CSR and Sustainability

👘 2023, Cassandra launched the AQVA Swimwear brand with a focus on sustainability and craftsmanship. The collection, handmade in Barcelona, uses regenerated nylon from ocean waste. After overcoming challenges with seven manufacturers, the 2024 swimwear range debuted, sold directly and online. By 2025, AQVA expanded with pop-ups in New York, London, and the Balearic Islands, and retail in Barcelona and Madrid. Cassandra aims to broaden the brand into lifestyle products while maintaining its exclusive Mediterranean ethos.

📍 NORTH BETHESDA, Maryland—Choice Hotels International released its 2024 Sustainability Report, revealing its full greenhouse gas inventory and commitment to set science-based targets. The company collaborated with the National Park Foundation, pledging an annual donation of $150,000 and enabling guests to donate through Choice Privileges points. Additionally, Choice's "Your Community, Your Choice" grant program hit a $275,000 total donation to local nonprofits over five years, supporting varied causes important to hotel owners.

🏖 Accor and the World Monuments Fund have partnered for a three-year initiative to preserve cultural heritage sites in France, Latin America, Greece, and India. Sites include the Chapel of the Sorbonne, Qhapaq Ñan, Serifos Historic Mining Landscape, and Bhuj's historic water systems. The effort aims at sustainable tourism, climate adaptation, and community engagement, reflecting Accor's commitment to responsible hospitality and cultural stewardship.

🌞 English Lakes Hotels invested £195,000 in 385 solar panels at Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa, Windermere. In 2025, these panels will generate over 130,000 kWh annually, saving £1.3m in lifetime costs and reducing CO₂ emissions by 33 tons per year. Hydropower already provides 12% of the hotel's electricity, saving £36,000 in 2024. The project aims at carbon neutrality, with payback expected in six years and parallels the planting of 6,000 trees.

🌱 L’Occitane en Provence and Highgate Portugal have partnered to introduce sustainable luxury in hospitality with refill systems at nine Highgate Portugal properties, including Kimpton Atlântico Algarve, Algarve Marriott Salgados Golf Resort & Conference Center, Cascade Wellness Resort, among others. The initiative supports sustainability, reduces plastic waste, and promotes a circular economy. Francisco Santos of Highgate Portugal and Fabienne Bourbonnaux of L’Occitane emphasized their commitment to eco-conscious luxury hospitality. L’Occitane has over 40 years of experience in natural beauty and more than 25 years in the hospitality sector.

🌿 In 2025, hotel designs focus on sustainability, integrating biophilic elements like indoor plants and natural materials to enhance wellness. Deepu Mahboobani of Wimberly Interiors highlights the blend of environmental responsibility and design aesthetics through repurposing and local engagement. A notable project by Ameublement Français and OKKO Hotels created two eco-friendly room concepts with local materials. Kathy Chavez notes the trend of incorporating local stories into hotel designs to offer authentic guest experiences, emphasizing local culture and history.

🌱 The Eden Project Collection by Hypnos Beds won the Sustainability Brand Licensed Product or Range Award at the Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards 2025 in London. The mattresses, inspired by the Eden Project's biomes and gardens, use sustainable plant fibres and are recyclable, chemical-free, and fully natural. The partnership between the Eden Project and Hypnos Beds began in 2019, and this marks their second win, after claiming the award for Compostable Coffee Capsules in 2022.