A staple of every great hotel or lodging is having an incredible menu on offer for visitors. On a global scale, hotels and resorts are working to integrate more selections in their dining menus that utilize organic produce, natural products, and hormone-free meats and dairy items. These specific efforts will, in time, reduce the carbon footprint of the lodging in a way that supports the health and wellness of guests and the environment.
In order for travelers to take more eco-friendly trips, hotels should be prepared to offer dining services that comply with the mission of sustainability. After a long day hiking with a trekking pole or taking to the waves on a surf board, vacationers always look to unwind with a good meal. After all, many times, it’s only possible for travelers to be as green as the lodging allows, and food is something that can easily align with such purposes. If you are hoping to make your food choices on vacation more green, there are several practices hotels can consider putting into practice.
Choose Foods that Reward the Best Agricultural Practices
One of the ways to ensure that the food your lodging is serving you complies with sustainable motives is to be selective in the items that you order. Many hotels now source sustainably grown foods from local producers, which in turn promotes agricultural practices that are healthy and environmentally friendly. You should do your best to select produce and food items that are advertised as fresh from farms and ranches, as these locations will oftentimes implement sustainable practices, like growing crops that are suited to the season or growing conditions.
Many smaller farms incorporate these better practices by nature, as they only grow seasonal produce and are not as likely to use harmful pesticides and fertilizers. While on vacation or traveling, guests can try to select food items at the lodging that are known to be natural, organic, and therefore sustainably grown. This way, visitors’ selectiveness will promote delicious seasonal, local foods in an environmentally-responsible manner—and the lodging will be more likely to buy such products again in support of local farmers.
Pay Attention to Preparation & Source
When a menu is designed, it should provide guests with an abundance of information about the sourcing strategies and the nutritional/caloric values. Some menus may even include information about labor practices and the environmental impact of the food that guests can order to really highlight the lodging’s sustainable motives. Being as transparent as possible will also hold you accountable to knowing more about where your food products are coming from, which will make guests more likely to prefer local, organic, and green food items and will make hoteliers buy from sustainable sources.
Plus, guests will build trust in an establishment that has food services that have both an environmental and social component. This may lead to a boost in a hotel’s overall rating and guest happiness. Explaining the ethics behind the food products on offer at the lodging will ultimately lead to increased transparency and be to the satisfaction of a variety of dietary types of guests.
By implementing sustainable food practices, hoteliers can ensure that their lodging meets the standards of the environmental movement, much to the satisfaction of guests who are hoping to travel and eat more sustainably.