The hotel industry is moving on from sustainability and heading more in the direction of regeneration, according to speakers at ITB Berlin 2025.

The remarks came in a panel discussion called ‘Hotels as Catalysts for Regeneration: Redefining Hospitality for a Thriving Future’. Speaking on the panel were Dr. Carlos Martin-Rios, associate professor of management at the EHL Hospitality Business School; Namgyai Sherpa, founder of Sherpa Hospitality Group; Holly Tuppen, regional hub manager for UK and Europe at The Long Run; and Birka Valentin, strategic partnerships lead at Travalyst.

Tuppen began by saying that it was important to acknowledge that there was confusion over the terms ‘sustainability’ and ‘regeneration’. The latter, she said, had become a buzzword within marketing that had created consternation.

“We need to work together,” she said, “to remind others what it means. The theory behind regeneration is that we have to move beyond a fragmented mindset to a whole-system way of thinking. That means we begin by moving out from a place where we see the uniqueness of a location, then building businesses and businesses that are mutually beneficial for the locals and destination.”

She added: “We need to make the starting point about where we are rather than the needs of the business.”

Martin-Rios went further, saying that instead of making a business case for a venture, that companies and organisations should look at what they can offer the local communities and, on a wider note, the planet. It is, he said, only after that the business case can be made.

For Sherpa, the value of these ventures are the benefits that they bring to the community.

He said: “When we go into these places and work together with the locals, there is a sense of hope. We can talk all we want about sustainability but if the locals are not aligned with it, then it’s meaningless. The best guardians of any place are the people that live there. The question is how we retain them and let them see that potential.”