Sustainable Luxury: RAAS at its finest
The biggest trend in sustainable tourism is the rise in environmentally conscious hotels.
The past two years have reminded us more urgently of the importance of being good stewards of our environment. Eco-friendly travel has been around for decades, but as the consumer’s interest in sustainability has grown, so has green tourism. Today’s tourists prefer destinations that take initiatives to protect and preserve the environment. According to Booking.com, 68% percent of tourists prefer to book an eco-friendly accommodation. Another survey by the Singapore-based online travel agency Agoda.com found that nearly 40% of travelers are willing to spend an extra $10 a night to sleep in a sustainable resort.
Ecological sustainability is a keystone principle at RAAS
It’s broadly defined as a concept where a person or entity’s actions produce environmental, social and economic benefit without irreversibly limiting the regeneration of the resources consumed.
There are a host of options hotels can implement to be more sustainable. For example farm-to-table dining, composting, alternative energy sources like solar or wind power, energy saving lighting, recycling, water conservation, to name a few. RAAS does all of this and more. Truly green hotels support the three pillars of sustainable tourism: environmental, social and economic.
To that end RAAS strives to keep its carbon footprint low by:
- Using locally available construction materials in the design and construction of its properties
- Using solar power for water heating
- Regulating air-conditioning using a system that has a Platinum LEED rating
- Cultivating an organic herb and vegetable garden for seasonal produce in each of our hotels
- Reducing water consumption by 85% through aerators
- Investing in rainwater harvesting to reduce dependence on public resources
- Reducing and eliminating use of plastic across all operations
RAAS was the first hospitality brand in Rajasthan to get rid of single-use plastic from all our properties
We also work with vendors and suppliers to help them reduce single-use plastic in their operations, ensuring that we do our bit to prevent plastic from ending up in landfills.
Investing in local communities
The majority of RAAS’ workforce is local to the regions we operate in. For example, 65% of hotel employees at RAAS Devigarh are recruited from villages within a 5km radius. This combined with our partnerships with local businesses ensures that money earned from tourism goes directly to boosting the local economy – both rural and urban.
Green travel might have once been a niche market but no more. The sustainability-obsessed and climate-conscious millennials and Gen Z are all for green travel. They are far more likely to support brands with strong management of environmental and social issues, and expect brands to not only manage their impact but communicate it.
Travelers today believe that sustainable travel is responsible, rewarding, authentic and far more people and planet-friendly. RAAS has been designed keeping these travelers in mind.
