[FESTIVAL] Our grain of sand as Hosts

[Emilie]

This topic is part of the Community Centre's Festival of Sustainability.

The original topic was published in the Spanish-speaking Community Centre by Host Advisory Board Member@Daniel1651 and we have translated it below.

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This 22 April, once again we are celebrating International Earth Day, a movement proposed by US senator Gaylor Nelson who, back in 1970, encouraged students to develop projects to raise awareness about caring for the environment. 

In 1990, this day was transformed into an international celebration encouraging us to be aware of the importance of caring for our planet, working towards its sustainability and respecting the environment around us.

As a host committed to reducing the environmental impact of the tourism industry, I propose we make our contribution with some short-, medium- and long-term strategies. Let's get to it!

First and foremost, in the short term, let's talk about the small initiatives and changes in habits that come from our homes and are easy to share with guests, like providing reusable shopping bags to avoid single-use carrier bags.

Another idea is leaving a jug with tap water (in my case this is possible because our water is suitable for direct consumption), which encourages guests to avoid drinking bottled water.

We have to invite guests to participate in these moves and be responsible for their consumption of drinking water and electricity, as well as avoiding replacing towels and sheets on a daily basis as was done in the hotel industry in the past. Turning off a light switch or a tap in time also makes a big difference!

And of course, sustainability is also about encouraging people to buy local or regional products, sometimes called 'zero-kilometre products'. That's why I always have the best recommendations for visiting farmers' markets and small in-house shops. 

If it's possible to separate recyclable waste in our area, guests will always appreciate a sign explaining how to do this properly. Remember to explain when, where and how to recycle.

As you can see, these are small examples that are easy to put into practice straight away. 

Second, as a medium-term strategy, we need to think about replacing old appliances with ones that are more energy-efficient or have a better energy rating, and replacing existing light bulbs with lower-consumption ones.

Installing timers for outdoor lamps, using dual-flush toilets, and taps and showerheads designed to save water consumption are also actions that we can put in place with a bit of planning.

Finally, a commitment to long-term sustainability has to involve replacing traditional electricity consumption with a system that helps us generate our own energy. This has been the challenge that's accompanied me ever since I started hosting and today it's a reality.  

This month (what better way to celebrate Earth Day!), 16 solar panels have been installed on the roof of the guest house. They're going to generate more than 11 MWh of energy per year, saving almost three tons of CO2, which is equivalent to a total of 137 trees planted. A round of applause for the sun!

The next step will make an electric car charger available for our guests, also run using solar power.  Fortunately, here in the Canary Islands, renewing rental companies' vehicle fleets is heading in the right direction, and our guests are already beginning to notice that they're driving zero-emissions cars. I'm excited to be able to include this service in my Airbnb.

     

Going back to the beginning, and not to frighten you by making you think sustainability starts on the rooftops, from host to host I'd like to invite you to put together your own short-, medium- and long-term roadmap where you think through what actions you can develop to contribute to sustainability. Like we said, every grain counts!

Tell us about your strategies, what actions you've taken or plan to take, and how your guests have reacted. I'm sure there are hundreds of examples to share with the community!

[Deirdre122]

Wonderful tips and well done on the amazing initiatives you're implementing at your guest house @Daniel1651 

[Daniel1651]

Thanks, dear @Deirdre122 

We are very happy with the investment in solar panels and are currently generating more than 70% of our own consumption 🙂

We also continue to offer options to our guests to be more sustainable.

[Emilie]

70% is huge @Daniel1651, what a powerful improvement to your listing!

[Daniel1651]

It is, @Emilie !

It is really amazing and we are very excited.

It is true that we have to re-educate ourselves first and then shares it with our guests.

For example, all the appliances with high consumption (washing machine, dryer, oven, etc.) should be primarily used during the day. It's a big challenge and our guests are very aware of that.

Now, we are waiting for the battery to reach full self-consumption 🙂