Sustainable Hospitality: What It Means and How to Spot the Real Thing

Updated 9 November 2026 by Anju Anna Alex, co-founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Daily Brunch.

Every week, our inbox at The Daily Brunch fills up with news from hotels and resorts, and I will confess that a good number of those emails now use the word “sustainable” somewhere in the first paragraph. Some of the claims behind that word are genuinely impressive. Others, I am sorry to say, come down to a small card in the bathroom asking you to reuse your towel. So what does sustainable hospitality really mean, and how can you tell the real thing from the marketing?

What is sustainable hospitality?

Sustainable hospitality is the practice of running hotels, resorts and restaurants in a way that reduces their impact on the environment while treating local communities and staff fairly. In everyday terms, it means using less energy and water, wasting less, buying locally where possible and giving something back to the place the business depends on.

It is worth remembering that sustainability in this industry has three sides. The environmental side gets most of the attention, but the social side (how a hotel treats its people and its neighbours) and the economic side (whether the business can keep doing good work year after year) are just as important.

Why is sustainability so important in hospitality?

A hotel never really switches off. Rooms are cooled or heated around the clock, laundry runs every single day, kitchens prepare food for hundreds of guests and pools need constant care. All of that adds up to a large footprint in energy, water and waste. At the same time, travellers are asking far more questions than they did a decade ago, and many now choose where to stay based on the answers. In other words, a hotel that ignores sustainability is ignoring both the planet and its future guests.

What does sustainable hospitality look like in practice?

Energy

The basics are efficient lighting, smart controls that switch off cooling in empty rooms, and better insulation. The more ambitious hotels go much further. In 2022, we reported that ITC Gardenia in Bengaluru had received LEED Zero Carbon certification from the US Green Building Council, and later that year Welcomhotel by ITC Hotels, Bengaluru, followed. That same year, Mahindra Holidays signed up to both RE100 and EP100, global commitments on renewable power and energy productivity.

Water

Low-flow taps and showers, rainwater harvesting and treating used water so it can go back into gardens all make a real difference, especially in Indian cities where water is under pressure every summer.

Waste and plastic

Refillable glass bottles in place of plastic ones, bulk toiletries, composting kitchen waste and working with suppliers to cut packaging. These are small changes for a guest to notice, but across a large hotel they remove an enormous amount of rubbish every year.

Food

Many of the chefs we feature at The Daily Brunch talk about building menus around local and seasonal produce. Buying from nearby farms shortens supply chains, supports local growers and, I would add, usually makes for better food.

People and community

Hiring locally, training staff well, paying fairly and working with local artisans are all part of sustainable hospitality, even though they rarely make it into a press release.

Which certifications should you look for?

A certification from an independent body is one of the clearest signs that a hotel’s claims have been checked by someone other than its own marketing team. The ones you will see most often are:

• LEED, from the US Green Building Council, which rates how green a building is, from design to energy use.
• EarthCheck, a benchmarking and certification programme for the travel and tourism industry. We have covered properties such as Atlantis Dubai and IHCL’s hotels as they earned EarthCheck certification.
• Green Key, an international eco-label for hotels and restaurants run by the Foundation for Environmental Education.
• GSTC, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, which sets global standards for sustainable travel and recognises certification schemes that meet them.

How can you tell if a hotel is really sustainable?

After years of reading hotel announcements, I have learned to look for a few things. First, a named, independent certification rather than a badge the hotel designed for itself. Second, specifics. “We have reduced our water use” tells you very little, whereas a hotel that tells you what it changed, when and by how much is usually doing the work. Third, look around you during your stay. Is there plastic everywhere? Is the food local? Are the people serving you from the area? This is to say that the real thing tends to show up in many small details, not one big claim. And if you are unsure, simply ask. A hotel that is proud of its work will be happy to tell you about it.

Can luxury and sustainability go together?

As the editor of a luxury publication, I think about this question often, and my answer is yes. Luxury has always been about thoughtfulness and quality, and so is sustainability. A beautiful glass bottle of filtered water by the bed feels far more luxurious than a plastic one, and a menu built around what grew nearby that week is more special than food flown in from across the world. I do firmly believe the finest hotels of the next decade will be the ones that treat sustainability as part of the experience, not an apology for it.

If you are curious about the bigger picture, our guide to what hospitality means looks at how the industry is changing.

Frequently asked questions

What is an example of sustainable hospitality?

A hotel that runs on renewable energy, treats and reuses its water, serves food from local farms and replaces single-use plastic with refillable glass is a good example. Independent certifications such as LEED, EarthCheck or Green Key help confirm these practices.

What are the three pillars of sustainability in hospitality?

Environmental (energy, water, waste and carbon), social (staff, guests and local communities) and economic (running a business that can keep doing good work over time).

Do sustainable hotels cost more?

Not necessarily. Many sustainable practices, such as saving energy and water, lower a hotel’s running costs. Prices depend far more on the type of hotel and its location than on whether it is green.

How can I travel more sustainably?

Choose hotels with independent certifications, reuse towels and linen, take a refillable bottle, eat at local restaurants and book experiences run by people from the area.

Coming back to that towel card, it is a fine place to start, but it should never be where a hotel stops. The next time you check in somewhere that calls itself sustainable, look a little closer. You will soon know whether it means it.

Disclaimer: The Daily Brunch does not hold the credits to the image.

TEAM TDB

The Daily Brunch editorial team, led by co-founder Anju Anna Alex, has written about luxury hotels, restaurants, chefs and travel across India and beyond since 2016, with stories told through the people behind them.