CSR and Sustainability

🏨 Sébastien Bazin took the helm at Accor in 2013, transitioning the company from a real estate-focused model to a brand-driven operation. By 2025, revenue reached €5.6 billion, with a record EBITDA of €1.2 billion. Accor expanded its brand portfolio from 11 to 48, covering all hotel segments. With over 110 million members, ALL Accor enhanced customer experience. By June 2026, Accor's pipeline included 268,000 rooms across 1,595 hotels, emphasizing responsible hospitality.

🌴 Who? Dan Behm and his team at Nayara Bocas del Toro; When? Launched in 2022; Where? Bocas del Toro, Panama; What? A 20-key luxury eco-resort; How? Features 16 overwater villas and 4 bamboo treehouses. Despite COVID-19, it won awards from Condé Nast and Travel + Leisure. The resort maintains a 3:1 staff-to-guest ratio with 80 FTEs. Average daily rate exceeds $1,500, attracting professionals and high net worth individuals with average stays of 4.2 nights.

🌎 41 chapters and six interviews in "The Routledge Handbook on Regenerative Tourism and Hospitality" explore regenerative tourism, edited by Willy Legrand, O'Shannon Burns, and Jonathon Day. The book features contributions from over 75 experts globally, questioning sustainable practices and economic viability. IU International University of Applied Sciences, Germany's largest university with over 100,000 students, offers 200+ programs. The text challenges hospitality to consider local needs for sustainability, critiquing current growth models.

📈 Last week, Fred Bean, Founder & CEO of HotelPORT, emphasized "Contribute more than you consume." He highlighted that true contribution extends beyond money to include sharing knowledge, offering mentorship, and creating value in relationships and leadership. The mantra encourages leaving organizations and communities stronger. Bean stresses the importance of a contribution in building trust and opportunities, urging individuals to enhance the environments they inhabit for future generations.

🌊 Palladium Hotel Group, in September 2026, unveiled the Palladium Blue Life HUB at Grand Palladium Select Palace Ibiza, dedicated to Mediterranean marine conservation. Developed with Fundación Abel Matutes and Fundación Blue Life, the center includes a Posidonia nursery and coral recovery area. It offers interactive exhibits, virtual reality, and guided dives. The HUB promotes regenerative tourism with year-round programs, engaging guests and locals in protecting Ibiza’s marine environment, extending Palladium’s environmental efforts.

🏠 Gather + Gather Ireland collaborates with the Leinster Larder network of local suppliers, from Robinson and McLoughlins Butchers to Kish Fish and Firehouse Bakery. Their flexible supplier mix supports scale and quality, adapting menus to seasonal availability. The culinary team partners with Bord Iascaigh Mhara to enhance sustainable native seafood use. This approach aids Irish fishing sectors and coastal communities, enabling chefs to create unique, educational dining experiences.

📈 Palette Hotels partners with Procure Impact to advance social procurement across its portfolio, integrating over 6,000 curated products in New York by year-end 2026. The collaboration supports social enterprises and local businesses, aiming to generate 1,000 hours of employment annually through the Dignity of Work Pledge, in partnership with the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Guests enjoy unique offerings while hotels gain added revenue, enhancing both guest experience and financial outcomes.

📈 Amante Capital initiated a £3.7m investment in 29 UK hotels managed by Kingfisher Hospitality Group to cut carbon emissions. Over £850,000 is dedicated to solar panels in locations like London Heathrow and Glasgow. The Glasgow Marriott aims to reduce grid demand by 11% annually, saving 36 tonnes of carbon emissions. Other upgrades include £250,000 for LED lighting in 20 hotels, £1.5m for smart thermostats in 15 sites, and water-saving systems in 23 properties, aligning with Marriott's sustainability goals.

🎤 At the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, Noah Kahan performed for 56,000 attendees. Many concertgoers, likely hotel guests, enjoyed a shared moment of joy, highlighting the hospitality industry's challenge of fostering similar experiences. The World Health Organization reports that one in six people globally experiences loneliness, especially among the young. The hospitality sector must rethink its role in creating human connections, balancing automation with genuine interaction to reignite joy.

🏠 Dr. Michael Cheng, dean of FIU's Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, will be honored as the 2025 Hospitality Legend of the Year by HSMAI's South Florida chapter. Under his leadership since 2017, he expanded partnerships and raised over $48 million. Cheng's recognition event is on October 29, 2026, at Le Méridien Dania Beach. He's been a South Florida Business Journal Power Leader from 2023-2026 and co-authored the textbook "Hospitality Today: An Introduction.