HoteliersGuild | FORUM OF DIALOGUE

FORUM

Of DIALOGUE

INDUSTRY LEADERS

d e in t

U LAUNCHING SPRING 2020

m r te e

! n o i ain t

D by

A SOURCE for EXPERTISE & ENCOURAGEMENT

“

Welcome to Slovenia, the first green country of the world certified according to the Green D e s t i n a t i o n s t a n d a rd s . T h e country which was granted the prestigious National Geographic World Legacy Award for the efforts in tourism development.

And the country, where our glamorous nature has given us the possibility to create boutique sustainable five-star experiences.

M.Sc. Maja Pak Director of the Slovenian Tourist Board

“

JUNE 18-20, 2020 WWW.ECORESORT.NETWORK

"ECO RESORT NETWORK IS AN EXCLUSIVE EVENT FOR JUST 70 DELEGATES, WHO WILL CONTRIBUTE OPINIONS AND EXPERIENCES IN ORDER TO CREATE LASTING RELATIONSHIPS, AS WELL AS ESTABLISHING A CLEAR VISION OF WHERE THE INDUSTRY IS HEADED, WHAT BEST PRACTICE LOOKS LIKE AND WHAT THE GUESTS OF TODAY AND TOMORROW WILL EXPECT,” STEPH CURTIS-RALEIGH - ORGANISER

supported by

HallOfFame

THE PRIVATE SOCIETY FOR DISCERNING HOTELIERS A league of its own Affiliation by invitation only

HoteliersGuild | WorldGuide AG | Hildegardstrasse 9 | 80539 Munich Germany | t +41225349478 | HoteliersGuild | fmp.hoteliersguild@me.com

Dear Friends & Colleagues, First of all, my thanks to all colleagues who, despite their equally hectic agenda, continue to support our cause so energetically. Both our EcoHospitecture magazine and the current LookBook have generated a wave of positive feedback and interest. Hence the idea for this forum. And again, my thanks to all those who immediately agreed to contribute so enthusiastically! My pledge to you is to coordinate and moderate this project with full strength!

Frank M. Pfaller President HoteliersGuild

With a view to bringing people together and achieving critical, open and meaningful dialogue, HoteliersGuild’s Forum For Dialogue will organise a range of discussion forums in different formats as explained in more detail below throughout the year, digitally published monthly/bi-monthly & distributed globally via our own and the respective platforms of our strategic alliance partners/ requested.

Discussions will include a wide range of issues related to HoteliersGuild’s and our partners areas of interest of Deeper and more Sustainable Luxury, Responsible Travel, Respectful Architecture & Design, Innovative & Sustainable F&B, instigated by expert contributors/hoteliers & other hospitality leaders.

We aim to attract diverse hospitality leaders, academics, researchers and journalists, hotel school and tourism students, community leaders, as well as prominent personalities with somewhat contradictory views.

Please note that we are still shaping the final concept with your help, and that the below dialogue themes are just examples!

And whilst we are still at the beginning of our journey, there will be more news to share over the coming weeks, and I’ll be in touch when we can provide more information about the start that is planned for April.

Let me close in telling you how inspiring it is to be coming together with other like-minded individuals who share our commitment to transform the future of hospitality for everyone!

the FORUM FOR DIALOGUE panel United By Determination!

Frank M. Pfaller

Matteo Thun

Karena Albers

Chris Stafford

Onno Poortier

Lindsey Ueberroth

Sonu Shivdasani

Paul Jones

Bill Bensley

Luca Franco

Mario Gamba

Francis Mallmann

Louis Thompson

Nitesh Pandey

Rocco Bova

Daniele Vastolo

Paul Bruce-Brand

Filip Boyen

Tim Weiland

Xavier Lablaude

Florian Werner

Acceptances received (25.02.) from Karena Albers Sonu Shivdasani Paul Jones Filip Boyen Louis Thompson Bill Bensley Nitesh Pandey Rocco Bova Paul Bruce-Brand

Daniele Vastolo Jason Villarino Florian Werner Luca Franco Chris Stafford Tim Weiland Xavier Lablaude

y l on

FORUMOFDIALOGUE SERIES

e l p m

TALK TO US! from Sonu Shivdasani

a S

CEO & Founder

SONEVA

A perfect example of how to start a discussion

shrewd & invigorating HoteliersGuild

!

Can Travel and Tourism have a positive Contribution to Conservation, the Environment, and the Community?

Travel and flying are often highlighted as

plays in conservation. Vast tracts of

Today, twenty-five years later we’d like

prime examples of human behaviours

south and east Africa would now be

to think that our guiding principle of

that contribute to global warming, and

f a r m l a n d i f i t w e re n o t f o r t h e

creating the innovative and enlightening

that need to change with immediate effect if we are to handover to the next

conservation efforts of the many lodges and camps whose tourists indirectly fund

SLOW LIFE (Sustainable, Local, Organic, Wellness, Learning, Inspiring, Fun,

generation a world similar to what we

these efforts. Five years ago, President

Experiences) for our guests. SLOW LIFE

have been able to experience and love

Bongo of Gabon transferred 11 million

is an integral part of our morals as well

in our own lifetimes.

hectares of land from timber

as our operating compass, and it

Whilst air travel accounts for the bulk of

concessions and mining concessions to a National Park with a view to attracting

provides a blueprint for the future of the hospitality industry.

an individual’s own ecological footprint,

tourists to visit.

today it accounts for about 2% of

Our vehicle for delivering the SLOW

greenhouse gases. The damage it

Closer to home, the Government of the

L I F E i s o u r c o re p h i l o s o p h y o f

causes pales when one considers the contribution to global warming of

Maldives banned the fishing of both sharks and turtles. Part of the Maldives –

“Intelligent Luxury”.

agriculture, especially the meat industry,

the Baa Atoll, where one of our resorts is

Which is about combining the traditional

where the numbers are 10 to 20 times

located - has become a UNESCO

opposites of sustainability and wellness

that of air travel.

Biosphere. The catalyst for these actions

with luxury. We believe that these things

There are some examples of tourism

was the calculation that a shark or turtle swimming happily in the ocean was

actually complement each other. At the heart of the matter is what true luxury

over-development, such as along the

considerably more valuable alive than

means for our guests today.The

coast of Spain where developers have

dead.

definition of luxury is something that is a

constructed sprawling concrete jungles

rarity, but the wealthy of today come

that remain ghost towns for most of the year. The local community lost out big

Let me share with you our own experiences at Soneva, which I hope will

from a different context to the wealthy of the past, when some of the more

time, and their overall quality of life

reinforce the case for travel and tourism

traditional luxuries were established. In

deteriorated. The developers were often

as an overall source of good.

today’s society, luxury translates into

foreign, and they mostly engaged

peace, time and space. It is about the

foreigners and tourists who tended to consume packaged products brought in

When my wife Eva and I opened our first resort in 1995, we held a firm belief that

sand between your toes and dinner under a canopy of a billion stars, it is

from outside. Wherever local ingredients

a company must have a clear purpose

about reconnecting with oneself and the

or resources were consumed, it was at

beyond just making money. We were

natural environment. For guests who live

the expense of the local community. In

convinced that a successful business is

in cramped and polluted concrete

general, the profits of the operations were repatriated, salaries were spent

the one that combines apparent contrasts and makes these ‘opposites’

jungles, true luxury is to eat a freshly picked salad, grown in our organic

back home, and the local community

compatible. When this has been

garden while breathing clean air and

r a re l y b e n e f i t t e d f ro m t h i s n e w

achieved and it works, it creates an

enjoying a beautiful view.

commerce. In turn, they suffered from

experience that is unique and accepted,

the inflationary pressures on certain qualities of life that they had taken for

and immediately develops very strong guest loyalty.

granted such as cheap seaside living or fish, which they could no longer afford.

This SLOW LIFE focus has led to levels of guest loyalty and repeat business that far surpass industry norms, and this tells

While we wanted to create a hideaway

us unequivocally that the values of a

that would satisfy our desires for a

company matter to those who consume

PWC have established a measurement index, called T.I.M.M. (Total Impact

destination for those who liked to travel in luxurious style, we also had this

its products. This is rare in the modern world, but Soneva distinguishes itself

Monitoring & Measurement), that they

overwhelming drive to protect the

because combined with the space,

are encouraging governments to use in

environment.

The end result was born

privacy and comfort of our villas and

order to drive behavioural changes to

out of the philosophy of simple

rooms, and the intuitive service provided

avoid such examples in the future.

sophistication and returning luxuriously to nature, whilst also shouldering the

by our Hosts, we have also demonstrated how sustainable materials

In spite of this, I remain a strong

responsibility of being custodians of the

can have a great aesthetic. Being able to

advocate of the overall positive impact

beautiful places we operate in.

bring out the beauty of nature has set us

of travel and tourism and the key role it

apart from the competition.

Being sustainable is also part of our

power generators in South India, and

established the “Learn to Swim”

DNA, and we are always striving to limit

even a commitment to 150,000 low

programme with our neighbouring

the negative environmental impact of our activities – something which is both

carbon cooking stoves in Myanmar and Darfur.

island Eydhafushi. By teaching children to swim, we hope that they will learn to

difficult as well as critical for a company

love the ocean, and when they love it,

which operates resorts in remote places

The Soneva Foundation hosts the bi-

they will protect it. We are now looking

of pristine natural beauty.

annual SLOWLIFE Symposium, which

to scale this programme to offer

We may sometimes fall short of our own

convenes some of the world’s greatest m i n d s a c ro s s s c i e n c e , b u s i n e s s ,

intensive swimming programmes across the Atoll, partnering with other resorts,

high standards, but we are very clear

philanthropy and policy. Described by

local and national NGOs, environmental

about our responsibilities as custodians

one of our participants as a ‘laboratory

awareness groups and government

of the communities we operate in. This

of intent’, the event, now in its fifth year,

ministries. Supported by filmmaker and

responsibility to one's community is somewhat complicated for a company

provides these leaders with the time, space and facility to address the worst

National Geographic adventurer Jon Bowermaster, who made a documentary

such as ours, whose guests jet in from all

challenges threatening our natural

film of the swimming programme, we

over the globe. As a result our social

environment, and to create tangible,

aim to develop a model of

and environmental responsibilities are as

collaborative solutions.

environmental inspiration and education

much global as they are local. We set up the Soneva Foundation to focus on

The SLOWLIFE Symposium has

change at a level far beyond the direct

delivered real results. For example, in

At the 2013 SLOW LIFE Symposium, we

communities in which our resorts

2012 the WHOLE WORLD Water

were inspired by Jochen Zeitz’s

operate and to recognise our

(WWW) initiative was conceived and co-

introduction of an environmental profit

obligations to society in general.

founded by Symposium attendees, Karena Albers and Jenifer Willig, in

and loss account at the sports brand Puma. We have committed to adopt

Years ago, I noticed the huge number of

partnership with the Soneva Foundation.

this at Soneva and we will use the

plastic water bottles that washed up on

The premise was simple: how can we

methodology we develop to support

our beaches at Soneva Fushi in the

scale the Soneva model of filtering and

other businesses that are preparing to

Maldives. We decided not to point fingers at those who were allowing their

bottling water locally instead of importing bottled water and using part

take this step. We already undertake a granular analysis of our environmental

water bottles to spoil our oceans, while

of the revenues to fund clean water

performance, but the EP&L will take this

we served bottled water in our resort

initiatives? The model devised not only

to another level.

and were therefore still part of the

eliminates plastic waste but also cuts out

cannot manage what you do not

problem. In 2008 we decided to stop offering branded bottled water, and

unnecessary transportation miles.

measure. Much of this management is necessarily via our supply chains.

instead served water that was filtered,

Today, WWW extends this concept out

mineralised, alkalised, and bottled on-

to the travel and tourism industry, with

These examples of Symposium

site in reusable glass bottles. Half the

10% of sales revenues invested in clean

initiatives give an insight into what we

revenues from our water sales go to the Soneva Foundation to fund the work of

and safe drinking water initiatives around the world. The scale of ambition

can achieve when we collaborate. There is no question that if a change is to be

charities such as Water Charity and

for WWW is dizzying – we estimate that

made, it is partnerships, collaborations,

Thirst Aid.

if the entire travel and tourism industry

and brilliant innovations that will bring

that can be applied around the world.

As Jochen says, you

united around this single issue, we could

the greatest efficacy. The private sector

In 2008 we also added a mandatory 2% Carbon Levy to our guests’ bills, to off-

raise $1bn annually. While this target is still some way off, last year WWW made

has a huge role to play in the solutions agenda and we assume this

set our guests’ travel emissions. It was a

its first investments in clean water

responsibility as totally central to our

small change, and a relatively small

projects in Cambodia, Uganda and

core purpose. Corporations should look

charge, which we found our guests more

India.

back through history and remember that

than happy to accept. The direct rewards have been great. In just four

It is remarkable that many children in the

having a purpose should be central to their mandate - and that this

years, we raised about US$5m which the

island nation of the Maldives do not

contribution should be measured and

Soneva Foundation used to fund a

swim.

valued as robustly as any financial

reforestation programme in northern

compounded by a nationwide waste

Thailand. Through this, we planted around half a million trees, mitigating

problem that sees local island beaches u s e d a s a d u m p i n g g ro u n d f o r

around 400,000 tons of CO2.

household waste.

Additionally, funds have financed wind

SLOW LIFE Symposium, Soneva Fushi

A fear of the water is

Following the 2013

returns.

At

HoteliersGuild, we are pleased to announce

our collaboration with Jaclyn

Yost. She

is the Founder & CEO of Ecomadic — a

sustainable travel platform. Additionally, she is a

sustainable

App,

contributing travel

Green is the New Black, a tourism expert for the LiveMore

and completing her

Master of Tourism

Administration

focusing on Sustainable Tourism with the George Washington University. She will

moderate discussions professionals

with

young tourism

from South East Asia,

assist to

coordinate our dialogue topics and contribute content for our LookBooks.

also

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