Building Sustainable Hotel Operations for the Modern Traveler | By Steve Karwoski

At Hilton Anaheim, one of the largest hotels on the West Coast, located beside some of the world’s most visited convention centers and theme parks, this responsibility carries significant weight. The hotel welcomes families, business travelers, meeting planners, and global visitors, who are increasingly choosing destinations based on their environmental ethos. The expectations around sustainability have evolved considerably in recent years, especially among younger travelers who prioritize purpose-driven brands. Many want to know not only how a hotel operates, but also how it contributes to its surrounding community, supports its workforce, and invests in long-term climate resiliency.

At Hilton Anaheim, the team also operates in a region that regularly experiences significant drought, and a state that is highly susceptible to rising utility costs and intensifying environmental regulations. As such, sustainability is not a departmental project. It is woven into the hotel’s operational framework, investment strategy, workforce culture, and guest experience. In a market like Anaheim, where both tourism and conventions operate at massive scale, every improvement a hotel makes can have a meaningful ripple effect across the region.

Sustainability Starts with Measurement and Accountability

Hotels cannot improve, much less claim leadership, without data. Performance tracking serves as the backbone of any credible sustainability strategy. Hilton Anaheim leverages LightStay, Hilton’s sustainability management platform, to track performance across energy, water, waste, and social impact. LightStay not only allows the property to analyze consumption patterns, but also helps identify opportunities for operational efficiencies, cost savings, and long-term environmental planning. This system allows the hotel to benchmark against thousands of hotels globally and create accountability at every operational level.

Recent data has demonstrated that the hotel’s resource efficiency initiatives have produced an impact equivalent to removing more than 1,700 cars from the road in terms of emissions reduction. The hotel has saved energy equal to powering thousands of homes and conserved water equivalent to dozens of Olympic-sized swimming pools. Additionally, volunteer and community engagement programs reflect tens of thousands of lives impacted in the greater Anaheim area through mentorship, food donations, local partnerships, and service programs.

Regardless of the size of the hotel, sustainability ought to be measured with the same discipline hotels apply to revenue, guest satisfaction, and employee engagement. Even starting with simple monthly reports on energy, water, and waste allows a property to track progress, build momentum, and make informed decisions. Over time, these efforts create a culture of accountability where team members become active contributors to sustainable solutions. Measurement empowers employees to see the results of their actions and inspires operational creativity.

Renovation as an Opportunity for Transformation

Hilton Anaheim recently completed a multimillion-dollar renovation — a moment that provided a rare chance to embed sustainability into the DNA of the property. Renovations present a critical inflection point: decisions made during construction and design will influence environmental performance for decades. A thoughtful renovation not only improves the guest experience but also sets the framework for long-term cost savings, resilience, and operational efficiency. At every stage of the project, the team evaluated systems, materials, and technologies through the lens of efficiency and responsible use.

This approach led to the installation of 100% LED lighting across the hotel, delivering significant energy savings while improving lighting quality and longevity. LEDs are now a hospitality industry standard, but Hilton Anaheim took it a step further by integrating these upgrades into a broader energy-management ecosystem. Integrating smart thermostats and Connected Room technology enables automated temperature control and lighting adjustments based on occupancy — an upgrade that enhances guest comfort while dramatically reducing unnecessary consumption. In essence, the building becomes an active participant in its own sustainability.

In plumbing, low-flow fixtures and modernized laundry equipment were selected to maximize water efficiency at scale, a critical priority in drought-prone California. Upgrading legacy systems with high-efficiency technologies ensures water use is minimized without diminishing comfort or cleanliness. The hotel also transitioned to bulk amenities, eliminating countless single-use plastic containers while elevating the in-room experience through more premium, thoughtfully presented products.

The landscaping plan reflected Southern California’s climate realities, incorporating drought-tolerant plants and smart irrigation systems that reduce outdoor water use. Beyond hardware, Hilton Anaheim rethought their heart-of-house flow, waste handling, and supply systems, ensuring the physical improvements were supported by significant operational changes. A sustainable renovation is not simply a matter of replacing equipment — it requires rethinking how teams work, how resources move through the building, and how guest expectations are met with modernized solutions.

Energy & Water Conservation

Electricity is one of the largest expenses and environmental factors for hotels, particularly in large convention properties like Hilton Anaheim. While full renewable adoption varies by market and energy-supply infrastructure, hotels can move forward meaningfully without waiting for perfect conditions. Every degree adjusted, every kilowatt avoided, and every automated control installed reduces environmental footprint and utility spend. Incremental improvements compounded over a building of this size result in substantial environmental benefits.

Operating in California brings heightened awareness of water use. High-efficiency showers, faucets, and toilets ought to be standard in every guestroom, not only for environmental reasons but also because guests increasingly expect responsible water use in drought-affected destinations. A towel and linen reuse program should be thoughtfully designed and communicated to guests without compromising service expectations. Outdoors, native and drought-tolerant plantings reduce irrigation needs while reflecting Southern California’s natural beauty. In addition, teams should be trained to identify and report leaks immediately, as even small drips can lead to thousands of gallons of waste annually. For hotels in water-stressed regions, water efficiency should be a core operational responsibility and a powerful cost-control strategy.

Rethinking Waste and Plastics

Waste management is often one of the most overlooked sustainability levers in hospitality, and yet it is one of the most visible to guests and also one of the most meaningful to communities. Hilton Anaheim cultivated a partnership with Clean the World, which ensures unused soap and bottled amenities are safely recycled into hygiene products distributed to communities in need. This partnership not only keeps waste out of landfills but also supports global health initiatives. Bulk in-room bathroom amenities eliminate thousands of plastic bottles while delivering premium product quality. Across a property of 1,500+ rooms, this change alone dramatically reduces annual waste.

Beyond guest-facing areas, waste sorting, back-of-house recycling education, composting programs, and redesigned supply-chain strategies all play key roles in reducing overall volume. When a hotel has the opportunity to engage departments across housekeeping, F&B, engineering, and front office, sustainability becomes an integrated operational mindset rather than a one-off initiative.

Engaging the Guest: Sustainability as Experience Enhancement

A sustainable hotel experience should feel seamless and never burdensome for guests. For example, features like Digital Keys and mobile check-in not only make arrival easier but also cut down on plastic waste. Providing refillable amenities helps keep bathrooms tidy and enhances the overall guest experience. Hydration stations promote the use of reusable water bottles, supporting eco-friendly habits. Automated room controls make it simple for guests to save energy without extra effort.

Ultimately, true hospitality is about making people feel welcome and cared for. When sustainability practices are integrated with comfort and convenience, guests are more likely to participate naturally. The goal is never to ask guests to sacrifice comfort in the name of sustainability, but to deliver thoughtful, frictionless solutions that feel intuitive and enhance the stay.

Eco-Friendly Hotel Practices

Hotels are community institutions that employ local residents, welcome global guests, and contribute to regional sustainability goals. When hotels invest in responsible practices, they strengthen the destination in which they live, build trust, and fulfill the most fundamental purpose of hospitality: to care for people, places, and culture.

While large hotels may have broader infrastructure and investment capacity, every property, from boutique inns to convention hotels, can take meaningful steps toward environmental stewardship. The journey begins with simple, consistent action. Below are practical, scalable ways hotels of any size can implement sustainability in their daily operations:

• Track energy, water, and waste monthly with a simple utility log or digital tracking tool to establish benchmarks and measure progress over time.
• Transition to refillable bulk bathroom amenities to eliminate single-use plastics, while improving product quality and guest experience.
• Install low-flow fixtures and aerators in showers, sinks, and bathrooms to reduce water use without compromising pressure or comfort.
• Use energy-efficient lighting and smart controls such as occupancy sensors, LED bulbs, and programmable thermostats to reduce utility consumption.
• Partner with local waste-diversion programs, such as recycling, composting, and soap/amenity recovery initiatives like Clean the World.
• Offer digital check-in, mobile key, and paperless billing to reduce paper use and streamline the guest arrival experience.
• Train team members on sustainability procedures, from identifying leaks to proper recycling, to ensure initiatives are supported at every level of operations.

While large hotels may have broader infrastructure and investment capacity, every property, from boutique inns to convention hotels, can take meaningful steps toward environmental stewardship. By embracing these straightforward sustainability practices, hotels can reduce their environmental impact while enhancing guest satisfaction. Small operational changes, from tracking utilities to adopting digital solutions, make a significant difference. Sustainable hospitality is achievable for any property, creating benefits for both guests and the planet.

Reprinted from the Hotel Business Review with permission from www.HotelExecutive.com.