Green life skills: the life skills our youth needs

San Andrés village, in Tenerife, Spain.

Responsible travellers: thinking about Hospitality CO2 footprint

The World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance informs us that Hospitality is responsible for 1% of world’s carbon emissions. Hospitality also means Accommodation, where serviced apartments represent a viable option for conscious travellers. In 2024, corporate travellers account for 62.5% of buyers when it comes to serviced apartments. Their demands result in an expected push for the serviced apartments’ sector to make the necessary arrangements to comply with green standards. They require of them the outmost level of transparency and accountability in terms of carbon footprint.Gavin Pereira, Director at check-in-london.com, explains: “Corporates have their own organisational ESG standards and expect their supply chain to adhere to (or demonstrate work in progress towards) Net Zero goals or initiatives that are reducing carbon emissions and working towards ESG best practice frameworks.” Following the pandemic, business trips have become rarer but longer, frequently including leisure and family time. With a rate of 27.27%, relocation represents the biggest market growth, while offering the possibility to bring your family and pets with you. Serviced apartments can equally be a convenient idea for a vacation experience, considering the importance of sustainability in travel.

Serviced apartments usually require less frequent cleaning than hotels.
Some serviced apartment complexes have shared facilities like laundry rooms, gyms, swimming pools.
They are more environment-friendly than hotels, due to the lack of “unnecessary” spaces such as lobbies, bars or restaurants.

On the other hand, the emergent “digital nomad” category dictates new needs. The Global Director of Sales and Business Development of edyn, Chris Orme, suggests: “I prefer to say there’s a class of traveller defined by the spaces in which they stay because the reasons for their stays are multifaceted. It might be a combination of business and leisure, or a combination of office-based and field-based work and that's where we need to start. What does that traveller need? Not just in terms of a kitchen, Wi-Fi, or living space, but a co-working space, or a small meeting space.”

The role of serviced apartment providers: green certifications and initiatives

Compared to hotel rooms, serviced apartments have a considerably lower carbon footprint — serviced apartments produce less than half of a single hotel room’s 31.1kg of CO2 a night.CO2 calculations provide hospitality structures with a very clear image. Assessing GHGs (greenhouse gases) can help draw an action plan and tailor punctual interventions. After all, it is all data that they can be found in their utility bills, waste management records and transportation logs. The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance offers the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI), a carbon footprint calculation tool that proves particularly useful to any hotel which wishes to take informed choices about its CO2 emissions. Ultimately, this hotel can benefit from being more eco-friendly.

Tourism CO2 emissions by sub-sector, 2005, by UNWTO & UNEP.

But what about serviced apartments? As per 2024, 64.06% did not calculate their emissions. The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance’s Head of Environment, Claire Whitely, says: “There needs to be some alignment in the industry and how we all work together. We are currently working on our 5-year strategy, which will come out in mid-May [2023] We need to help the industry to change its mindset and it’s our job to point people in the right direction and support them on the way.” Bryan Oknyansky, Head of Sustainability at Studio Moren, encourages the creation of an especially dedicated BREEAM, that can be beneficial to both existing and new buildings in the Hospitality industry. He highlights that residential buildings greatly differ from the ones in Hospitality. James Fry, Founder of Beyond Aparhotels, does not appear very convinced by certifications: “We were looking at accreditation about 8 years ago. [A]nd we thought we are not doing this. However, I do like the B Corp accreditation, as you have to jump through hoops and you have to keep doing it and keep up with what you have said.”Stuart Godwin, Managing Director of Lamington Group and room2 (the latter, the UK’s first-born hometel brand), also supports B Corp accreditation: “You need third party accreditation otherwise you are marking your own homework.” Yet, Claire Whitely claims: “GSTC are the certifiers of certifiers.” The GSTC (Global Sustainable Tourism Council) was created by the UN in 2010 to set up the standards worldwide, defined by ISO 17021, for serviced apartments, hotels, or hostels.

The appeal of extended stays: a look at serviced apartments

Longer stays can lead to a more immersive experience in local culture while also reducing the carbon footprint associated with frequent check-ins and check-outs. Settling into a serviced apartment for an extended period allows you to enjoy the benefits of a home-away-from-home environment.

View of Risco de San Juan, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.

There is an argument that extended stays are a better choice for those looking for more environment-friendly accommodation. But Stuart Godwin from Lamington Group and room2 challenges the argument. It in fact depends both on the sustainability framework (if there is one in place) of the chosen serviced living solution, and the traveller’s contribution during his/her/their stay. Travellers can always be mindful of their impact.

Food waste: minimising the environmental impact of extended stays

Considering that in Europe 20% of the food produced goes to waste, WRAP’s case study on behalf of Championship 12.3 estimated food waste in hospitality to contribute to 12% of Europe’s overall food waste in 2018. This entails the waste that results from large restaurants and buffets.However, this trend can be reversed. Notably, hotels save 7$ for every 1$ invested in reducing food waste. They could do so by taking the following actions: performing a food waste inventory; engaging staff; rethinking the buffet especially around high-value foods like meat; forecasting customer behaviour and reducing unnecessary overproduction; repurposing excess food and incorporating food scraps. On the other hand, zero-waste grocery shopping while staying in serviced apartments is possible, thanks to some adjustments:

Plan your weekly shopping by compiling a list. Only buy what you need.
Shop seasonal produce at local markets and stores that promote sustainable practices, when available.
Minimise packaging waste, by buying loose vegetables and fruits, or items such as rice and cereals. Bring reusable bags.
Refrigerate fresh products and cooked food, once cooled down. Additionally, sensitively store packaged goods (e.g. biscuits and crackers) once opened.
Bring your own salt & pepper set, plus the essential spices of your choice. To this list you can add your favourite (instant) coffee and tea.
Leave no waste behind. Would you have not fully consumed any of the purchased goods by the end of your stay, allocate some space for them in your luggage. You can always use them back home!

While saving on dining costs, preparing our meals allows us to meet our dietary needs, would we be on a diet for medical or sport reasons, have any food allergy or food intolerance, or be either vegetarian or vegan.

Playa de Jandía and barranco with vegetation, in Fuerteventura, Spain.

Recycling & waste management: best practices for serviced apartments

Note that serviced apartments do not always provide the facilities to perform your own recycling. Sadly, recycling might not be among the priorities of the in-house staff. Recycling bins might be small and limited to shared spaces, like in the swimming pool area.

Thus, proactively research and familiarise yourself with the local recycling guidelines and sort your waste accordingly.
Identify public recycling bins in your proximity.
Take your own trash with you when leaving the beach or going for a hike. Pick up others’ waste you might come across, if possible.
Opt for soap bars, solid shampoo and conditioner to minimise plastic waste.
Prefer 6-8-litre bottles, if tap water is not potable. Refill containers with a smaller capacity for drinking.
Borrow a parasol from the reception, leaving it for the next guests at your departure.
Bring your own sunscreen or buy one you can fully consume throughout your stay.
If on an island, do follow instructions to dispose of toilet paper in the dedicated bin.

Remember: Differently from you, recycling does not go on vacation.

Recycling & waste management in the Canaries

We wish to sort our garbage to facilitate recycling, by reducing our mixed residual waste that will end up in landfills. We might be surprised to learn about the initiatives and efforts in place to keep our chosen destination clean.For instance, in the Canary Islands, blue garbage cans are for paper and carton; green for glass; yellow for plastic, aluminium and Tetra Pak™. By the end of 2024, organic waste will be collected in brown bins, while residual waste in grey ones. In the Canary Islands, each resident produces 577 kg of garbage per year. This figure does not include the tourist sector.

Ecoembes’ recycling garbage cans, in Spain. Image by Maspalomas News.

Glass is the most recycled material in the Canary Islands: in 2023, 48,447 tonnes were deposited in the green can. Jorge Lorenzo, Director of the NGO Ecovidrio, lets us know that 84% of the hospitality structuresresponsibly sort glass packaging. On top of that, the Urban Waste plants present in the region recovered 3,580 tonnes of glass that was not correctly separated at source. Only in 2023, this allowed to:

Contain C02 emissions by 30,200 tonnes.
Save 37,200 MWh of energy, that correspond to the energy consumption of the hospitals in the Canary Islands for more than 2 months.
Avoid the extraction of more than 62,400 tonnes of raw materials (sand, soda and limestone).

In 2023, at a household level, they equally collected 33,450 tonnes of plastic packaging; 37,207 tonnes of paper and carton; 12,747 of aluminium. Notably, 38% of tonnes of recycled waste was recovered by plants that deal with residual waste, where all types of waste arrive without being separated. Nonetheless, the amount of recycled packaging in Spain is not fully clear, after Ecoembes’ (a brand from Ecoembalajes España S.A.) results were the subject of an investigation of Greenpeace and were refuted by scholars.

Energy conservation in serviced apartments

Interestingly, apart-hotels function as self-contained spaces, allowing for the guest’s necessities and preferences to be easily met. They can be easily temperature controlled and lit as required, more effectively containing energy consumption.

Be mindful of your water usage, even when taking frequent showers during summer.
Turn off lights when not in use.
Adjust the thermostat to a comfortable temperature, making an intelligent use of AC and heating. Privilege natural ventilation over AC.
Energy-efficient appliances can be a game-changer, when available.

The IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) report Transforming Existing Hotels to Net Zero Carbon warmly welcomes any intervention – no matter what the size is – when it comes to improving serviced apartments. According to the report — which only covers operational carbon emissions — zero carbon investment strategies should include the following: controls & monitoring; LED lighting replacement; shower head replacement. James Fry from Beyond Aparhotels is well-known in the industry for his high attention to detail. After his zero waste, zero carbon model, he declares: “The energy of the equipment you use is also important – buy a proper fridge and you can save 300£ a year. And get your energy from a renewable source onsite, or from a renewable company like Green Energy UK — you can control your operational impact.”

Wind turbines in Gran Canaria, Spain.

Beyond the tourist bubble: the local impact of serviced apartments

Serviced apartments can operate with respect for the local community. Community wellbeing should not go neglected. We might think that there is no relationship between touristic rentals and the local housing market. To start with, tourism can negatively affect rental prices for residents.

Tourist rentals can contribute to increased demand for housing in certain areas, driving up rental prices for residents.
The type of serviced apartments (e.g. luxury vs. budget-friendly) can also influence their impact on the local rental market.
Serviced apartment operators may compete with local landlords for properties, potentially bidding up prices and making it more difficult for residents to find affordable housing.
Tourism can exponentially rise the cost of living for locals.

However, the presence of tourists in a relatively low population density area can possibly improve public transportation services, grant prosperity to shops and lead to increased availability of goods. Big platforms such as Airbnb, Homestay and Booking — which remain unrivalled in the serviced living market — make a big case for unregulated products. Politicians are urgently required to make policies to counter the housing crisis experienced in many major cities both across the US and Europe.Restrictions have been put in place for residential-style apartments that cannot be let for more than 90 days in London; 14 in Dublin; and 30 in New York. In the UK, this means that property owners letting out their homes for a higher amount of nights per calendar year, are required to change use class, from C3 to C5.James Foice, CEO of ASAP (Association of Serviced Apartment Providers), lets us know: “We have told government that the right thing for the accommodation sector in the UK is to incorporate fire safety and health and safety benchmarks into legislation. The challenge is that hotels, bed & breakfasts, and hostels will be excluded from that legislation.” Uninformed decisions could pose a great threat to an industry worth 1.7£ billion to the UK economy. The Emerging Trends in Real Estate®: Europe 2024 report by PwC analyses 26 real estate sectors, concluding that serviced apartments climbed from the 16th place in 2022 to the 9th in 2024. The sector is attracting the attention of investors and of unscrupulous realtors.

Playa del Matorral with lighthouse, in Morro Jable, Fuerteventura, Spain.

The effect on local housing market: when locals cannot afford rent

The delicate equilibrium of the Canary Islands, a very popular destination, cannot sustain mass tourism. Their demonstrations from “¡¡Canarias se agota!!” speak clear, denouncing the social and environmental collapse. The collective appealed to the political class, initiating a hunger strike and bringing their cause to public attention in cities in continental Spain — Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Granada — and across Europe — Amsterdam, Berlin, London. The Canary Islands are Spain's 3rd largest tourist destination. They alone receive 16.2 million tourists in 2023, more than 7 times the population of the islands as a whole (2.2 million). With 3.4 million euros, the sector contributes 35% of regional GDP and 40% of employment. However, these are mostly precarious employment contracts, accounting for low-qualified roles.The Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) shows that the monthly average gross salary in the Canary Islands continues being the second lowest in Spain –1,892.54€ in 2023 – only 2nd to Extremadura.

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The Canaries, where rental prices have increased by 27.07%, count nearly as many holiday homes (220.409) as hotel beds (256.793) in 2024. In particular, Santa Cruz de Tenerife registered the highest rise in rents (28.15%) as compared to the other provinces in the country, followed by Las Palmas (26.64%). The GDP that derives from tourism is directly reinvested in the sector, without any benefits for the local population.Next door to touristic resorts, in 2023, 33.8% of Canary households are at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE), a rate – almost 10 points below the national average – that is only exceeded by Andalusia with 37.5%.

Spain's AROPE by autonomous community, in 2023. Image by Statista.

¡¡Canarias se agota!! equally highlights how mass tourism depletes the already scarce resources in the Canaries, in terms of energy, water and food. It calls for a moratorium on the touristic sector, along with a precautionary suspension of all ongoing tourism mega projects. It demands to contain tourism, by limiting the number of beds by type of accommodation. It also asks for a sensitive land management plan, fighting against corruption in construction.

Sustainable transportation options & Tourism

Transportation remains the most carbon-intensive sub-sector in the Tourism industry, accounting for almost 1,600 million tonnes of CO2 in 2016. Transport represents 75% of the overall emission of Tourism. According to UN Tourism, the emissions from international tourism are expected to grow by 45% from 2016 to 2030 (from 458 Mt CO2 to 665 Mt CO2). On the other hand, in terms of domestic tourism, they are expected to increase by 21% (from 913 Mt CO2 to 1103 Mt CO2).

CO2 emissions per passenger by transportation method. Image by Visual Capitalist.

As it is undeniably difficult and, at times, even impossible to reach your destination by train or bus, flying is confirmed as the prime transportation mode. Short-haul flights are considered particularly carbon-intensive, alongside taking a cruise ship, and driving alone. Not everything is lost. We can still do something – even though minimal – after landing:

Taking a bus or a shared taxi from and to the airport can require some extra time but be very gratifying. Your pockets will thank you for that.
Staying in one place for longer periods can significantly reduce our carbon footprint by eliminating the need for frequent transportation.
Extended stays are ideal to explore eco-friendly transportation options for getting around.
Walking, biking, using public transport or electric scooters can reduce carbon emissions.

The future of serviced apartments: community engagement and partnerships

Choosing serviced apartments can potentially lead to a more sustainable vacation experience. Additionally, staying at an apart hotel can often offer a better value for money. Still, as tourists and consumers, we are all invited to consider our carbon footprint and make conscious choices that benefit not only us but also the environment. We might claim that it is not our call to, when the Hospitality industry has all the means to perform CO2 calculations and get certified. All we should worry about is getting the best spot at the beach or what ice-cream flavour to pick. And yet, aiming for zero-waste grocery shopping; doing our own recycling; opting for energy conservation practices; using sustainable transportation; and thinking through the impact of our extended stay on local communities can go a long way! Changes clearly are necessary when Tourism leaves locals unable to afford rents. While unregulated monster platforms like Airbnb exert great pressure on the housing market of big cities, islanders with their low salaries cannot sustain the considerable increase of rental prices. We should demand our accommodation to be sensitive not only to the environmental but also to the residents. We should ask: What can the Hospitality industry do for them? Can it offer better salaries and working conditions? Can it cultivate meaningful relationships and long-term collaborations with local businesses? All in all, can it give back to them, compensating for the damage it caused? And, most importantly, can it even improve their life? Instead of just taking it all from them.Is it too much to ask? We do not think so.

Yellow parasol on Playa del Mal Nombre, in Fuerteventura, Spain.

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Serviced apartments: balancing comfort and sustainability