Building for Sustainability - JoAnna Abrams - Episode # 030

Creating a sustainable environment in hospitality and all aspects of life is incredibly important; it allows us to live healthier lives and give back to the environment and the world. Sharing this view is JoAnna Abrams who is not only the Founder & CEO of Mindclick, Inc but she’s also been named a hospitality industry innovator by Lodging Magazine. She joins host Dan Ryan to talk about how sustainability plays a big role in hospitality, and how guests are becoming more aware of the need for a change in going green, and how guests are now more likely to stay in a hotel that does more for the environment than one that does not. 

Takeaways: 

• Sustainability is an important part of hospitality. You want to make sure the products you are using will last for a long time and are good for the environment.
• While it’s worth noting the profit motive for trying to have more sustainability in hotels, it’s also worth doing for the health of the planet. All big banks have committed that by 2050, 100% of their lending will be carbon neutral.
• Guests will choose to stay in a hotel that cares about the environment and commits to a healthier lifestyle rather than one that doesn’t.
• The power of hospitality is made from the people who work in the industry and strive to create fun, enjoyable experiences anywhere in the world. 
• Designers have struggled with being overwhelmed by all the certifications that are out there, so if a top 100 firm hires them it’s a big help and influence. 
• Nature continually adapts and evolves and we need to as well, in regards to sustainability and the environment.
• Taking an idea, executing it and implementing it in your company is really the basis of what being an entrepreneur is.
• You don’t always have to take positions that you think are the ones that you think you have to have to advance your career. Life isn’t a straight line and sometimes a new position can provide helpful life changes. 

Quote of the Show:

16:20: And then a huge, huge component of hospitality is service. It really is that experience that you have is based upon the environment that's created through a service orientation. And it was interesting in the research that we did, a digital marketing campaign for a courtyard that was renovated in Southern California, where we told guests about the positive impacts of products chosen for a quarter.

It had been following a renovation, both environmental and social, and health and so on. And we did, we then looked at the research results and saw 150% increase in satisfaction and loyalty and all these key measures. And we interviewed these folks who had seen the marketing campaign and said, okay, Talk to us about this.

What would this mean to you? And over and over and over again, we heard that people saying a hotel that has gone out of its way to choose products that are better for me and the planet, is really taking care of us. And that really stands out and I'm going to choose that hotel over others.”

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannaabrams/
• Website: https://mindclick.com

Shout Outs:

1:57 Heather Gatineau

2:23 Toyota

4:03 Diana Dobin

4:24 Valley Forge Fabrics

7:47 Marriott

8:14 Hyatt

8:15 IHG

8:18 Wyndham

9:01 Dave Lippert

12:12 Larry Fink

13:15 Gretta Turnberg

14:49 Real Time with Bill Maher

21:00 Avinash Rajagopal

21:02 Metropolis Magazine

30:06 Paul McElroy

32:20 Susan Suhar

37:58 Prius

38:00 Tesla

39:57 Dean Witter Reynolds

40:09 Arthur Anderson

41:27 Warburg Pincus

1:03:09 Arnie Mahlham

Ways to Tune In: 

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
• Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1s
• Amazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419
• Podbean: https://www.defininghospitality.live/
• Youtube : https://youtu.be/TzMzQ1Ant6I