Introducing ‘Considerate Collection’: Actively sustainable luxury hotels

To make the search for sustainable luxury hotels easier for the considerate traveler—those who are planning trips with more care for the planet and the communities they are visiting—Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) carefully curated the Considerate Collection. It puts luxury boutique hotels that are exemplary in their eco efforts in the spotlight.

Considerate Collection is a community of actively sustainable luxury hotels going the extra eco mile, proving that luxury is compatible with longevity.

From the biodiversity-promoting Keemala in Thailand to the culture-preserving Gangtey Lodge in carbon-negative Bhutan, Considerate Collection debuts with 26 pioneering hotels in 16 countries, each meeting the highest sustainability criteria. 

SLH has collaborated with the most respectable sustainable travel and luxury hospitality players to create a trusted and transparent framework. These include the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), the international, independent, not-for-profit body established by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and Greenview, whose platform is the only GSTC-recognized sustainable tourism management tool as of this writing.

“We’ve carefully curated the Considerate Collection to spotlight luxury boutique hotels exemplary in their sustainability efforts, making it easier for customers and the travel trade to make better-considered choices. Staying in small, independent hotels goes hand in hand with traveling sustainably and all SLH hotels are already steeped in the many facets of sustainable hospitality, so we haven’t had to look far outside of our portfolio for the launch collection. We also have an exciting pipeline of new hotels to add in the coming months,” said Daniel Luddington, VP of Development, Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

“This is not about creating a new brand, but rather building on the strong brand values that have existed within SLH since inception — independent spirits, community-centric, questioners, storytellers, and the ultimate belief that Small is beautiful and a better way to travel.”

Considerate Collection’s three key pillars

Criteria for the Considerate Collection align with the GSTC Criteria across three key pillars, ensuring all the hotels are Community-Minded, Cultural Custodians, and Environmentally Conscious. 

These pillars are all underpinned by a strong sustainability management system. Each hotel within the Considerate Collection either has been certified by a GSTC Accredited Certification Body or certified to a GSTC Recognized Standard or has passed an assessment by the SLH Sustainability Advisory Panel with review by the GSTC. 

“SLH has impressed us with the dedicated support of their member hotels, and we’re delighted to collaborate with them to devise a robust framework consistent with GSTC measures but uniquely matched for all luxury boutique hotels. We are sure it will be a huge success,” said Randy Durband, CEO of Global Sustainable Tourism Council.

SLH is making it easier for travel trade and customers to identify each Considerate Collection hotel by featuring them within a specific section on the website www.slh.com/considerate. The hotel pages are also stamped with a sage leaf and include dedicated content outlining their notable sustainability initiatives.

A holistic approach to sustainability

Currently, with a luxury hotel portfolio of over 520 hotels in 90 countries, SLH has taken a holistic approach to sustainability to complement its long-term brand vision—a future where people explore the world with intention, experience its intensity, and protect its integrity.

Over the last two years, SLH has worked with hospitality sustainability consultancy, The Considerate Group, to develop bespoke toolkits to support its member hotels and plans to continue this approach to “help our hotels walk all this sustainability talk,” added Luddington. H2 Sustainability Consulting, headed by former legendary hotelier Hervé Houdré, is among the consultancies SLH is collaborating with to support hotel members.

SLH’s quality inspection reports, carried out annually by its international mystery hotel inspectors (all SLH hotel guests), have also been revamped and are currently being trialed to include a 60-point Considerate module focusing on customer-facing front-of-house initiatives.

The company has also turned the microscope on itself to update its corporate head office policies, practicing what it preaches to hotel members. These include implementing volunteer days for staff and the launch of a partnership with social change and reforestation charity, TreeSisters, among other initiatives.

Each SLH room night booked and stayed using an SLH INVITED member rate includes a donation to plant a minimum of three trees with TreeSisters. SLH INVITED membership is complimentary.

Through individuals and businesses that give back to nature every month, TreeSisters has so far funded the planting of over 19 million trees across 12 locations in Brazil, Borneo, Cameroon, India, Kenya, Mozambique, Madagascar, Nepal, and West Papua.

Considerate Collection Hotels

Here are the 26 Considerate Collection hotels, all of them environmentally conscious, cultural custodians, and community-minded.

In Asia Pacific

Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary, Shaba, Bhutan
Gangtey Lodge, Phobjikha Valley, Bhutan
Heritage Le Telfair Golf & Wellness Resort, Bel Ombre, Mauritius
The Fortress Resort & Spa, Galle, Sri Lanka
Keemala, Phuket, Thailand
Pimalai Resort & Spa, Lanta Island, Thailand
The Racha, Phuket, Thailand

Considerate Collection Hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA)

Columbia Beach Resort, Limassol, Cyprus
Domaine de Manville, Les Baux de Provence, France
Domaine des Etangs, Massignac, France
Le Domaine d’Ablon, Ablon, France
Hotel Rangá, Hella, Iceland
FORESTIS, Brixen, Italy
Lefay Resort & Spa Lago di Garda, Gargnano, Italy
Lefay Resort Dolomiti, Pinzolo, Italy
Susafa, Polizzi, Generosa, Italy
La Sultana Marrakech, Marrakech, Morocco
The Dylan Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Storfjord Hotel, Skodje, Norway
Hotel Arima & Spa, San Sebastian, Spain
Torre del Marques, Monroyo, Spain
Grove of Narberth, Wales, United Kingdom

Considerate Collection Hotels in North, Central and South America (AMER)

GAÏA Riverlodge, Cayo District, Belize
Hotel Nantipa, Santa Teresa de Cobano, Costa Rica
Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa, La Fortuna de San Carlos, Costa Rica
Petit St Vincent, Vincent Island, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Considerate Collection’s sustainability criteria and pillars

1. Community Minded

Passionately committed to making their communities a better place for both locals and visitors to enjoy alike, each Considerate Collection hotel is a proactive and positive member of the local community.

Many of the hotels are locally owned and family-run, and they have a deep-rooted, personal connection to the people who make a place special. By ensuring equal employment opportunities for local residents, including managerial positions, without discrimination of any kind, the hotel invests in its community while giving guests a more authentic experience of its people’s culture, language, and storytelling.

As champions of local, fair-trade produce, the hotels buy local wherever possible to support the community’s supply chain—whether it’s serving fresh fruit from the morning market where the hotel chef knows the farmer by name or providing hand-woven bags made by a local artisan for guests to use by the pool.

It is not enough for the hotels to give back to the community. They must continuously strive to enrich local lives through social impact initiatives, educational, health, and training programs, and projects that address the impacts of climate change.

2. Cultural Custodians

To better understand and appreciate the culture and customs of another country is one of travel’s greatest joys. Each Considerate Collection hotel and destination has its own cultural identity, which it works tirelessly to protect, preserve, and promote for generations to come.

Elements of the traditional and contemporary local culture are incorporated into the operations, design, decoration, cuisine, or boutiques of the hotels while respecting the intellectual property rights of local communities.

Going beyond the maintenance of local buildings and the protection of culturally, historically, archaeologically, and spiritually significant sites, the hotels aim to enhance and sensitively improve upon properties of cultural interest through ongoing heritage and restoration projects.

Immersing guests in the local culture through an array of authentic activities is integral to the hotel experience, from traditional cooking classes in a rural farmhouse to pottery making in an ancestral ceramics studio.

3. Environmentally Conscious

These trailblazing sustainable luxury hotels know that luxury travel shouldn’t cost the earth, which is why their sustainable strategies go well beyond reducing the negative impact on their immediate environment with regenerative and restorative action.

Considerate Collection hotels conserve resources. They make an active effort to increase their use of renewable energy and sustainable sources such as solar, wind, geothermal or biofuels, while assessing, measuring, and minimizing energy and water consumption.

Considerate Collection hotels reduce pollution. Greenhouse gas emissions from all sources controlled by the hotels are identified, calculated where possible, and procedures are implemented to avoid or minimize them. Wastewater is effectively treated and is only reused or released safely, with no adverse effects on the local population or the environment, while solid waste is reduced, reused or recycled. Considerate Collection hotels take significant steps to reduce their carbon footprint.

Considerate Collection hotels conserve biodiversity, ecosystems, and landscapes. From coral reef regeneration and ocean conservation to wildlife rewilding and tree reforestation, Considerate Collection hotels play an active role in restoring the natural beauty of our planet. Protected natural parks and areas of high biodiversity value are specially looked after, while any interaction with free roaming wildlife is non-invasive and responsibly managed.

All images courtesy of Small Luxury Hotels of the World

Editor’s note: Hotels and resorts that are making notable efforts towards an eco-friendly future always get our attention and support. If you know of any environmentally sustainable properties, email us at editor@travelasianow.net so we can feature their dedication to becoming sustainable.  

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