Susan Bland, ESG Director at RBH, shared with our Content Writer, Meghna Kanwar, her approach to integrating sustainability into the guest experience. From eliminating single-use plastics to prioritising employee well-being, she discusses how RBH’s ESG initiatives create a responsible, comfortable, and engaging stay for today’s conscious travellers.
Susan Bland, ESG Director, RBH
MK – Can you describe your role as the ESG Director at RBH and how it impacts the overall guest experience?
SB – As the ESG Director for RBH, I am responsible for creating and implementing a strategy across our whole business that delivers on our commitments to Giving Something Back to our Environment, our People and our Communities, plus aligns to our business strategy to be the partner of choice. The strategy is led from the top and cascades throughout our culture in all our offices and hotels and is therefore critical to driving guest experience.
MK – How does RBH integrate sustainability into its daily operations without compromising guest comfort and satisfaction?
SB – Any sustainability initiative is thoroughly reviewed and piloted to ensure there is no adverse impact on the guest before rolling it out across our portfolio. For instance, shower aerators decrease the amount of water used without reducing the flow so that the guest can still have a great shower in all of our hotels.
MK – What are some of the key ESG initiatives that RBH has implemented to enhance the guest experience?
SB – We have reviewed the whole guest journey as part of our ESG strategy and have removed single use plastics from all aspects. This includes bathroom amenities, straws, toothbrushes, take away containers and cutlery, plus water is now either served via a hydration station in corridors, or in cans, not plastic bottles. We also have a focus on locally sourced food and beverage items which have a lower carbon footprint, plant based offerings, recycling bins in all areas etc. One of the biggest impactors on guest experience is the hotel team, so we are very focused on prioritising their health and wellbeing and engagement to ensure that they enjoy their role and therefore enhance the guest experience with their engaging service levels and culture.
MK – How do you balance the expectations of hotel guests with the sustainability goals of RBH?
SB – There are many areas of the strategy that the hotel guest doesn’t see, but the guest of today is keen to ensure they are staying in a hotel that is part of an ethical, responsible company that is looking after its people and playing its part in the wider community and environmental focus, so we need to ensure this is visible to them. All of our hotels have external accreditations in place to show how committed we are to driving sustainability and ESG throughout our business.
MK – How do you measure the success of your ESG initiatives, and what metrics are most important to you?
SB – We measure the success of our hotels by a series of Core Metrics which include profitability, guest satisfaction, market share and 3 ESG related metrics – energy consumption, employee retention and engagement, and Health and Safety compliance. Although we have numerous other metrics in place for measuring the success of our ESG strategy, these 3 are core to each hotel.
MK – Can you discuss any upcoming ESG projects or innovations that RBH is working on to further enhance the guest experience?
SB – The biggest focus area for the next few years is driving towards Net Zero Carbon and we have all sorts of activities and initiatives planned to make sure we are taking our team and our hotel guests with us on that journey.