Top 5 Sustainable Benefits of Serviced Accommodation
Serviced accommodation provides a sustainable solution to short and long-stay visits for businesses and employees set on reducing their carbon footprint. It provides a great solution for demonstrating your commitment to the environment and is rapidly becoming the conscious choice for the sustainable eco-traveller.
Minimising the frequency and distance we travel is one of many steps we are consciously taking towards a more sustainable future. However, this may not be an option for those required to travel regularly for work or who are away from home for long periods of time.
As a result, it is even more essential for these groups to minimise their environmental impact for the duration of their stay. One way of achieving this is to use serviced accommodation instead of hotels and therefore help businesses meet their sustainability targets in the process.
This blog highlights exactly why serviced apartments and homes offer a greener solution to more traditional accommodation alternatives such as hotels.
1. Longer and Greener Stays with Serviced Accommodation
Many guests prefer the home-from-home comforts of serviced accommodation to a hotel room, especially for longer stays. This can also be a more sustainable approach and often means reduced travel, particularly for those commuting for business.
According to Forbes, the frequency of business trips has dropped across all industries since COVID-19 forced a shift from face-to-face meetings to online video conferencing. Those that do embark on business trips are also staying away from home longer than they did before the pandemic due to the end of lockdown restrictions and changes across different regions.
Therefore, booking serviced accommodation for the duration of your trip makes environmental sense because it reduces the need for travel and could lessen your carbon footprint, particularly for those who would otherwise travel by atmosphere-polluting aircraft or fuel-guzzling diesel engines.
Not only that but the most respected serviced accommodation providers also own apartments and homes in locations with excellent bus and rail public transport links. Taking public transport with the lowest carbon emissions to meetings or on day trips is significantly greener than using a motor vehicle to travel alone.
2. Serviced Accommodation with Sustainability at the Core
The very nature of serviced accommodation makes them a more sustainable living option due to their design. Most serviced accommodation providers have adopted a range of environmentally friendly measures aimed at lowering their energy consumption and saving money in the process.
The use of energy-saving LED light bulbs throughout a property, the introduction of electricity smart metres and water metres for more accurate monitoring, plus easy access for guests to on-site paper, plastic, and glass recycling facilities are among the many steps being taken across the serviced accommodation sector.
In addition, you will discover that serviced accommodations are often situated in new, well-insulated buildings with high energy ratings for greater efficiency. You may also find older buildings converted into serviced accommodation benefit from the latest energy-saving technology as part of the refit process.
From a health and safety perspective, serviced accommodation also provides a secure environment due to dedicated living spaces and self-contained units. These were major benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic when strict social-distancing rules were in place.
3. Sustainable Housekeeping with Serviced Accommodation
The serviced apartment industry has taken significant steps to reduce its carbon footprint through an enhanced sustainable approach to cleaning and housekeeping.
Hotel rooms are generally cleaned at least once per day, regardless of whether they really need it. This means an unnecessary waste of electricity to power appliances such as vacuum cleaners and washing machines. Similarly, most serviced apartments use energy-saving appliances like dishwashers, showers, and storage heaters, which make these properties more attractive to sustainable travellers.
Most serviced accommodation providers take a greener approach by carrying out cleaning and housekeeping on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. This cuts down on laundry and greatly reduces the environmental impact of your stay.
The added bonus is that serviced accommodation guests will benefit from longer periods of relaxation without being disturbed by a hotel’s cleaning team so they can live free from regular intrusions.
4. Shared Living with Sustainable Serviced Accommodation
If there’s no place like home, as the saying goes, serviced accommodation provides all the comfort and amenities you are used to in everyday life. The difference with shared serviced accommodation is that you share it with others.
This multi-guest approach means that larger groups of people benefit from lighting and heating a communal space such as a lounge., An oven used simultaneously by multiple guests instead of by one individual is also more energy efficient. . Consequently, this shared approach will greatly reduce a person’s environmental impact and help promote a sustainable outlook for the group.
Shared or co-living serviced accommodation is also beneficial for sociable travellers who may become lonely on solo business trips.
5. Helping Businesses Meet Sustainability Targets
Using serviced accommodation can help businesses meet their sustainability targets and adhere to environmental compliance, proving they can minimise their impact on the environment.
More and more organisations are putting sustainability at the forefront of their business strategy and are writing their commitment into their mission statements. Integrating sustainability into daily operations shows they want to do business without negatively impacting the environment.
Almost one in three of the UK’s largest companies have signed up to the United Nation’s Race to Zero campaign to eliminate their contribution to carbon emissions by 2050. Businesses who take positive steps towards a more sustainable future by using serviced accommodation, for example, are also viewed in a better light than those who fail to take responsibility. By monitoring the impact of their business decisions, they ensure profits don’t come at the cost of the environment.
Sustainable Benefits of Berkshire Rooms Serviced Accommodation
Berkshire Rooms put sustainability at the forefront of our business planning. Our commitment towards a greener industry is borne out in the steps we take to ensure our serviced apartments and homes have as little environmental impact as possible.
The sustainable measures we have taken include:
- Most of our serviced accommodation has energy-saving double glazing
- 100% of our serviced accommodation use renewable energy
- We use recycled plastic wherever we can, including our bathroom bottles
- All our serviced properties have recycling facilities on site
- We use LED bulbs where possible to reduce the amount of energy we use
- Heating systems switch off automatically to save on energy waste
- Reduced paper usage by moving brochures from print to online
- All our accounting is performed online to cut down on paper
- Around 50% of our staff work remotely thus limiting work-related travel
- Our properties are situated near transport hubs for easy access to public transport
- We use electricity smart metres to constantly monitor energy consumption
- Fewer electric appliances in our properties for lower electricity consumption
- Our linen & laundry supplier is a member of Considerate Suppliers who work with accommodation providers in the adoption of green practices.
- Our in-house maintenance transport is EV (electric vehicles), meaning we are using zero emission transport where possible.
- Our average energy rating across all properties is 74, and we are constantly looking for ways to improve these within our control.
Reduce your Carbon Footprint with Berkshire Rooms
The next time you book a business trip use Berkshire Rooms serviced accommodation and put sustainability first. Get in touch now.