1. It conserves water supply for the local community –
   
   Water is a precious resource and—in many destinations around the world—a scarce one. In fact, almost 20% of the world’s population live in a water scarce region, which means water resource development in the area is “approaching or has exceeded sustainable limits.” As an industry, we have the responsibility to make sure local communities aren’t deprived of water by using no more than we really need.

2. You’ll shrink your carbon footprint –
   
   Water consumption isn’t just about the water itself. There can also be a wider environmental impact. Each 10 kg wash consumes at least 50 liters of water and 1.2 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Research also shows that some detergents can have a carbon footprint of almost a kilogram of CO2 for every household wash load. Multiply that by your property’s laundry-load size, and the number is likely much, much higher. 

3. Guests are on board –
   
   Guests already show a lot of willingness to change to their travel experience in order to reduce water consumption. According to Booking.com research, 40% of global travelers reused towels and 26% skipped daily room cleaning to minimize their water usage while on vacation in the last 12 months. During a three-month test period for our Sustainable Stays project, we found that 67% of guests hung their towels to be reused when given a simple message (“Feel free to rehang your towel here”) and an extra hook next to the wardrobe.

4.  It’ll cut down your operational costs –
   
   Water consumption is the second highest utility expense, accounting for 24.7% of US hotels’ utility budgets. So there’s plenty of financial incentive to reduce it, as well. Studies have shown that offering guests the option to skip washing towels and sheets every day has resulted in a 17% reduction in the number of laundry loads, also reducing the related energy, labor, and detergent costs.

Understand your current consumption

To track your progress, it’s important to start by measuring your current water consumption. This will give you insight into how you use water and where you can start making reductions. Setting a baseline also lets you see how much progress you make over time.
 

To calculate the water used per guest per night, divide the total monthly water used in your guest rooms by the number of guests for that month. If your utility bill is in cubic meters, you can compare your findings against your bill by multiplying the number of liters per guest by 0.0001.

For more info on how to measure your water usage and to learn about the methodology used by the International Tourism Partnership, visit the Setting the baseline section of this guide.

Create a straightforward system

Keep your systems simple. Make it clear to your guests that a towel hung on the rail or hook means they’ll use it again, while a towel on the floor means they’d like it to be washed.

Think about easy ways for guests to signal to your housekeeping team that they’re happy to skip cleaning for the day. This can be as basic as a door hanger. Just as easy for guests to pop onto the handle as it is for employees to spot at a glance. 

Prompt guests to consume consciously 

Towel reuse and refusing housekeeping are one thing, but research shows guests themselves use more than 2.5 times the amount of water when they stay at a hotel. Put conscious consumption in their hands by asking them to be aware of the water they’re using. 

One way to do this is to ask guests to take shorter showers or, better yet, to let technology do it for you. For example, the start-up Hydrao has created a showerhead that uses lights to show guests their water usage in real-time. This gives them a nudge to get out before they start over-consuming. 

Keep info simple and specific

When communicating to your guests, use language that’s easy to understand. Avoid difficult words and keep explanations as simple as possible. At the same time, be specific – vague messages can be frustrating. Go beyond “be green” or “save water,” and instead give guests clear instructions for what to do. 

Try different ways to get your guests on board

What’s persuasive for one guest might not be for another. When writing info about your sustainability initiatives, try using different persuasion techniques that complement each other. Here are some of our suggestions:
 

• Reinforce habits from home – Research suggests that linking an action to what guests normally do at home can work better than environmental messaging. A couple of examples might be: “Use your towel again, just like you do at home,” or “Make yourself at home and please reuse your towel.”
   
• Use social norms – Studies have shown that info about how many other guests reuse towels incentivizes others to do the same. Think things like, “x% of weekend guests choose to skip housekeeping during their stay,” or “x% of people at {property} use their towels again.”
   
• Make people feel good – Show your guests that they can have real positive impact by making sustainable choices. This means including info about positive outcomes and writing in a non-threatening way. Make them feel good—not guilty—about their travel decisions.

Consider an incentive scheme

Another way to encourage guests to reuse their towels or to forgo having their sheets changed is to reward them. Some properties are now offering points that guests can exchange for a free drink or a discount, while others make a charitable donation for each reused towel. 

If this doesn’t sound like something you could offer at your property, try getting your team together to come up with solutions that would work for you. 

Educate your housekeeping staff

Your housekeeping team will be vital to the success of your towel reuse and cleaning-reduction initiatives. There are many other ways they can contribute to your conservation goals as well. Make sure you put training in place that covers your new processes and all the other ways they can help save water. These include not removing towels if a guest has indicated reuse, minimizing toilet flushes during cleaning, not leaving faucets running, and washing floors with a mop to instead of a hose.

Once you start to implement measures to reduce your water consumption—or if you already have some in place—you can communicate this to travelers through our platform.

Have you implemented any of these practices to reduce water use?

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