Stayokay’s sustainability journey: Our guests are in it with us

Sustainability has always been at the core of Stayokay, and we see it as our job to help preserve the environment to the best of our ability. When we were founded in 1929, we made a conscious commitment to sustainable entrepreneurship. Now we have 20 hostels in the Netherlands, and sustainability is still at the heart of the business.

Acting sustainably as a group

Achieving European Ecolabel certification in 2008—and being the first hospitality chain in Europe to do so—was the driving force for us to develop our own sustainability program. It’s called “Well Done!” and we started it by building a core team, including our CEO. They come together regularly and plan for the future while our ambassadors make sure the measures are implemented in our hostels. 

We dedicate a quarter of every year to one of four key themes – energy, water, waste, and health and wellness. This approach gives us structure when reflecting on what we’ve already achieved, and it helps us look forward to what we’d still like to do. 

So far, we’ve taken big steps. All our properties now run on 100% renewable energy, and three of them have solar panels installed. We also give guests the option to compensate for their CO2 emissions by paying an extra €0.20 per person per night during their stay. These contributions completely offset the costs of the renewable energy we buy, which is a testament to how important sustainability is to today’s traveler.  

Recycling is also included in our day-to-day process, and we’ve found some unique ways to do this. Our staff uniforms are made from reused clothing and plastic bottles, for example. The clothing industry is a big polluter, and you can save a lot of water and energy by recycling old textiles. Our rentable bikes are also made from recycled parts, offering guests a more sustainable way to get around.

In our kitchens, we’re also aware of reducing waste. The amount of food thrown away in the Netherlands each year is huge, so preventing food waste is high on our agenda. Oddly-shaped bell peppers taste the same as the perfect-looking ones, so we use suppliers who save produce that would have otherwise been thrown away. 

We’ve installed water fountains in the public spaces at most of our properties to reduce the need for single-use plastic bottles. It might not be that common for foreign travelers, but we want to make our guests aware that the water from our taps is safe to drink. To save water, we’ve installed restrictors in our shower heads and taps. Before we fitted them, around 15 liters of water per minute was flowing through our taps. Now, it’s decreased to around six liters. 

To give back to the community, we have our own Stay4all fund, covering the costs of school trips for children who wouldn’t normally be able to go. For every person who uses one of our meeting rooms, €1 goes to the foundation. In 2019, we were able to use the proceeds to help 250 children go to summer camp. 

Asking for valuable feedback

We want guests to relax, have a nice stay, and not feel guilty about their impact, so we developed a communication strategy through which we try to educate in a friendly way. For example, we have a note in the shower that says, “It’s okay to sing in the shower. But do save your voice, and some of the water.” Our guests have told us they like the slogans and appreciate our approach. 

To educate guests on the impact of plastic pollution, we’ve installed an art piece called “Message on a Bottle” at our Vondelpark and Utrecht properties. We covered a wall with used plastic bottles and each one features a fact about plastic. With the piece, we aim to raise awareness around the impact of single-use plastic and prevent “plastic soup” – when plastic pollutes our waterways. Through the art, guests become more aware of our efforts to reduce single-use plastics throughout our properties.

I calculate our carbon footprint—including our water, energy, and gas usage, as well as waste production—for every hostel every year and compare it with our baseline, but doing so can be quite a challenge. Every year brings new challenges – for example, this year, we had more guests than last year. It’s difficult to create fair comparisons, but one thing that keeps me going is that we’ve seen a definite increase in the number of guests who choose to stay at our properties because of our sustainability measures. 

We’ve also observed an increase in employees indicating that they chose to work at Stayokay because of our commitment to sustainability. It’s motivating to see that people notice our sustainability efforts – even the little details, like our waste separation or the removal of plastic from our breakfast buffets. 

Taking it step-by-step

It can be overwhelming at the start of your sustainability journey to know which area to focus on, but my main advice for other accommodation providers is that you don’t have to know everything at the beginning. You learn and develop during your journey. 

It’s also important to remember that you can’t do everything at once – new opportunities are always there to be discovered along the way. Our next steps include expanding our target groups that can stay via the Stay4all fund and adding electric charging stations to our properties.