormous opportunity to improve our planet."

Let's take a look at some hotels that are working hard to make their city – and the world – a better place.

Willard Intercontinental

The Willard Intercontinental in Washington, DC is perhaps one of the world's most socially responsible hotels. They help plant trees, bay grass, and over 50 million oysters in the Chesapeake bay.  They also fund the development of new water wells and wind power generators with offset funds.

General manager Hervé Houdré recently released their 2008 sustainability report – which I encourage you to take a few moments to read.

Jeff Weinstein writes for Hotels magazine:

I love the way Hervé uses his "Triple Bottom Line" strategy of economic prosperity, social responsibility and environmental protection to drive home his point. Yes, there is a payback and bottom line impact, but it requires a serious investment of time and effort more than anything else. Hoteliers must have the will.

The results can be stunning. The Willard's achievements include: developing 100% wind energy to power the hotel; decreasing electricity consumption by 12%; building two water wells in South Africa and South Dakota via towel/sheet re-use; using green chemicals for in-house laundry; 100% removal of toxic dry-cleaning chemicals; hotel-wide usage of 30% recycled paper; composting 37 tons of food waste; recycling over 190 tons of waste; decreasing landfill waste from 870 tons to 635 tons; 100% elimination of oil-based paints.

Kimpton Hotels

Kimpton uses 70 mandatory eco-friendly products and practices, such as in room recycling bins and organic food and beverages. Niki Leondakis, COO of Kimpton Hotels, discusses how Kimpton makes social responsibility a top priority in this interview.

Puntacana

In the Dominican Republic, Puntacana co- manages the Rural Clinic in Veron, which treats up to 70 patients a day and is the only primary care facility within a 50-mile radius of the Punta Cana International Airport.

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts

Since 2005, Asia-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has partnered with Beijing-based Care for Children – which provides support to orphanages in China. Traditional red envelopes left in guest rooms and provided at the hotels' restaurants have raised $1.1 million in donations so far.

Meetings that give back by Fairmont and Ritz-Carlton

Two hotel groups — Fairmont, and Ritz-Carlton — offered charitable initiatives on their meetings packages. Fairmont's Meetings that Matter program allows organizers of any meeting that takes place before June 2010. To donate 10% of the total bill to a charity of their choice. Ritz-Carlton's Meaningful Meetings program also donates 10% of the total meeting room revenue between their Community Footprints fund and the organizer's chosen charity.

Loews Hotels sourcing locally

Loews Hotels' Adopt-A-Farmer initiative was created to support local farmers, fishermen, and independent purveyors. Their goal is to encourage local farming initiatives across all of the brands' properties. We touched on this story back in April – the focus is on sustainable, organic food production. By purchasing locally, they support area businesses and put money back into the local economy.

While all of the above endeavors are great, I think there are also other ways a hotel could improve their community. A few examples…

Creators Inn

A new concept from fashion brand Elvine, design agency Next Century Modern, and the hotel Scandic Malmen, this hotel provides free lodging to creative people visiting the city to make some sort of artistic contribution. To get free accommodation, potential guests apply on the Creators Inn website, explaining what they intend to do during their stay.

By hosting bands, writers, artists, and designers, they can make their city more interesting. If you find the concept intriging, you may want to read an interview with the founders on MoCo Loco:

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been a buzz word in the corporate world for quite some time now. With Creators Inn by Elvine we tried to add some creativity to the equation, labeling what we do as CSR – Creative Social Responsibility. By offering visiting creators free accommodation, we hope to remind people of a lovely little thing called hospitality. And in addition to making the visiting creators happy and Gothenburg a more interesting city because of their presence. It's actually a win-win-win-win-win-situation:

Win #1 – The creators get free accommodation with a high standard of service
Win #2 – The local independent event organizers don't have to pay for their guest artists/creators
Win #3 – The city becomes more attractive for creators, and the visiting creators make the city more interesting for the inhabitants
Win #4 – The project creates natural meetings between local and visiting creators
Win #5 – Our partners get goodwill and great PR

Along the lines of "Creative Social Responsibility"…

InterContinental Chicago O'Hare

At a hotel where 70% of the front-desk and concierge staff are artists or art students, this hotel recently started showcasing art from their employees.

While this may not fit the traditional concept of corporate responsibility, I think it's a great staff morale booster…and undoubtedly makes their community a more interesting place.

I know this list is far from complete. Help me out here – what are some other hotels you know of that are making life better?

More importantly, what are you doing to help your community?

[photo credit: David Ohmer]

Original article: www.hotelmarketingstrategies.com/socially-responsible-hotelss

About the author
This blog is written by Josiah Mackenzie, who enjoys exploring the relationship between emerging technology and the hospitality industry. 

www.hotelmarketingstrategies.com