Hotel Hyatt Place Tegucigalpa: First certified in Central America

Green Globe certification is proud to announce the inaugural certification of Hotel Hyatt Place Tegucigalpa, Honduras. This recognition is the first for the Hyatt Place brand in Honduras and in Central America, with which it joins a select group of seven Latin American countries that have the highest qualification in the practice of sustainable tourism and travel in the world.

Green Globe is the leading global certification program for the travel and tourism industry. The evaluation standards are applied based on a selection of more than 380 compliance indicators in 44 individual certification criteria.

“We are very satisfied with this accreditation. It was 10 months of hard work to meet the requirements, but with the clear objective that this achievement generates a higher standard in the hotel industry in the region, which also implies a great responsibility to provide constant training to the population and guests. At the same time, it allows identification of local problems faced by companies and communities where we work, “said Rafael Corea, General Manager of Hyatt Place Tegucigalpa.

From the start, the hotel was conceived under a sustainability plan in terms of hot water supply with efficient and renewable energy. “In this phase, the goal is to reduce the consumption of water, energy and gas by 3%,” explains Corea.

Implementing certification policies at the Hyatt Place Tegucigalpa has met with a series of challenges, for employers, employees and guests, since it was necessary to work to promote practices that are not customary in the local setting. Learning to separate plastic, glass, paper and aluminum demanded training and additional supervision, so that recycling became a habit and part of the culture.

One of the commitments to optimize operating costs was the green program for cleaning rooms, which has delivered savings in of up to 25% in reduced water and chemical usage.

Another successful program has been the efficient use of energy resulting in overall better performance compared to competitor hotels. For example, the consumption at the hotel is 72 thousand KwH per month, while other hotels with similar characteristics consume an average of 120 thousand KwH per month.

This is explained by the installation of hot water systems with total circulation capacity, where the reduction in water consumption was achieved by keeping it at temperature in the pipes, so it is no longer necessary for guests to let it run to obtain warm water. Consequently, the reduction of energy consumption was optimized, since the workload on the pumping systems was also reduced.

Hyatt Place Tegucigalpa also seeks to project its sustainability efforts in educational activities and community clean-ups, supporting the Friends of La Tigra Foundation (Amitigra), a non-profit responsible for the administration and protection of La Tigra National Park, in the Francisco Morazán region. In the area of Corporate Social Responsibility, next year’s plan will see an alliance with the Educate2 foundation, transferring volunteers and training young people from the villages of this foundation in hotel practices.

“More than a seal, Green Globe certification is a modification to the modus operandi. It is learning to do things better, exceeding market standards and being positive leaders in the community where the hotel is located, “said José Armando Gálvez, sustainability manager of Latam Hotel Corporation, an investment firm that currently has seven hotel projects in development in several cities of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, which plan to join little by little to obtain this certification.

“Hyatt Place Tegucigalpa is the first hotel certified as Green Globe in Honduras and joins the leaders in sustainable hospitality management in Central America. For more than 20 years, Green Globe has been the highest international standard for sustainability certification in travel and tourism. As we begin the new year, we are delighted that Hyatt Place Tegucigalpa joins our elite group of certified Hyatt properties in nine international destinations, “said Guido Bauer, CEO of Green Globe.

Green Globe is the worldwide sustainability system based on internationally accepted criteria for sustainable operation and management of travel and tourism businesses. Operating under a worldwide license, Green Globe is based in California, USA and is represented in over 83 countries. Green Globe is an Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). For information, please click here.