Greenwashing in Hotels is an Evil Act. How to Avoid it?

I am a fan of businesses and brands that are honest, whatsoever. Brands who never false market themselves always outmanoeuvre their competitors.

And this is true for hotels as well.

BUT (there’s always a but), numerous hotels around the world are taking the wrong track.

Let me not beat around the bushes, and get straight to the hard fact.

Various hotels are faking their green initiatives.

Sounds a little harsh?

Let me put it this way, “they are persuading their audience to believe that their hotel is green-led. And this is called greenwashing.”

This blog is going to be all about the bitter truths of greenwashing in hotels, and how can they be through with it.

What is Greenwashing in Hotels?

Greenwashing in the hotel industry is basically conveying a false impression and misleading the target audience to believe that a hotel’s products, services, and operational activities are environmentally friendly.

To help you understand better, Greenwashing (which is also known as green sheen) is a form of marketing spin where hotels deceptively leverage the power of PR to portray themselves as a green-led business.

And the reason why hotel greenwashing has become popular is because of consumer psychology.

Humans perceive green advertising as credible and with time, they develop a positive attitude towards the brand.

But at the end of the day, hotel greenwashing does no good. And if your property has been practising greenwashing to improve the public perception of your brand, then that’s an erroneous thing to do.

Repercussions of Greenwashing in Hotels

Now, the problem here is much bigger than just a marketing campaign.

Hotels that practice greenwashing mislead people into acting unsustainably.

Here’s an example of greenwashing in hotels.

If a hotel says it is eco-friendly and practices every possible thing for the good of nature, guests may want to opt for their service and products.

But when all those green claims are false, it means that guests have accidentally contributed to harming the environment by supporting the hotel that has been faking itself as eco-friendly.

To put it simply, greenwashing diminishes the power of the guests to drive hotels toward greener processes and business operations.

But that’s not it. There are various other downsides too.

Once the dark side of this activity is revealed, people take a step back and break ties with the hotel. And in nearly all cases, hotel greenwashing negatively affects reputation and takes a toll on bookings and overall revenue.

Moreover, the entire phenomenon is like one rotten apple spoiling the whole barrel. Once a hotel gets defamed because of the misleading green claims, people start to question even the genuine ones in the industry.

Greenwashing develops scepticism in the minds of guests about hotels and the way they operate.

How Can Hotels Avoid Greenwashing?

Preach only what you practice!

This one statement speaks volumes about the entire greenwashing shebang.

There are no hard and fast strategies to avoid greenwashing. All you need to have are values and principles.

You as a hotelier must stand your ground. You must have the character to say “if we are not practising this, we are not going to chest thump.”

The hospitality business today is much more humanised than we can imagine. It revolves around trust and loyalty. And a true hotelier is never going to make fake claims.

However, I still have some prominent points to keep in mind.

1. Have proof of what you claim

This goes without saying for all businesses as well as individuals.

If you claim that you use smart irrigation systems to cut down on unnecessary water use, then have the proof. Not just on marketing copies but also in reality.

After all, you don’t want your guests to visit your property and see you practice things that are not in line with your green-led preaches.

2. Don’t be vague about the information

Being vague is one of the traits of hotels that are into false marketing. And there are gazillion such hotels that are into greenwashing for a long time now.

Now, I have been blogging for more than 5 years. And my rule of thumb is to avoid jargon, industry buzzwords, and other complicated terms as much as possible.

Jargon (and vague terms) confuse the audience through wordiness. Worst still, it defeats the intent of the writer to communicate with clarity.

But when it comes to greenwashing, certain hotels and their marketers intentionally use all sorts of obscure terms and mislead their audience.

As a hotelier, you have to rise above this. Be clear with your content, messaging, and marketing. Be transparent with your audience (existing and potential guests).

Let your audience know that you just not only use the term eco-friendly, but you are in reality.

3. Should not incorporate initiatives that aren’t relevant

Going green is always great. And I personally feel, more and more hotels should start turning to green initiatives.

However, some hotels go under societal pressure and try to incorporate initiatives that are not in line with their hotel business.

Now, what happens here is, out of 10 such hotels, 8 announce their initiatives in public. And maybe after a few days, weeks, or months, they realise this isn’t something they keep going with.

What would they do?

Keep preaching. Keep greenwashing. Even after discontinuing or minimising their efforts.

4. Focus on guest experience, not on impressing them

The hotel industry is highly dependent on the guest experience. One bad experience delivered and it will affect your reputation.

When hotels shift their focus on green claims (mostly under societal pressure), one way or the other way they lack in delivering a good guest experience.

This is a very sensitive topic to touch upon.

I am not saying hotels should do away with the idea of being eco-friendly. But at what cost? At the cost of comprised guest experience?

If you really want to turn your hotel eco-friendly, then look at it from a different POV.

Every initiative you take has to ultimately enhance the experience at your hotel. If it isn’t doing that, then there’s definitely something missing.

When you figure this out, you don’t really have to rely on greenwashing or fake marketing.

It’s Okay if You Can’t Afford to Go all Green

At a very general level, it is fair to say that most sustainable products are expensive because they are difficult and expensive to create.

It might not be universal, but there is some truth to this. 

This same concept applies to sustainable hotel initiatives as well.

You might argue that by going green, hotels can save a lot in the future. But you cannot deny the fact that the cost reductions in savings are not always enough to offset the initial upfront conversion costs.

It takes a good, handsome capital to go green. And I am sure, this is where most of the early stage and small properties back out.

And guess what? THAT’S COMPLETELY FINE!

If your hotel budget doesn’t allow you to take that extra mile, then you don’t have to. Going green is an added advantage (maybe) but it’s not mandatory.

What’s important for you as a hotelier is to improve hotel reservations, deliver a supreme guest experience, and boost overall revenue significantly. Once that is done, you can think of other aspects to get your hands on.