According to Michele de Witt, director of Horwath HTL South Africa, implementing sustainable thinking practices is necessary in the hospitality sector and vital to driving operational efficacy and boosting cash flow.
Horwath HTL South Africa is an international hotel consultancy that aims to grow the hospitality sector across English-speaking Sub Saharan Africa. “Sustainability initiatives should extend far beyond the hotel’s in-house operations. Participating as a responsible citizen in developing a sustainable destination, which in-turn ensures the destination’s attractiveness in the future is also imperative,” says de Witt.
Executing sustainable practises in this sector is not straightforward. It requires a thorough understanding of the hotel’s operation – placing energy and water conservation, as well as waste and environmental management at the top of the list. And according to de Witt requires a “deliberate, robust effort” from establishments, guided by a well formulated policy and framework and calls for “commitment from everyone in the business”.
“Staff training and awareness on the sustainable policy, why it was established, when it will be activated and how it will be maintained and monitored is important and will determine the degree of buy-in from team members and their continued motivation to adopt the new green practices,” she says.
She explains that sustainable practises and initiatives include “greening” the hotel’s supply chain, and taking a more responsible leadership role by maintaining a “sense of place” that supports geographical location and environment in which the hotel operates.
“Sustainably implemented initiatives could result in immediate operating cost saving, reflected in an improved bottom line and optimized asset value,” says de Witt.
Horwath HTL focusses solely on consulting in the hotel, tourism and leisure sector and is a “crucial first step” in the hotel development process. The organisation’s key services include hotel asset management, hotel planning and development, strategic advice and hotel evaluation.
The organisation has already assisted nearly 2 000 potential hotel investors to assess the viability of their project across sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, the organisation has worked on projects associated with some of the largest international hotel management companies active on the continent, including Carlson Rezidor, Hilton Worldwide, Tsogo Sun in Africa and Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
