In its commitment to sustainability, Minor Hotels Europe & Americas seeks to include and involve customers in its sustainable initiatives, whether by generating opportunities for social contribution or by promoting environmentally responsible behavior.
Some of the initiatives that have been implemented for the most efficient and secure management of information, while improving the customer experience are:
FASTPASS. This initiative gives customers the possibility of using online check-in, choose your room and online check-out. It gives guests total control over their stay, allowing them to choose their own room by exploring the hotel’s architectonic plan. It also generates benefits in terms of sustainability by digitalizing all the information.
Tablets in Reception. With the aim of continuing to be at the forefront of innovation and offer its guests the best services, this feature reduces physical contact and waiting times at hotel reception, during check-in and check-out, improving the touchpoints, at both operational and experience level, by digitalizing all phases of these processes.
In its commitment to combat climate change, Minor Hotels Europe & Americas uses the offset of emissions as an exceptional alternative in order to meet its annual emissions targets and to give visibility to the Company’s climate commitment by involving guests in it. With the new events proposition, the Company calculates and offsets the carbon footprint attributed to the most relevant events held at the hotels. The most relevant events are considered to be those in which, due to the number of people in attendance, the commitment could have a greater impact both among guests and society as a whole. The event’s carbon footprint is calculated following the HCMI (Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative) methodology, supported by the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance. As for carbon footprint offset, Minor Hotels Europe & Americas has worked on identifying possible projects that will contribute to the conservation of nature in the surroundings where it operates.
This action materialized with the signing of a collaboration contract with Retree to reforest the area known as the “Valley of the Dreams” in the Sierra Norte de Madrid, classed as a Biosphere Reserve since 2005. This valley, located in a highly depopulated area that has suffered serious soil degradation, had an exceptional forest ecosystem. The priority goal of creation “The Forest Project” is to contribute to the revitalization of the area, recover the ecosystem, and to create rural employment and combat climate change. In 2023, the carbon footprint of 364 large events was offset, which represented the neutralization of 2,544 metric tons of carbon emitted into the atmosphere.
During guests’ stays and sightseeing trips, the Company offers mobility services such as carsharing or bicycle hire. Currently there are more than 90 hotels that offer bicycle hire services, as well as charging points for electric cars installed in 72 hotels.
Alliance with Vattenfall to include charging points for electric cars in its hotels in Germany. Last December, the Management Committee approved the initiative with an initial target of creating 175 recharging points by 2023.
Project “Movés” for the promotion of electric mobility. In the context of this initiative, four charging points for cars have been installed in the Hotel NH Montevideo Columbia (Uruguay).
Agreement with Wenea which establishes that more than 250 charging points will be installed in more than 100 hotels throughout the territory.
The aim of these collaborations is to participate actively in promoting sustainable mobility, reducing the carbon footprint in travel and the importance of improving air quality in cities, where the Company has so much presence.
