Trees instead of housekeeping
Save costs, relieve the team, inspire guests: this is how it works.
-
Chris Kaiser
- 31/08/2024
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“Trees instead of housekeeping” is extremely simple.
And enormously effective.
By planting a tree, the hotel guest is incentivized to forgo daily room cleaning.
This saves money on energy, water, cleaning agents, etc. – and takes the pressure off the team.
Implementation is much easier than you might think.
Hotels like the Best Western Weingarten save thousands of euros every month!
Already convinced?
Let’s discuss “Trees instead of housekeeping” directly for your hotel(s).
Trees instead of housekeeping: a concept for economic success and sustainability
In times of rising operating costs, growing demands for sustainability and a shortage of skilled workers, hoteliers are looking for ways to make their processes more efficient.
The “trees instead of housekeeping” concept offers a promising solution.
By not having guests clean their rooms every day, the hotel not only saves money, but also reduces the workload of its own team.
At the same time, the hotel can improve its environmental footprint by planting trees.
Economic benefits through "trees instead of housekeeping"
Direct cost savings
Every time you dispense with daily housekeeping, you significantly reduce the workload in the hotel.
Fewer rooms need to be cleaned.
This leads to immediate savings in personnel costs.
In addition, expenditure on cleaning agents and materials is reduced.
In this way, hotels can effectively reduce their operating costs without compromising service quality.
Efficient use of resources
Fewer cleaning processes mean that hotels use less energy and water.
Vacuum cleaners, washing machines and dryers run less frequently.
This leads to significant savings in energy costs.
The water bill is also lower.
Overall, the concept enables optimized use of the available resources.
Relief for the housekeeping team
Less daily room cleaning means less stress for the housekeeping team.
Employees can concentrate on cleaning check-out rooms.
This improves working conditions and increases satisfaction within the team.
Satisfied employees are more productive and remain loyal to the company for longer.
In the long term, this also saves the hotel costs for staff recruitment and training.
Additional sources of income and marketing benefits
Long-term marketing opportunities
One guest forgoes the lead cleaning.
A tree is planted instead.
Six months later, the guest receives an e-mail.
“Hello, dear guest.
Six months ago, you gave up cleaning our rooms and planted a tree.
Look: this is how big this tree has already grown.
And it will soon be transplanted from the nursery to the field.
You are super!
Thank you for making this possible!
By the way: Wouldn’t you like to spend the night with us again soon and plant another sister for your tree?
Here are our current offers…”
In this way, sustainability can be ideally combined with long-term marketing.
And nothing is better for long-term marketing than planting a tree – because this tree will grow for decades!
Attractiveness for environmentally conscious guests
Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for many guests.
The offer to plant a tree by foregoing housekeeping can increase the attractiveness of the hotel.
Environmentally conscious guests appreciate such initiatives.
And since the number of environmentally conscious people is increasing every day, we naturally don’t want to scare this target group away.
Greater guest involvement
Guests who can actively do without housekeeping have the feeling that they are making a positive contribution.
This leads to higher guest satisfaction and can increase the rebooking rate.
Satisfied guests recommend the hotel to others, which leads to increased turnover in the long term.
Ecological benefits of dispensing with room cleaning
Climate protection through forests
A tree is planted for every guest who forgoes housekeeping.
This tree binds CO2 and thus makes an important contribution to climate protection.
And all these trees grow together to form a large hotel forest.
Planting trees offers an enormous number of advantages – and can also be excellently marketed.
Conservation of natural resources
Less cleaning also means that less water and energy are used.
This not only protects the environment, but also reduces operating costs in the long term.
And can of course be ideally captured in sustainability reporting.
How do I efficiently implement "trees instead of housekeeping" in my home?
The implementation of the concept is extremely simple.
We will evaluate your status quo in a short, non-binding meeting.
For example, whether there are already door hangers in the hotel and whether you would prefer the solution to be digital or completely analog.
From then on, we will be by your side every step of the way:
- We have templates for door hangers if required.
- We share best practices for implementation in the hotel and communication to the team.
- We share marketing inspiration and successful examples from other hotel partners.
- We send regular updates, pictures & reports that you can share with your guests.
Here you can find more details on how we help companies to become more sustainable – and how companies benefit from this.
As always with Click A Tree, the idea is that all parties involved benefit.
The better you can communicate the concept within your team and to your guests, the more guests will take up the option.
The more your team is relieved, the more trees are created and the more money you save.
Win-win-win.
Conclusion: "Trees instead of housekeeping" as the key to efficiency and sustainability
“Trees instead of housekeeping” is not just a sustainable initiative.
It is also a smart economic decision for hoteliers.
By reducing daily room cleaning, considerable costs can be saved.
At the same time, the housekeeping team is relieved and working conditions are improved.
Hotels also benefit from an improved image and stronger guest loyalty.
The ecological benefits round off the concept and contribute to a positive corporate balance sheet.
For hoteliers who want to reduce their operating costs and do something good for the environment at the same time, “Trees instead of housekeeping” is an ideal solution.
FAQ about "Trees instead of housekeeping"
Here you will find brief answers to the most frequently asked questions about the concept of trees instead of housekeeping.
How much money can be saved by dispensing with daily housekeeping?
The savings vary depending on the size of the hotel, but can be significant, particularly in terms of personnel costs and energy consumption.
According to the AHGZ, room cleaning costs an average of €10-15.
A tree planting with Click A Tree costs €5 – including all marketing materials.
Example: At our partner hotel Best Western Weingarten, 600 room cleanings are saved per month.
That’s several thousand euros!
How does the housekeeping team benefit from this concept?
Less stress and a lower workload lead to better working conditions and higher employee satisfaction.
This is enormously valuable, especially in times of skills shortages.
Can "trees instead of housekeeping" also be implemented in small hotels?
Yes, the concept is flexible and can be adapted to the needs of hotels of any size.
Just get in touch with us.
We’ll find the ideal solution for you and your hotel.
How do guests react to the concept?
Many guests welcome the opportunity to actively contribute to environmental protection.
Only very few guests expect daily room cleaning these days.
And, if they do, they can of course make use of it.
Tree planting instead of lead removal is a voluntary option that the guest can use – or not.
Where are the trees planted?
Each hotel pursues its own goals with the implementation of the tree instead of lead concept.
Hoteliers are therefore also free to choose which of our ESG projects the trees are planted in.
Many hotels choose the Philippines project because, in addition to planting trees, it also removes plastic from the sea.
Other hoteliers choose the project in Ghana, as social sustainability is promoted even more strongly here through the additional educational project.
The choice is yours.
We can discuss your goals and preferences over the phone.
Does the concept increase guest satisfaction?
Yes, guests who can actively participate in sustainable initiatives are often more satisfied and loyal to the hotel.
Share your knowledge about trees instead of housekeeping with your hotel colleagues!