Hotel Neutraal: sharing learnings and best practices for a sustainable future

Since October 2022, 16 Rotterdam hotels together with Green Leisure Group, BlueCity, Rotterdam Partners and the Municipality of Rotterdam are actively collaborating in Hotel Neutraal, a joint effort towards a CO2-neutral and circular future. In a series of interviews we share some of the hotels' ambitions, best practices, projects and experiences.

The collaborating hotels and partners are taking steps that help cut costs and contribute to a cleaner Rotterdam by saving on energy, generating less (food) waste, using more circular products, saving water, and lower CO2 emissions. A baseline measurement gives a better idea of the hotels’ performance today and what are some sustainable quick wins. The hotels then set to work to achieve these sustainable objectives, with coaching. In 2023, the hotels will receive the results of their scans, which they will use to establish a roadmap for their actions.

Thanks to Hotel Neutraal, these Rotterdam hotels gain an immediate insight into the sustainable opportunities and are given practical tips and recommendations on how to implement this themselves. The participants strive to take circular, sustainable measures, to reduce their carbon footprint and the use of raw materials, among others. This benefits the hotel industry after the pandemic lockdowns, soaring prices and staff shortages.

Sustainable quick wins and learning from each other

“We have noticed that our guests and employees find sustainability increasingly important. The soaring energy prices and increasingly stricter environmental legislation are also compelling us to take steps to become more sustainable. We hope that this track will give us more of an insight into sustainable quick wins and will allow us to learn from the other participating hotels”, said Monique Segeren of Hostel Room, a participant in Hotel Neutraal.

What are the quick wins for the hotels? Which challenges do they face? And can the industry as a whole make a difference by joining forces? Find out more about experiences of participants in the interviews presented below.

"Start with changes that are easy to achieve, such as sustainable purchasing and reducing waste."

Suite Hotel Pincoffs: monumental and sustainable

The Hotel Neutraal Monumental Buildings working group, including Rotterdam hotels Hotel New York, Hostel Room and Motto by Hilton, explores questions such as ‘how to make a hotel in a monumental building more sustainable, what obstacles and regulations do you encounter and what are the solutions?’ Suite Hotel Pincoffs is known as the ‘most sustainable hotel in Rotterdam’. “We have always found sustainability very important and that is why we made important choices in the renovation from the start, such as double glazing in all rooms and heat pumps for heating and cooling. We also started working with recycled materials and over time sustainability continued to become more important in our company.” Renovating in a monumental building is difficult, because everything has to adhere to regulations and not everything is possible. “If I had to give tips to people in monumental buildings who want to become more sustainable, I would say ‘Start with changes that are easy to achieve, such as sustainable purchasing and reducing waste.'”

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It’s all about sharing at hostel Ani & Haakien

Ten years ago, Joyce Brouwer and Danielle Linscheer opened hostel Ani & Haakien in the heart of Rotterdam as a traveler’s house with an “old school backpackers vibe” and with an eye for sustainability. Reuse is paramount here. “We used a lot of our own furniture. The tables, for example, came from my house. From the start we bought everything second-hand. Sustainable, but also a lot more affordable.” The concept of a hostel in itself is very sustainable. It’s about sharing: your room, your kitchen, your food, your experiences… But sustainability goes beyond a place or things. “It’s also about the people and that they are happy with each other.” Since the start of Hotel Neutraal, hostel Ani & Haakien has taken steps to become more sustainable.

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Bilderberg Parkhotel wants to become a sustainable hotel

Femke Kloos, operations manager of Bilderberg Parkhotel, and Rob van Hooijdonk, operations support manager sustainability at Event Hotels, talk about the road the Bilderberg Parkhotel Rotterdam is taking within the Hotel Neutraal project and beyond towards a sustainable future. In 2019, Bilderberg took the first steps towards a more sustainable future by writing the Conscious Bilderberg report. This contains 8 objectives that Bilderberg wants to achieve with regard to sustainability. According to Rob and Femke, Hotel Neutraal fits in perfectly with these sustainable initiatives and they were immediately enthusiastic when the project came their way. Also because the need for sustainability is becoming increasingly clear from the perspective of guests.

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'Local' is the keyword for Supernova Hotel

For Supernova Hotel, sustainability and circularity are mainly about locality and cooperation. After the baseline measurement, Supernova is now stepping up in phase two, rolling up their sleeves and taking action for a sustainable future. After previous sustainable steps, which included large and durable soap dispensers, sourcing vintage furniture for the rooms and combating food waste with the help of the Too Good To Go app, Supernova is now focussing on local products and sustainable local partnerships: “Why would you get something from far away, if you can find it close to home. It simply fits with our concept, which is all about getting products from Rotterdam, close by. We want to be an extension of the city. That you really notice: I’m in Rotterdam. This is reflected in the collaborations we make, the products we use and the art on the wall.”

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"Together we are collectively taking steps towards a carbon-neutral, circular future."

Room Mate Bruno: luxury and sustainability hand in hand

Room Mate Bruno is located in the ‘Manhattan’ of Rotterdam on the Kop van Zuid, hidden in a former tea warehouse. A colorful hotel with no less than 217 rooms, part of the Spanish chain ‘Room Mate’. A conversation with director Burg de Rave about Hotel Neutraal as a wake-up call and sustainable ambitions. In terms of sustainability, Bruno focuses on several developments, including the Orbisk food monitor, to combat food waste, attention to clothing and dispensers for personal care products in the rooms. But social entrepreneurship also has the explicit attention of Hotel Bruno, which offers rooms to economically homeless people through the GiveMe5 project. Burg de Rave: “We do not supervise, others within the project do that, but we would like to support by offering a stepping stone to our own living space. We see this as part of corporate social responsibility, which is in line with who we are.”

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Hostel Room takes first steps towards a climate-neutral future

Hostel Room Rotterdam, one of the participating hotels, is already taking action and has embarked on their journey towards a more sustainable future. Monique Segeren and Mirjam Verschoor, owners of Hostel ROOM, talk about their experiences with Hotel Neutraal so far and what changes are planned. Immediately after the kick-off of Hotel Neutraal, the project was already well felt by Monique and Mirjam. “You immediately start thinking green. With many things you suddenly think: ‘Oh this is really not possible’, for example with plastic milk tubs and sugar sachets.” They started working on the small quick wins with a major impact, and went on from there, tackling challenges like adapting a monumental (listed) building to become more environmentally friendly, and encouraging visitors to travel ‘green’.

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To the Hotel Neutraal website

Photos on this page: Jacqueline Fuijkschot