HKTDC Hong Kong Means Business

Hong Kong Means Business Hong Kong Means Business

Search form

Languages

  • EN
  • 繁
  • 简
SUBSCRIBE
  • EVENTS
  • MY FEED
  • CONTACT HKTDC
  • ABOUT HKTDC
  • hktdc.com

Section Menu

  • multimedia
  • market spotlight
  • first person
  • Venture Hong Kong
  • heads-up
  • inside china
  • life & style
  • hktdc research

Search form

Languages

  • EN
  • 繁
  • 简
SUBSCRIBE
Hong Kong Means Business

Section Menu

  • multimedia
  • market spotlight
  • first person
  • Venture Hong Kong
  • heads-up
  • inside china
  • life & style
  • hktdc research

https://hkmb.hktdc.com/en/1X0AKGEA

first person
SAVE FOR LATER
SHARE / SEND

"Scan QR Code" in WeChat and tap "..." to share.

Hotelier seeks to green industry

An architect specialising in hospitality shook up the field in Asia with a high-profile set of proposals arguing hotels should have a social purpose.

27 April 2020

Bill Bensley

Bangkok-based American architect and hotelier Bill Bensley, Creative Director at Bensley Design Studios, made waves in the hospitality industry with his white paper, Sensible Sustainable Solutions, launched at the Thailand Tourism Forum in Bangkok in January. The paper makes a passionate plea for the hospitality industry to fight climate change, with 20 suggestions for hotel designers, owners and operators covering three core pillars: build with a purpose, think locally and sustainably, and build sensibly.

“Those of us in hospitality have the power to reach thousands of people through our hotels and spread this message of purpose. We should shoulder more responsibility concerning issues such as education, clean accessible water, energy consumption, food waste and wildlife conservation,” he said.

Planned projects include turning the traditional concept of a zoo on its head with a hotel in Wuchuan, western Guangdong, where the guests will be in luxurious cages while animals roam free in a park.

What inspired you to write the paper?
As an architect that has built more than 200 sensibly sustainable hotels, I’ve had to work with dozens of hotel building standards. These documents, produced individually by more than 300 major hotel companies globally, can be hundreds of pages long. I re-read the dozens of building standards stacked in my office and realised that none had anything to do with sustainability. So I feverishly wrote Sensible Sustainability Solutions, which covers topics such as cross-ventilation and utilising natural light. It speaks on how to operate a more sustainable hotel without costing more money. It also addresses my belief that no new hotel should be built without having a social purpose.

Hilton, Accor Thailand and Shinta Mani hotels, which I co-own, have already added the white paper to their building standards. Some hospitality schools have made the paper mandatory reading.

What is the most significant barrier to sustainability for hoteliers?
As a hotel owner, I understand that this industry is 99%-plus about making money. The perception of sustainability in the hospitality industry right now is that it will cut into profits. So why do it? My suggestions speak on ways to save and make money sustainably, as we have, so hopefully this will give the paper more legs.

In the paper, you assert that luxury is dead. Do you think that many people feel the same?
I think the hospitality industry understands the idea that we need to provide more than just a good bed of Frette sheets. Guests are looking for experiences and some want to help. We get a huge helping hand from guests at Shinta Mani in Cambodia with our many community hand-up programmes. Many want to learn something new. This is a great way for hotels to make an impression and be more marketable.

Why should hotels embrace sustainability, and how have you done it?
After designing more than 200 hotels in the past 37 years I can tell you the hotels of the future that teach, engage with the community and lead the discussions of all of those issues that mankind should be discussing will be the most financially successful. Travellers of the future will make “giving back” more of a standard than an exception.

At the Four Seasons, we created farms to grow food and a sanctuary for the elephants that used to roam Bangkok streets in Chiang Rai. It has taught so many about the intelligence of our big friends.

At The Siam in Bangkok, many items were upcycled or recycled. And at Shinta Mani Siem Reap, we have a free hotel school, supply wells and run clean water programmes for neighbouring villages. In doing so, the hotel has a clear purpose and place in the community.

What role should hotels play in 2020?
We know hotels are where many people gather to socialise, work and learn. All hotels have the potential to be the community centres, village pubs, or the temples of today but too few do so. No new hotel should be built unless it can prove a meaningful purpose, big or small, that can add positively to society. Make hotels the churches of today.

Related link
Bensley

BACK TO TOP ^
CONTENT PROVIDED BY
    Topics:
  • Architecture & Planning,
  • Tourism & Hospitality,
  • Design Services,
  • USA,
  • Hong Kong,
  • North America,
  • ASEAN,
  • tourism,
  • design
  • Architecture & Planning
  • Tourism & Hospitality
  • Design Services
  • USA
  • Hong Kong
  • North America
  • ASEAN
Home

Article Topics

ARTICLE TOPICS

ARCHITECTURE...24601
TOURISM & HOSPITALITY24763
DESIGN SERVICES24640
USA36116
HONG KONG36026

ARTICLE TOPICS

ARCHITECTURE & PLANNING24601
TOURISM & HOSPITALITY24763
DESIGN SERVICES24640
USA36116
HONG KONG36026
NORTH AMERICA36097
ASEAN37801
TOURISM81067
DESIGN80149

Social Share

FOLLOW US

GET WEEKLY UPDATES

newpaper-img

GET OUR WEEKLY EMAIL UPDATES

banner-img


I acknowledge that the above information may be used by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) for incorporation in all or any of its database for direct marketing or business matching purpose (and may therefore become available to the public within and/or outside of Hong Kong for use by them), and for any other purposes as stated in the Privacy Policy Statement; I confirm that I have the consent and the authority of each individual named in this form to release their personal data for the purposes stated herein.


*For non-EU/EEA customers, please skip this box which is solely for EU/EEA customers as required by the relevant data protection law in the EU.

THANK YOU

Thank you for registering.

interest_article

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN

28 December 2020

Start-Up Hong Kong: An Eyewear Designer’s Entrepreneurial Journey

21 December 2020

Start-Up Hong Kong: Government Looks to Incubate Design and Fashion Talent

26 August 2020

The Greater Bay Area: Modelling for the Future

06 August 2020

CAMBODIA: Government Pledges Continued Support for Covid-19-Hit Businesses and Workers

Related Events

RELATED EVENTS

22 March 2021

Embracing Essentials of Product Design to Win the Market

27 - 30 October 2021

Eco Expo Asia 2021

27 - 30 April 2022

DeLuxe PrintPack Hong Kong 2022

27 - 30 April 2022

Hong Kong International Printing & Packaging Fair 2022
FIND AN EVENT

User login

  • Create new account
  • Request new password

Footer Menu

  • hktdc.com
  • ABOUT HKTDC
  • MEDIA ROOM
  • TERMS OF USE
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SITEMAP
  • 京ICP备09059244号

Footer Logo

Copyrights

Copyright © 2021 Hong Kong Trade Development Council. All rights reserved.

SHARE THIS STORY

EMAIL
LINKEDIN
WeChat
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
WHATSAPP

ID: HKTDCofficial

Don't have an account?

Create An Account

successfully added on your preferences.