HICAP 2018 SUSTAINABLE AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Published September 2018

Hong Kong – 17 September 2018 – The organizers of the annual Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP), are pleased to announce the winners for the HICAP 2018 Sustainable Hotel Awards. The 29th annual HICAP will be held 17-19 October 2018 at the Kerry Hotel Hong Kong.

The annual HICAP Sustainable Hotel Awards are designed to recognize hotels in the Asia Pacific region creating innovative new methods, strategies and technologies to face today’s sustainable development challenge, while providing tangible examples of sustainable best practices that can be replicated and adapted across the region.

In the category of Sustainable Design, the winner is The Peninsula Beijing in Beijing, China. The Peninsula Beijing completed its extensive renovation in July 2017, transforming the property into an all-suite luxury hotel.  The renovation was inspired by the imperial architecture of ancient China and combines Peninsula’s hallmark hospitality with the best of tradition, culture and artisanship. The renovation is an example of tradition meeting innovation, with the near complete transformation underpinning the company’s philosophy of continually improving their assets for the long-term and their commitment to sustainability while seeking to increase value through new concepts and improved space utilisation. Incorporating sustainable guidelines, the hotel became Beijing’s first BREEAM-accredited renovated hotel. Detailed research was undertaken to form rounded views of the product’s sustainability attributes and impacts as the best choices in the given context were sought. The outcome is that guests may not notice integration of sustainability features within the luxury offering as the hotel combines timeless Chinese artistry and craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology.

In the category of Climate Action, the winner is Six Senses Fiji Resort in Malolo Levu Island, Fiji. This 24-room and 10-residence resort has maximized its potential for climate action given its size and location. Powered by one of the largest solar installations in the southern hemisphere and backed by Tesla battery packs, 100% of its energy – including its desalination needs – are met by renewable energy. By reducing the need for diesel power generation, the resort not only reduces emissions from burning fuels, but also from transporting them to the island. In addition to an onsite organic garden and engaging suppliers to reduce packaging on purchased goods, the resort dives deeply into climate action through supporting ecosystems. To-date, over 1,000 trees have been planted to reforest and strengthen the land, while a coral planting and restoration initiative strengthens reefs damaged by fishing and climate change. A sea grass and sea grapes farming program also fortifies the marine ecosystem while acting as a carbon sink.

In the category of Positive Community Impact, the winner is El Nido Resorts in Palawan, Philippines. The Quadruple Bottom Line: Financial Growth, Community Engagement, Organizational Development, and Environmental Stewardship are incorporated into El Nido Resorts’ sustainability policy for long-term gain. In practice, achieving financial growth was made possible via engagement with community partners, having local fishermen as guides for traditional fishing methods instead of professional tour guides. Furthermore, their investment in local children's education helps safeguard against destructive fishing methods being handed down to yet another innocent generation, while challenging them to be young partners in conservation and responsible tourism. Good corporate governance and shared stakeholder commitment has been critical to achieving success.  The “From Hooks to Books” initiative that started in 2015 is a well-deserved recognition and demonstration of Positive Community Impact as it validates the global trend towards Responsible Tourism through environmental integrity and social justice on top of the additional opportunities it provides to the local fishermen and their children.

Please visit the HICAP website for additional information, www.HICAPconference.com

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ABOUT HICAP

HICAP is Asia’s largest and longest running hotel investment event, making it the most important gathering of hotel developers, investors, lenders, operators, and other industry executives for information exchange, trend spotting, and deal making. The 28th annual HICAP, held in October 2017 in Hong Kong, attracted nearly 800 delegates from around the world. HICAP is produced by Northstar Travel Group in association with BHN, Horwath HTL, and Stiles Capital Events.

 

ABOUT NORTHSTAR TRAVEL GROUP (www.northstartravelgroup.com)

Northstar Travel Group is the global leader of business intelligence, information, data, research, digital marketing services and events for senior-level professionals in the travel, meetings and hospitality industries. The Northstar portfolio includes; Travel Weekly, Travel Weekly China, Travel Weekly Asia, TravelAge West, Business Travel News, The Beat, Travel Procurement, Web in Travel, Phocuswright, Burba Hotel Network, Successful Meetings, Meetings & Conventions, Meetings & Conventions China, Incentive, Association News, Sports Travel and 75 annual events in thirteen countries including leading events such as the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS), Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP), Phocuswright, TEAMS, Web in Travel, and Mountain Travel Symposium. Northstar is also the majority shareholder in Inntopia, the leading SaaS e-commerce software, CRM database marketing and predictive analytics business serving the mountain destination, activities, and specialty destination travel markets. Northstar Travel Group is owned by EagleTree Capital and is based in Secaucus, NJ, with offices in New York, NY; Denver, CO; Los Angeles, CA; Winston-Salem, NC; Stowe, VT; Edwards, CO, Glen Ellyn, IL, Costa Mesa, CA, and global offices in Singapore, Beijing, and Shanghai.

 

ABOUT BURBA HOTEL NETWORK (BHN)

BHN is the worldwide leader in developing and organizing conferences for the hotel and tourism investment community. With over three decades of experience, more than 150 events completed to-date, and in excess of 100,000 international delegates, BHN conferences have become “must attend” events for industry leaders who come together to network, conduct business, and to learn about the latest trends. BHN events include: the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in Los Angeles; ALIS Law in Los Angeles; ALIS Summer Update; Alternative Ownership Conference Asia Pacific (AOCAP) in Singapore; Caribbean Hotel & Resort Investment Summit (CHRIS) in Miami; Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) in Hong Kong; HICAP UPDATE in Singapore; Hotel Investment Forum India (HIFI) in Mumbai; Hotel Opportunities Latin America (HOLA) conference in Miami; Hotel Investment Conference Europe (Hot.E) in London; and HotelsWorld in Sydney. The BHN website at www.Burba.com is the gateway for information about the conferences BHN produces, as well as a direct link to important players in the hospitality investment world. BHN is a division of Northstar Travel Group.

ABOUT HORWATH HTL

Horwath HTL is the world’s largest hotel industry specialized consulting organization, currently with 45 offices in 38 countries. Since the set-up of Asia Pacific operations in 1987, Horwath HTL – Asia Pacific has been involved with thousands of projects throughout the region in all phases of the property lifecycle for clients ranging from individually owned businesses to the world’s most prominent hotel companies, developers, lenders, investors, and industrial corporations. Horwath HTL currently operates out of regional offices in Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Sydney, and Auckland.

 

ABOUT STILES CAPITAL EVENTS LLC (SCE)

Stiles Capital Events LLC (SCE) has been involved in event management, communications and marketing in the publishing, entertainment and hospitality industries since 1989. SCE has been associated with the development and organization of the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) since its inception and the subsequent launches of HICAP UPDATE in 2009 and AOCAP (Alternative Ownership Conference Asia Pacific) in 2014 together with partners BHN (Burba Hotel Network) and Horwath HTL. SCE is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.