Six Earth Day Tips to Make Hotel Sustainability Initiatives Newsworthy

Each April, Earth Day offers a natural PR moment to leverage, but not every resort or hotel sustainability initiative is press-ready. Just because it’s green doesn’t mean it’s fresh. Marketing and PR professionals must know how to identify what’s media-worthy and how to pitch it effectively to travel media.

Many standard sustainability actions won’t earn media interest. At least not anymore. If your prosperity is switching to LED bulbs, adding recycling, or updating a mission statement without a concrete program, the media won’t be covering you.

Save that content for blogs, social media, or internal communications. On those platforms, it’s useful to highlight everything you’re doing so that guests and stakeholders can find it. But for the media, focus instead on sustainability hotel news that is actually newsworthy.

1. Innovation or Industry Firsts

Journalists love a scoop. If your property is doing something that’s never been done, there is a strong potential for coverage. Another hotel banning plastic straws is good news, but it’s not going to make the news.

Innovation is synonymous with new, so don’t be shy about any trailblazing your hotel sustainability initiative might be demonstrating.

2. Quantifiable Environmental Impact

Show the media your results. Don’t just tell them. If your efforts have had a quantifiable impact on the local environment, lead with that in your pitch. That shows that you are making real change that travelers can see. And it gives journalists something concrete to report.

Is your compost program feeding into municipal gardens? Is your local food sourcing helping a community garden grow and hire more workers? Find the numbers to quantify the impact and put them forward so journalists have something to latch onto when they learn about your hotel’s sustainability initiative.

3. Guest-Facing Experiences

Travel journalists writing about your property want to foreground experiences that guests will be able to appreciate. No visitor will be thinking about LED lighting when they enter the lobby, but they may notice reusable or compostable coffee pods in their rooms.

Behind-the-scenes sustainability programs are fine for other media, but for travel publications, make it clear how guests will experience more sustainable activities in your property.

Focus on dining, activities, and touchpoints that the media can present to travelers to help them understand how your property is giving them a more sustainable stay.

4. Compelling Storytelling or Partnerships

Hotel sustainability initiatives are often born from collaborations. Use any partnerships with local businesses or innovative tech firms to bolster your hotel’s sustainability pitching. Synergy is key to providing a more robust story for journalists. And if there is coverage, your partners will be sure to share the news on their social networks and platforms as well.

This is especially practical if your partner boasts a big, recognizable name that will resonate with the media.

5. Strong Visual Assets

A compost heap isn’t the most attractive visual, but a group of locals on a farm might have more appeal. Think critically about how you photograph and create videos about your hotel sustainability initiatives. 

It’s a lot more challenging to create strong visual assets that the media will want to use. Succeed in doing so, and it will make your hotel’s green practice stand out from the crowd.

6. Consistent Year-Round Amplification

Pitching newsworthy hotel sustainability angles requires constant effort. It’s not just a thing to do on Earth Day. You can always peg your pitch to other environmental dates like World Oceans Day, Arbor Day, or any other day that a quick search will reveal.

The point is to be consistent. By building a rolling calendar of sustainability milestones and activations, you can maximize your chances of getting a hotel sustainability pitch picked up by the media. Also keep your sustainability efforts visible through seasonal pitches, newsletters, and influencer partnerships. There’s never a bad time to brag about it.

While Earth Day outreach allows hotels and properties to offer stories that are timely, impactful, and media-ready, being strategic and intentional is key. Tie your hotel sustainability initiatives into broader trends and keep the messaging clear and solution-oriented. Give journalists something to see and engage with, including data and a spokesperson, and you’ll increase your chances of seeing your endeavors make headlines.

Interested in telling your hotel or resort’s green, sustainable, or otherwise eco-friendly story to the media? Get in touch with Cathy Preece at cathy.preece@aboutdci.com to learn the ins and outs of making your pitch as newsworthy as possible.