This week, Josiah and I discussed the best ways to promote a hotel’s eco-initiatives and exceptional service with Chris Syvertsen, General Manager of Mosaic House – the first hotel in the Czech Republic to use 100% renewable electricity and 100% biogas. Planning an eco-overhaul of your own? Focus on these eight strategies:

1. Skeptics are (rightfully) wary of properties that appear to be “greenwashing.” Stick to specific, meaningful improvements. Guests can tell the difference.

Chris: For Mosaic House, it’s relatively easy to promote our property authentically. The eco-initiatives we have incorporated are industry-leading and complex, making it easy to distinguish our efforts from those who have merely “greenwashed.”

We have a sophisticated water recycling system with heat recuperation, which is only the second of its kind in the world. This system recycles all the waste (or grey) water from showers and sinks using an eco-friendly bacterial filtration process, and then sends the recycled water to all of the toilets in the building.

The water savings is tremendous. The system simultaneously recaptures the heat energy from the warm waste water, and then uses it to pre-warm the fresh water used for showering. The heating of the fresh shower water is also aided by the solar panels on the roof of Mosaic House.

2. Strive to become the best property in your niche.

Chris: We are the only hotel in the Czech Republic to utilize 100% renewable-source
electricity and 100% biogas, making our energy consumption 100% sustainable.

Further, we have a sophisticated climate management system which continuously
monitors and adjusts the temperature in every room, based on numerous variables, in
an effort to minimize energy use.

3. Don’t think you need to be “traditional” to appeal to a wide variety of guests.

Chris: We’ve never been the ‘traditional’ type. Between us, we find it a little boring. Mosaic House was dreamed to be as a unique environment in which all kinds of people from all different places, cultures, and backgrounds (a ‘mosaic’ of guests, if you will) could come together and share their stories and experiences.

Through offering affordable, design-conscious private and shared room accommodation, we’ve learned it is possible to appeal to a wide variety of guests.

It’s important to point out, however, that it’s a challenging concept to make work successfully. We work hard to create an environment which ensures all of our guest’s experiences are completely satisfactory.

4. Improve your online feedback and reputation by exceeding expectations.

Katie: So far, Mosaic House has earned 97% positive TripAdvisor feedback; it looks like you’re changing a lot of online reviewers’ preconceptions about hostels.

Chris: Our goal was to incorporate the positive elements of what defines a ‘traditional hostel’, namely a relaxed, friendly, and fun environment, while striping out the stereotypical
negative elements (i.e. stale design and cornflake breakfasts) and blending with four-star, environmentally-friendly offerings.

Based on guest feedback, so far the concept seems to be working. For example, in one recent TripAdvisor review, a guest mentioned ‘being pleasantly surprised at the quality of the accommodation and at the ambience’. Another guest review describes Mosaic House as having ‘a modern-yet-classic vibe that’s both hip and relaxed’.

In addition to the atmosphere and design, guests also comment positively on our service, international staff, green features, cleanliness, and breadth of offerings (such as the gourmet breakfast, Prague customized maps provided upon check-in, and daily entertainment at our own Belushi’s Bar & Restaurant).

5. Set the stage for storytelling and engage locals with in-house entertainment and social spaces.

Katie: You mentioned that Mosaic House likes to create experiences that inspire guests and staff to spread news and stories; could you share a couple examples of these stories?

Chris: Yes, we like stories… and providing a stage (figuratively and literally) for their creation. Not only was the space – which is 100% smoke-free – designed to bring guests together, but we also pay focus to our in-house entertainment. Karaoke nights, themed parties (such as Australia Day and St Patrick’s Day), as well as live music on our theatre stage and sports on the big screen, are on for guests (as well as Prague locals) almost any night of the week.

6. Tell stories with photos.

Chris: Take a gander at Mosaic House’s Facebook page to catch a ‘storybook’ glimpse of what’s ensued over the past year, including our Green Gala event early last month; we were celebrating the announcement of our newest green announcements: utilizing 100% green electricity, gas, and our new fully electric car.

7. Think long-term. It’ll take years of research and adaptation to fine-tune your ecological efforts.

Katie: Which of Mosaic’s features make the biggest environmental impact? Which do your guests most appreciate?

Chris: We’ve taken a big step, but we’re certainly not experts. While we do have projections as to the benefits, it will take years before we are able to truly realize the impact of our eco-initiatives. We’re reluctant to offer advice at this stage, except to recommend performing as much research and analysis as is feasible.

In general, guests really appreciate the overall initiative. They admire that we’ve taken such bold steps towards sustainability and actively work towards minimizing our impact on the environment.

They also appreciate the tangible concepts. For example, our electric car, which is plugged into the side of Mosaic House. The low-flow raindance showers are beloved, perhaps as they also have a bit of a luxurious feature.

8. Find creative ways to measure guest satisfaction for specific initiatives.

Chris: We’ve actually just begun a program which will help us measure guests’ true
appreciation. Because the additional cost of using 100% green electricity and gas is
fairly significant (roughly an additional 40,000 Euros annually), we are asking guests to
consider donating their 2 Euro key deposit towards helping Mosaic House to continue
to afford green energy.

Through measuring how much guests donate, we will get a more accurate picture of how willing people are to actively participate in our effort to make a difference. You might consider checking back with us in six months to see how well the program has performed.

Thank you Chris, and a special thanks to Mosaic House’ enthusiastic Experience Manager Shannon Maroney for reaching out to us!

Josiah’s note: We’re putting this through the newswires now, but I wanted you – our Shakers – to be the first to know….

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Soap Hope Partners with Josiah Mackenzie to Distribute Poverty-Fighting Products to Hotels via HotelSoap.org

San Francisco – September 2, 2010 – Soap Hope and Hotel Marketing Strategies publisher Josiah Mackenzie believe hotels can change the world by changing their soap supplier.

Dallas-based Soap Hope, founded by Salah Boukadoum, invests 100% of its profits into anti-poverty organizations that provide loans, training, literacy, healthcare, and other services to enterprising women, permanently lifting whole communities from poverty and providing families with the resources and skills they need to be self sufficient.

They call the program “Good Returns”, and that mission extends to their 100% natural products. Derived from plants or milk, and free of petroleum-derived ingredients, artificial colors, fragrance, or parabens, their soaps satisfy a growing shift in consumer preferences toward health and eco-conscious products.

To introduce these amenities to hotels and further the vision of Salah and co-founder Craig Tiritilli, Josiah Mackenzie set up an exclusive distribution partnership to supply the hospitality industry with Soap Hope products through HotelSoap.org.

HotelSoap.org Gives Hotels 3 Ways to Fight Poverty

Soap Hope and Mackenzie work for “Good Returns” at every stage of the operation:

#1 – Buying soap from the right manufacturers

They work with producers that:

• Commit to environmentally-friendly operating practices
• Create jobs in their local communities
• Produce world class, all-natural soaps

#2 – Fighting poverty through profits

100% of the operation’s profits are invested in anti-poverty organizations and micro-loans to small business owners in developing countries: an approach proven to help families become self-sufficient and lift entire communities out of poverty.

#3 – Recycling soap

The 4.5 million hotel rooms in the United States alone produce several tons of tossed toiletries every day. Most hoteliers and guests don’t realize leftover and unused soap can be salvaged and re-purposed to fight disease and prevent poor-hygiene-related deaths, and that’s where Hotel Soap and their friends at Clean the World come in. Recycling and shipping hotels’ leftover soap to needy regions is a final step that’s the ultimate “Good Return”.

Hotels interested in changing the world through their soap supplier should visit HotelSoap.org, call them at 1 (888) 817-7619 or send an email to hello@hotelsoap.org.

A few colleagues and I are starting a new community to encourage innovation around social responsibility and environmental sustainability.

Here’s the video intro:

This community will start out on this Facebook page: I invite you join here. In fact, I’ll make it super-easy for you by including the Facebook widget here – just click the “like” button below:

A note about Facebook privacy: Joining does not open up your personal network. We’re just using the Facebook Connect platform to get as many people involved as possible. It’s just to let you plug into the community without separate registration.

Once you’ve “liked” our page, please share links, articles, or examples that you think would inspire innovation in this space.

Taking part in the local community is not only a good strategy for hotels to build awareness, but it provides a way to give back and help others. I recently talked with David McConnell of Stafford Hospitality on how this can be done.

Josiah: Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do

David: A third-generation hotelier, I have been in the business for thirty years, split evenly between operations and sales and marketing.  My wife and I live in Tampa Bay, and our company, Stafford Hospitality, is based in Tifton Georgia, but I spend most of my time ‘on the road’ in the hotels working with our general managers and sales people in marketing.  We own and operate hotels in six states and also do contract sales and marketing, purchasing, and management for other hotels.  In my ‘off’ time, I serve as a certified Guardian ad Litem (court-appointed special advocate for kids).

What are some of the advantages of hotels taking part in their communities?

First of all, it’s the right thing to do.  We believe in the ‘triple bottom line’, taking into account ecological and social performance in addition to financial performance.  We support healthier communities by using safer cleaning products, which help protect our employees and guests while reducing costs.  We actively practice a policy of ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’.  When we reduce our use of chemicals and electricity, we help the community and improve our bottom line.  While we have a responsibility to produce maximum return for investors, we also want to ‘do the right thing’.  Along the way, we find that the resulting positive publicity and exposure in the marketplace helps improve results.

Practically, how can hotels get involved?

For the past nine years, we have sponsored the BIKE (Building Incentives for Kids’ Education) program, where each hotel gives away bicycles to students with perfect attendance records at elementary schools and high schools each nine weeks and again at the end of the school year. Additionally, an IPOD program (Incentive for Pupil’s Outstanding Dedication) has been started at some schools.  To date, we have awarded over 480 bicycles or iPods.

Each of our hotels also sponsors at least two local youth sports teams, because we believe in the value of learning about working together as a team and having fun.  Often, our employees will request support for their child’s team, and we’re happy to help. We also encourage our employees to volunteer their time to help sports team and other community activities.  It’s a very ‘real’ way of demonstrating our commitment not only to our employees and their families, but to the communities we serve.

Many of our managers devote time to serve on local chambers of commerce, hotel associations, CVBs, and hotel school advisory boards.  It can be incredibly rewarding to serve the community, and it helps to have a voice in decisions on marketing the area.

How do you locate which community programs to get involved with?

Frequently, staff members will request sponsorship of a team their child is involved with, or that they coach.

Is there a selection process you use to determine which opportunities are most beneficial?

We try to go where the need is, where we can have the most impact.

You mentioned many of your managers and employees take part in community events on their own. Is there any formal process you have to encourage this, or is it just part of the company culture?

We strongly encourage it and our top staff, including president Greg Brosius, leads by example.

Can you give us an example of a hotel that has successfully implemented a community involvement program?

Stafford Hospitality opened the Hilton Garden Inn in Tifton, Georgia earlier this year.  In Tifton, Stafford supports Hospice, Ruth’s Cottage Domestic Violence Shelter, Patticake House Children’s Advocacy Center, American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

The hotel also participates in our BIKE program, awarding bicycles at Tift County High School.   They sponsor youth sports teams through the Tift County recreation department and the Tift area YMCA.  They recently hosted a group of culinary students for a tour of their kitchen and banquet facilities. We’re always recruiting new talent, so it’s great to meet the students and establish a professional relationship early.  Supporting these kids is one of the best things we do, and it’s great for business.

That’s great. To close, what next steps would you recommend for the hotel or organization that wants to play a bigger role in their community?

Don’t wait to be asked.  You won’t have to look far for a charity or other organization that could benefit from your help.  Whether or not you are aware of a specific need, contact the organization and ask how you can help.  All service is honorable, and can be rewarding.

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.

Read more…

My friend Darren at Travel Rants just posted about ‘hotel review contests’ and related fraud.This is very timely, since it’s a topic I’ve been thinking about a lot recently.

I’m a huge proponent of ethically encouraging hotel reviews. Guest feedback – both good and bad – is important for improving hotels and empowering travelers. Even TripAdvisor recommends hotels ask guests for feedback.

But I strongly oppose any attempt to coerce opinion.  Exchanging a bottle of champagne for a positive review is inappropriate.

Regardless of what you define as ‘ethically encouraging reviews’ – the dilemma we face as hotel marketers is very clear. We need good rankings to attract more guests. But if your competitors are unfairly obtaining positive reviews, it puts your ethical marketing campaign to a big disadvantage.

What are you to do?

I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on these questions:

1. How do you define hotel review fraud?
2. How should hotel review websites like TripAdvisor fight ‘undercover’ fraud?
3. How can we as hotel marketers combat this type of fraud?

TripAdvisor, the travel website that bases recommendations on the reviews of its visitors, is taking the same approach as they give $1 million to charity.

The money will be split among 5 non-profits: Conservation International, Doctors Without Borders, National Geographic, The Nature Conservancy, and Save the Children. The percentage each organization receives will be based on the number votes they get before November 9.

From their website:

With over 15 million reviews and opinions from real travelers, TripAdvisor believes in the power of the collective voice. We also believe you can leave more than your footprints behind when you travel – by making a difference in your community and the places you visit.

Vote for your favorite charity at tripadvisor.com/Causes.