Travel Notebook
Rebecca Recommends’ Sustainability Page
Rebecca Recommends is proud to announce a new Sustainability page on its website. Recognizing the importance of eco-conscious choices to today’s discerning travelers, this section will highlight our hotel portfolio members’ important sustainability efforts.
The Rebecca Recommends team is privileged to travel extensively and experience first-hand the positive impact of sustainable travel on countries where tourism is a key driver for economic growth. In turn, this means we are fortunate to work with several hotel clients who endeavor to improve the tourism experience while benefiting local communities on the economic, social, and environmental level.
It is our hope that by providing you with insight into our hotel portfolio members’ sustainability-centric projects you are better able to work with hotels that share your own responsible tourism values.
Each hotel spotlight will share the property’s sustainability initiatives and long-term goals through easy-to-decipher icons, as well as provide a quick explanation of one particular project of which the hotel is most proud, or that encapsulates the story of the place. We hope this makes it simple to quickly see where a hotel is focusing, whether it’s diversity and inclusion, responsible sourcing, carbon reduction, community involvement, water conservation, plastic reduction, or one of several other important areas.
Read on for a few of our hotels’ recent sustainabilty initiatives that represent the three pillars of sustainable tourism: cultural heritage, the environment and the local economy. For a more in-depth look at the Rebecca Recommends hotel clients’ sustainability efforts please visit this LINK. The aim of this document is to share our clients’ endeavors with you and in turn, these initiatives can be integrated into your future client conversations.
Curtain Bluff maintains the Old Road Fund, named for the town from which more than 80% of the resort’s staff are from. The fund has been invested in education for 200+ students, healthcare, providing school and sports supplies, supplying seniors with food and more than 100 toys annually to a Christmas gift drive.
The Hari is dedicated to the youngest humans through The Children’s Trust (the UK’s leading charity for children with brain injuries). They regularly support the Trust’s projects, including visiting children in the hospital, reading stories, donating clothes, donating books and toys, and making financial contributions.
This South African lodge Bushmans Kloof hosts MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences that immerse and educate guests in local culture and preserve native craft and tradition. By taking guests to ancient rock art sites with knowledgeable field guides, the Lodge is helping acknowledge and preserve a South African National Heritage Site.
Here, the Head Chef at The Torridon prioritizes sustainability by focusing on reducing supplier emissions through partnerships with local food suppliers. Berries, vegetables, and herbs come from the hotel’s 2.5-acre Victorian Kitchen Garden, while Highland cattle and pigs are reared for their meat, which is then served on property. Further efforts include composting, reduction of single-use plastics, and a biomass boiler system that creates an ash by-product that can then be used to fertilize the garden.
Set on the shores of beautiful Lake Wakatipu, Blanket Bay contributes to the local community through long-standing relationships with Glenorchy School, local community organizations, and the regional polytechnic. From hiring locally, supplying locally, and spearheading educational improvements, Blanket Bay is a vital contributor to the growth of the town.
Cultural preservation is top of mind at Ashford Castle, where guests can “Meet the Makers” in the area, including an immersion into the ancient art of blacksmithing and furniture making, a full-day experience with a local beekeeper, seashore forager, and distiller, an afternoon with a cheesemaker, a lesson on making traditional soda bread, and more.
The Milestone Hotel & Residences
Guests at The Milestone Hotel have the chance to learn about the local environment while on a foraging adventure, during which they’ll reconnect with their surroundings and appreciate seasonal food, all while having a minimal impact on the land. The hotel chef will use the foraged ingredients to create a personalized dinner menu and cocktails.
Your clients who stay at The Egerton House Hotel can explore an underground hydroponic farm below the bustling streets of Clapham. They’ll be immersed and educated in local culture and native craft as they learn about this pesticide-free farm that grows microgreens and salad leaves year-round in a unique setting that is run on 100% renewable energy. Best part? They’ll collect greens that the hotel chef will whip up into a delicious salad later.
Xigera’s Design Collection celebrates the people of Africa and the local host communities. Guests may join the general manager for a lodge tour to see the impressive art collection, while learning the background stories behind the living art gallery. Highlighting African creativity and craftsmanship, many of the bespoke works were commissioned exclusively for the lodge from some of Africa’s most exciting artistic talents.
Dwarika’s Hotel, itself, is a living museum built as an ode to traditional Newari craftsmanship. Guests can learn the hotel’s unique origin story, based largely on Mr. Dwarika Das Shrestha’s commitment to preserving the flourishing cultures of the past. The hotel has won awards for its pioneering work in saving Kathmandu’s traditional wood carving heritage. The architectural grandeur of the hotel has become a remarkable example and trendsetter in the hotel industry for sustainable heritage conservation, preservation, and revival.
We hope this new Sustainability page that introduces a number of our clients who are investing in their sustainability initiatives will provide the valuable insight you crave so that you can make your own responsible decisions about crafting eco-conscious, sustainability-focused experiences for your savvy clients.
Together, we can all affect dramatic, positive change by influencing business supply and traveler demand.
