There are 11 Bilderberg hotels in the Netherlands, including Bilderberg Parkhotel in Rotterdam. The 100-year old building has 194 rooms. In 2019, Bilderberg published the ‘Bewust Bilderberg’ report as part of its roadmap towards a more sustainable future, setting out 8 sustainability goals that the Bilderberg hospitality group wants to achieve. The goals are subdivided into three themes: guests, employees, and our planet. “The ‘Bewust Bilderberg’ initiative strives to make strategic and operational choices that prioritize the wellbeing of people, animals, and our planet, ensuring that we can give our guests a warm welcome now and in the future", Femke explains. The action plan includes measures to reduce the group’s carbon footprint, recycle waste, and reduce water consumption, Rob adds. According to Rob and Femke, the Hotel Neutraal project is perfectly in line with these sustainable alternatives, which is why they were so enthusiastic when they found out about the project. The hotel also realised that guests are increasingly concerned about sustainability. “We have definitely seen increased demand for this. Which certification does the hotel have? Does the menu include vegan options? Those kinds of questions.”
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, discuss how Bilderberg Parkhotel Rotterdam is working towards a sustainable future as part of Hotel Neutraal and beyond. Sixteen Rotterdam-based hotels are currently working on becoming climate-neutral as part of this joint project by BlueCity, Green Leisure Group, Rotterdam Partners and the City of Rotterdam. Sustainable toilet paper, Cost Savings Managers... Find out more about Bilderberg Parkhotel’s action plan in this article.
Bilderberg
Cost Savings Manager
Prior to the launch of Hotel Neutraal, Bilderberg Parkhotel had already taken measures to become more sustainable. The hotel, for example, has asked its staff to actively contribute to developing sustainability initiatives. Rob explains how: “The project by our parent organization encourages staffers to submit cost savings tips. We then test tips that can be easily implemented, to see how much we can save with them. An employee of our head office measures the consumption of all the hotels in the group to check whether the tips effectively help to cut costs.” Employees can share their ideas and tips on post-its or with a poster. “We have received many tips, including about light sensors and lights that can be switched off in our offices or turning off dishwashers earlier.” Besides cost cutting tips, employees have also submitted more general sustainability tips, such as encouraging staffers to bike into work. The post-it approach has inspired some interesting discussions about sustainability on every level.
The hotel’s chef also excels in cutting costs. He prefers to use fresh, seasonal vegetables for his menus, serving various vegetarian dishes, including a delicious grilled cauliflower.
Hotel Neutraal
The collective aspect of Hotel Neutraal cinched the deal for Rob and Femke, convincing them to participate. They cite knowledge sharing and finding inspiration as two valuable aspects of this project. “Sustainability is quite tricky, it’s hard to know where to start. So it’s nice to hear about the challenges that other hotels face and tackle them together, especially when it comes to projects with a greater scope, such as solar panels. The participation in Hotel Neutraal also ensures that sustainability continues to be a priority.” The baseline measurement identified a set of handy quick wins. Parkhotel Bilderberg will recycle coffee cups in hotel rooms, stop using protective plastic covers on linen carts and inform taxi companies that they prefer e-cars. “These are just a few actions that are easy to roll out and yield results very quickly.”
According to the outcomes, another quick win would be to reduce plastic packaging, in particular the packaging of pre-packed biscuits, but they are also working on this. “We are currently rolling out a new breakfast buffet without any plastic packaging materials whatsoever. Everything will be served in a pot or pan. Or a butter dish, and even chocolate paste in a canning jar. We will be implementing this in Q2. Besides the breakfast buffet, we’ll also be going through the rooms to eliminate plastic packaging. Instead we will use large, refillable dispensers as a replacement for the mini take-away bottles. “It’s fun to see how things are taking off. Seeing that you are making a contribution and that things don’t always have to be that complicated”, says Femke.
The hotel also contributes by offering any leftover food for collection through the Too Good To Go app. Consumers can buy batches of leftover bread at heavily discounted prices through the app, which helps to reduce food waste. And all the bathrooms are stocked with The Good Roll. This funky toilet paper is also 100% tree friendly and sustainable.
For more information about the program Hotel Neutraal click here.
Noale van der Horst
Jacqueline Fuijkschot