Sustainable Design: 4 Areas Any Venue Can Improve

As more and more couples start to prioritise sustainability, at Hostology we want to help venues find a way to improve their sustainability. It doesn’t have to be something as big as Elmore Court’s re-wilding project (even thought it is incredible). Below we have outlined 4 simple ways of improving your venues sustainability.

Reducing the impact your venue has on the environment, whilst improving the health and wellbeing of those spending time within it, are two endeavours that go hand in hand.

With some small tweaks to the design of your rooms and other venue spaces, you can improve your guest experience, reduce your environmental footprint, and do so in a way that demonstrates to your visitors your commitment to sustainability.

1. Invest in green alternatives

There is a time and a place for grand gestures, but when it comes to sustainable design the devil can just as often be in the detail.

For example: Consider switching to non-toxic, biodegradable paints when decorating rooms. These durable, breathable, low VOC options are better for your guests’ health, and the long term health of your walls.

Other small but significant changes to your design could include switching to OLED lighting, greener cleaning products, and looking to recycled options when it comes to your paper products.

2. Switch to sustainable furnishings

When it comes to beds, mattresses, bedding and other furnishings, natural fibre and sustainable options have evolved significantly over the last decade.

GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified organic cotton sheets provide a sumptuous sleep environment for your guests and are manufactured with a much smaller impact on the environment, whilst simultaneously standing up far better to repeat washes.

Mattresses crafted from natural materials such as organic coconut fibres, natural latex and organic wool, represent a hard-wearing and more breathable alternative to synthetic fibres.

Naturalmat, Devon based makers of natural fibre beds and mattresses, have a range of industry leading options which combine carefully sourced organic fibres and hand-making techniques for a durable and supremely comfortable mattress.

3. Embrace smart technology

Although worth aspiring to, reducing energy consumption doesn’t have to mean vast rows of solar panels or other longer-term options.

Lights and thermostats triggered by occupancy sensors have been commonplace in hospitality for some time, and have advanced to iron out some of their early teething issues.

Considering that a typical hotel room can be unoccupied nearly 70% of the time, these energy management systems can have a big impact on unnecessary consumption.

4. Encourage your guests

Whilst there is plenty that venues can do to minimise their own environmental impact, there are sustainable design decisions that can help your guests reduce theirs too.

Gentle reminders to turn off lights, reuse towels and other more sustainable choices are more acceptable as awareness of climate change increases.

Investment in electric car charging stations are a great way to attract more conscientious visitors, as can smaller improvements such as refillable water bottle stations.

-

Naturalmat have been hand making natural and organic fibre beds and mattresses from their Devon workshop for over 20 years, supplying hotels including Six Senses, The Hoxton  and Chewton Glen, and helping them on their journey to a more sustainable approach to design.

Are you an event venue or event manager? Join The Hostology Collective to find out how you can receive a 20% trade discount on Naturalmat products.