Ethical Hotels?

[BenMargetts]

Hey,

Im working with conservation and workers groups in Australia to create standards so Hotels can be certified as ethical. What do you think should be included?

We are thinking decent wages, low levels of waste and energy efficiency.

Your thoughts would be really appreciated .


Thanks!

Ben

p.s. I'd also be keen to know if you think its a good idea in general.

 

[harvyk]

I think you need to define what an ethical hotel is. Remember that in Australia (I'm assuming you talking about aussie hotels only by your first post) we have minimum wage laws which protect low paid workers, and hotels are usually keen to highlight their eco rating if it has one.

What would an ethical hotel rating actually mean, how would it differ from an eco ratings and star ratings which already exist? Unless your planning on including OS places where it's possible for hotels to legally underpay staff I don't think staff pay is something that you'd easily be able to include (and have meaning).

Just my 2c.

 

[dajop]

pertaining to or dealing with morals or the principles of morality; pertaining to right and wrong in conduct

(from www.dictionary.com)


This would have to be a minefeld, wouldn't it? How do you define ethical? Who's code of ethics? Where do hotels that serve alcohol stand in the ethical standards of certain religions?

What about hotels that might have the highest eco-rating, but charge 10x the price for a soft drink from the minibar, compared to the 7-eleven next door - is that ethical?

Hotels that charge $300 a night in a country where the average wage is $1000 a year. Is that ethical?

Hotels that charge $1000 a night for new years eve yet $150/night for the 1 January, is that ethical?

I am sure there are a whole stack of other questions that could be asked.

Perhaps parameterised ratings (eg Human Rights, Eco-efficiency) etc may be better than an overall single etchical rating.

 

[2muchplastic]

For me this is attempting to measure the unmeasureable when using the word ethical. It can mean so much in different people's minds, or mean nothing at all. What would an "ethical hotel" actually mean to your average Joe Punter?

However, on the "green" track you might get a little more mileage.

Hardly 2c worth, more like 1.5c

 

[simongr]

There are ethical investment funds so it is not impossible... hard but not impossible...

 

[drron]

Ethical is in the eye of the beholder.Means nothing to many others.
Ethical investments have been mentioned.many of those rule out companies with interest in cigarrettes and alcohol.As a wine drinker I have certainly invested in companies producing wine with no ethical qualms.Many invest in banks-others would see at least certain of them unethical.
From the original post it certainly seems that the OP is primarily concerned with green credentials.I get a bit cynical with the hotel industry here.Most of their green inititiaves are really just money saving such as reducing frequency of laundering.One hotel I would mention is the Hilton Toronto where their were separate bins for paper,bottles etc and general waste-that got high marks from me.
Once again though it is a personal thing.Price,loyalty schemes etc will still play a major part in my choosing a hotel than whether a paricular organisation brands them ethical or not.

 

[Milo]

Thanks for the interesting discussion so far.

It seems there are a lot of things we could consider in deciding what's ethical. Are their green initiatives anything more than cost saving measures (like asking me to use a wet towell)? What about energy consumption, waste? Are the workers paid a decent wage (not just the minimum), are they all casual? What about health and safety?

Some hotels have a commitment to indigenous employment. Is that relevant? What about their attitudes to gay and lesbian employees or customers?

I stay in a lot of hotels and they're all things I'm interested in. What about you?

 

[medhead]

Ethical is in the eye of the beholder.Means nothing to many others.
Ethical investments have been mentioned.many of those rule out companies with interest in cigarrettes and alcohol.As a wine drinker I have certainly invested in companies producing wine with no ethical qualms.Many invest in banks-others would see at least certain of them unethical.
From the original post it certainly seems that the OP is primarily concerned with green credentials.I get a bit cynical with the hotel industry here.Most of their green inititiaves are really just money saving such as reducing frequency of laundering.One hotel I would mention is the Hilton Toronto where their were separate bins for paper,bottles etc and general waste-that got high marks from me.
Once again though it is a personal thing.Price,loyalty schemes etc will still play a major part in my choosing a hotel than whether a paricular organisation brands them ethical or not.

At least you mention some ethical type things in relation to investment funds. Another would be no gambling related investments. However, most of these ethical funds also push green ideologues ideals and also avoid uranium miners. just plan stupid. If they are serious about investment to save the world environment they would not invest in coal mining or power.

I might also be cynical about the money saving aspect of green initiatives like reduced laundering. But IME it just doesn't happen. No matter how many towels I hang up, they still always replace all of the towels! If they really wanted to save money they might actually tell the maid about the whole hang up vs on the floor thing.

 

[Hvr]

Ethical is in the eye of the beholder.Means nothing to many others.

Exactly, what are your standards and beliefs?

For example would you allow a guest to have a prostitute in their room? It is a legal trade and people do indulge.

What about alcohol? Another legal trade and some people do partake and others don't. If you discriminate against one and not the other you are imposing your ethical standards on your customers.

Do you have low flow shower heads and no baths because they use less water? If so don't expect me to use your hotel.

Do you allow your staff to join a union and have a collective agreement if they want to? Or do you pay them according to their skills and productivity? Are your managers competent enough to do this? If not are you an ethical employer?

I suggest you draw up some key areas where you want to differentiate your hotel from others and then discuss them. Otherwise you are casting your net too wide and may miss what business opportunities currently exist.

 

[drron]

Exactly, what are your standards and beliefs?

For example would you allow a guest to have a prostitute in their room? It is a legal trade and people do indulge.

What about alcohol? Another legal trade and some people do partake and others don't. If you discriminate against one and not the other you are imposing your ethical standards on your customers.

Do you have low flow shower heads and no baths because they use less water? If so don't expect me to use your hotel.

Do you allow your staff to join a union and have a collective agreement if they want to? Or do you pay them according to their skills and productivity? Are your managers competent enough to do this? If not are you an ethical employer?

I suggest you draw up some key areas where you want to differentiate your hotel from others and then discuss them. Otherwise you are casting your net too wide and may miss what business opportunities currently exist.

You have provided proof of what I said.Thanks.
Now if i was in the hotel business it would obviously matter just where my hotel was."Ethics"in sydney will be different to those in Dubai,New york etc.
Seeing I am not in business now i dont think it appropriate to push my standards on to anyone.

 

[OldCrowOz]

As a person who lives with a major disability, I would like to make a very left field observation. In my experience a lot of hotels pay lip service to disabled access (eg they have a wheelchair friendly toilet) and they have at least a room with a bathroom with grab rails), but in practice their claim of having disabled access falls a long way short (eg in terms of the configuration of the room, the degree to which the facilities really are wheelchair friendly, having links with medical equipment hire services for the 'extra bits' some of us need when we are on the road, having links with commercial nursing / care facilities, having an approach to check in/check out, room services, etc that works for people with a disability, conference facilities that are set up for people with a disability, etc.

More than once I have booked to stay at a hotel, assuming they would be set up for my needs only to discover I am going to have real problems. In my experience, the star rating of the hotel isn't necessarily reflected in the quality of their disability services / approach.

In this context, to me, the ethics of a hotel, is the degree to which their claims match what they actually provide, and in the sensitivity and compassion of their staff.

I suspect there are a few folk like me, who are professionals and have the funds to spend on quality, but currently cannot easily assess in advance what my experience in a hotel will be before I arrive.

 

[andrewj]

Hi everyone, I've been working with Ben on this project to create standards so Hotels can be certified as ethical. Thanks to everyone for your input, it has been really valuable to get community feedback. Since Ben started discussion on this topic, we've officially launched the project, called The First Star.

The First Star is all about trying to introduce good ethical practice into the luxury hotel industry. We believe a luxurious hotel stay shouldn't come at the cost of hotel workers, the environment, or basic human rights principles. And we think people who stay at these hotels agree with us.

The first step in creating an ethical luxury experience is to find out what is really going on downstairs in the kitchens, laundries, luggage rooms, energy systems and supply chains of five and four and half star hotels. And we make this promise to the community of travellers, workers, investors and host communities; if we know, we will let you know. That way all of us can decide if the hotel we stay with, work for, invest in or are neighbours of, are worth the cost.

So, over the past few weeks workers have been letting First Star know what is going in their hotels.

As far as is possible, we will make this a transparent and live appraisal of where the luxury hotel industry is at in terms of their treatment of staff, the environment and basic human rights principles. After all, if the unexamined life is not worth living, surely the unethical hotel is not worth staying in.

Come and visit The First Star (google "ethical luxury" - we're about 3rd from the top) and let us know what you think!

Thanks!