A New White Paper Explores How to Build Hotels More Sustainably

Original article posted at Architectural Digest by Laura Itzkowitz.

“For the modern traveler, sustainability is not just a buzzword: It is something they are trying to make part of their daily life, and a huge selling point when they travel,” says Bill Bensley, the Bangkok-based designer and hotelier behind such eco-friendly properties as Capella Ubud in Bali, the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle in Chiang Rai, and Shinta Mani Wild in Cambodia. As a pioneer in sustainable hotel design for the past three decades, Bensley not only anticipated the shift toward sustainability, but is also now sharing his hard-earned knowledge with others in the industry. Earlier this year, he released a white paper called “Sensible Sustainable Solutions,” which outlines best practices and illustrates examples of successful hotel projects.

According to Bensley, building sustainable hotels is not only better for the environment, but can also increase a hotel’s profits over time. Unfortunately, there’s a common misconception that building green is inherently more expensive and a lack of knowledge about the effects of construction on climate change. “Most project owners don’t realize that the construction sector alone contributes to 23% of air pollution, 50% of the climatic change, 40% of drinking water pollution, and 50% of landfill waste worldwide,” Bensley says, adding, “They also don’t realize that they can make so much more money by building sustainably.”