The Time Out Hotel in St. Lawrence Gap, Dover, Christ Church Barbados has just achieved a prestigious Travelife for Hotels & Accommodations Gold Certification. Travelife – the international sustainability certification scheme – assesses a property’s performance in managing their social, environmental and economic impacts.The labelling scheme helps hotels cut costs and increase sales, by improved sustainability.
To gain Travelife Gold certification the hotel must meet their 150 sustainability criteria. This includes environmental issues, such as minimising their waste and use of energy, water and chemicals; , as well as taking positive action on social issues, such as employee welfare, working with the local community, child protection and human rights. They must also show how they are helping to support local businesses and protect local traditions and wildlife.
Energy
The Time Out Hotel has reduced its energy use by installing low-energy lighting, ensuring that in-room air conditioning is set to a minimum temperature, use of natural day-light and shading and our energy efficiency targets we’ve set have been achieved.
Waste
The Time Out Hotel has reduced the amount of waste it produces by implementing a waste minimisation programme, including reducing the amount of resources used, reusing materials or recycling/composting, using refillable containers and buying in bulk.
Water
The hotel uses various methods to save water, including, however the most important method we have used is to record our readings every night and monitor our usage. By doing this we have been able to locate and fix many pipes that were damaged and leaking, saving the hotel money and the natural resource!
The hotel measures its performance regularly to monitor the impact of its sustainability efforts, report on results and plan improvements.
Supporting People
Travelife certification shows that the hotel is committed to treating people fairly and with respect. As well as providing good working conditions for staff and investing in its employees by providing regular training, the Time Out Hotel aims to be an active member of the local community. The hotel supports local people by donating school supplies to local charities such as Pack For a Purpose.
Pack for a Purpose is linked to the Variety Club – the Children’s Charity of Barbados Inc. and is dedicated to improving the lives of children who are mentally, physically or socially disadvantaged. The Aunty Olga Memorial School Aid Programme, supported by Variety, provides school uniforms, books, backpacks and school supplies to over 300 children from 200 families across Barbados, giving them an equal opportunity at education.
Local economy and businesses
The Time Out Hotel also tries to support the local community from an economic perspective by buying food/other services from local suppliers and encouraging our guests to visit local restaurants, markets and attractions, so that they have an opportunity to spend money and support the local economy.
Communication with Guests
The Time Out Hotel also tries to involve guests in their sustainability activities, such as encouraging guests to recycle whilst they are staying in the hotel, running a towel and linen re-use service to help save water or informing them about protected areas in the Barbados.
A key reason for tourism businesses to care about sustainability is to help protect the unique natural and cultural characteristics of their resort, so it continues to attract tourists in the future. The Time Out Hotel therefore offers local foods, provides information on local customs, heritage sites/places of cultural interest, restaurants, or places to buy locally-made goods or souvenirs.
To view our sustainabily reports please click here.
For more information on the Time Out Hotel’s sustainability achievements, see our profile page on the Travelife Collection website:
