If you fancy a weekend away, heading down South is always going to be a great option, whatever the weather. London is a thriving capital city – one of the best known in the world – because of its embrace of multiculturality, love of the arts and determined people in hard-headed business.
Willing to adapt to new circumstances, the city is making itself over into a city that aims to be net zero and fully green within a few short decades – and the accommodation industry is at the forefront of this movement.
Let’s take a look in more detail.
Reduced waste
A huge eighty-one percent of UK hotels are actively working on reducing their waste. There is a twofold benefit to this: as well as saving valuable resources and being more environmentally friendly, it also saves the hotel money: food not being wasted does not need to be replaced.
The growth of serviced accommodation ties into this move towards reduced waste. In a serviced apartment, the guest makes many choices to ensure not only a curated service that is perfectly tailored for their needs, but the provision of these needs by the hotel services can be designed for reduced waste too, with – for example – the provision of just enough breakfast provided to feed the guests, rather than a huge buffet display to later be discarded.
Sustainable building materials
New hotels are being built from sustainable materials. These include reclaimed bricks, those made using green methods (using less water, introducing fewer contaminants, and so on), and even new materials that offer more benefits.
For example, cork that is too thin for use by the wine industry can be ground up and added to concrete: no strength is lost and the resulting material is of a lighter weight than pure concrete – and offers a measure of insulation to the building.
Designed for eco-friendliness
Studies of ancient desert buildings have revealed that these seemingly randomly placed buildings were actually carefully placed and engineered to keep themselves at a constant temperature, allowing a breeze to flow into the various vents in summer, yet remaining cosy in winter – and all without using any kind of fuel to achieve this desirable comfort.
Modern hotels are taking these ancient innovations and modernising them, creating buildings that maintain their own temperatures, that offer good air circulation (vital for good health) and that use renewable energy such as solar and wind power. These hotels often follow through with simple, but effective, measures such as encouraging guests to reduce the amount of laundry that is done.
Smart buildings
Finally, London’s accommodation industry is embracing the advent of the smart building. Even the most conscientious guest will occasionally leave a light on, or tweak the thermostat to a more comfortable temperature – which is, of course, perfectly acceptable! Smart building technology can sense these changes, and once the guest has checked out, the computer can lower the temperature, switch off the lights, and generally put the room into an energy efficient condition until the next guest comes along.
