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Our Conscious Journey

Our Conscious Journey Page Header KV

We believe that travel can be a force for good. We see our hotels as a global network of inspiring, forward-thinking spaces that make a positive impact on their surroundings, connect travelers to local communities, and enact gentler ways to move in the world. We aspire to help our Community—our readers, travelers, hotels, and the people who make them—find more meaning from their travels and pave the way towards a more conscious future.

We created 10 Conscious Hotel Principles to measure our progress as we move towards more environmentally and socially minded practices.


It’s no secret that the hospitality and travel industries guzzle a significant amount of natural resources. Adopting environmentally sustainable practices can help conserve these precious resources and minimize their loss.

Our ten Principles—based on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria and the UN Sustainable Development Goals—attempt to quantify the attributes of a responsible hotel.

We use these principles to assess hotel applicants, to discern where our hotels could use assistance, consultancy, or partners, and to share their stories. They are evaluated by our Design Hotels Conscious Committee. To be part of Design Hotels, hotels must meet a minimum of 5/10 principles. Hotels that meet 7/10 are listed on our website as Conscious Hotels.

If a hotel has been awarded one or more of any major sustainable certifications, we automatically categorize them as a Sustainable Hotel.

See all our Sustainable hotels here.

Architecture

Architecture

Honoring natural and cultural heritage during construction. Making intelligent use of renewable building materials, the natural environment, and existing architectural heritage to create spaces that are respectful, inspired, and welcoming.

Waste

Waste

Using recycled materials when possible and thoughtfully disposing of waste. Minimizing waste across all levels—including construction, housekeeping, and food and beverage— through sourcing sustainable materials and mindfully disposing of what is no longer needed.

Energy

Energy

Conserving energy through renewable sources and conservation practices. Lowering energy use through renewable sources and green solutions, such as solar panels, LED lighting, efficient appliances, and more.

Water

Water

Minimizing water waste and offering access to clean water. Conserving water through more efficient fixtures and features, such as water-saving taps and eco-friendly swimming pools, and offering guests and employees easy access to clean drinking water and reusable vessels.

Products

Products & Produce

Prioritizing local products and ingredients. Supporting the local community and reducing the carbon footprint by purchasing local food and beverage ingredients, textiles, handicrafts, and other products whenever possible.

Culture

Culture

Adding value to the cultural conversation. Respectfully engaging with the local community to learn, educate, and create spaces that act as cultural hubs for residents as well as travelers.

Recreation

Recreation

Promoting mindful and sustainable recreational experiences for guests. Offering sustainable and enriching activities that encourage a deeper connection with the natural environment, the surrounding community, and local partners.

Accessability

Accessibility

Adaptable facilities so that spaces are inclusive for all guests, including differently abled. Appropriate training for staff. Encourage sustainable transportation methods & offering environmentally-friendly means of transport or partnering with relevant companies to do so.

Healthyworkplace

Healthy Workplace

Offering a workplace where employees can thrive. Hiring locally where possible. Build a team that prioritizes gender, religious, and racial diversity. Foster an environment where staff can excel through fair pay, access to education, career development, well-being practices, and an inclusive working environment.

Communication

Measure & Communication

Being transparent about the journey towards a more sustainable future. Communicating to guests ways to support the hotels’ environmental efforts during their stay. Aiming to measure the carbon footprint of the hotel, and set measurable targets.

“When hotels see sustainability is in their best interest, there will be greater commitment. Education around enlightened self interest is the best way to combat this.”

Paul Salmon, Rockhouse Hotel

Our Conscious Eye On
Dexamenes

“Dexamenes is an upcycling case in itself. We reduce, recycle, and respect.”

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Our Conscious Eye On
Rabot Hotel From Hotel Chocolat

“Being ethical is at the heart of everything we do. This has been rooted in our brand from the very beginning.”

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Our Conscious Eye On
The Slate

“From the design to the concept to the cuisine, our philosophy is to embrace all things local.”

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Conscious Hotels

DH Sustainability Page Q4 Dexamenes 01

“Dexamenes is an upcycling case in itself. We reduce, recycle, and respect.”

Our Conscious Eye On
Dexamenes

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DH Sustainability Page Q4 Rabot 01 Update

“Being ethical is at the heart of everything we do. This has been rooted in our brand from the very beginning.”

Our Conscious Eye On
Rabot Hotel From Hotel Chocolat

Read more

DH Sustainability Page Q4 Slate 01

“From the design to the concept to the cuisine, our philosophy is to embrace all things local.”

Our Conscious Eye On
The Slate

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Sustainability Page Conscious Commitments

Conscious Commitment

As part of our sustainability strategy, we’re rolling out our Conscious Commitments program—to empower our hotels, support them in making an even bigger impact, and witness them become industry leaders. Like voluntary pledges, they need to be trackable, measurable, and achievable within one year.

With support from special partner resources, we're able to help our hotels to take concrete actions and implement them. Each commitment relates to one of our ten Conscious Hotel Principles and we're starting with “Measure impact data or get green certified by 2025”.

Our Intentions at Home

While we work to inspire our hotels to meet new environmental and social standards, we also strive to improve ourselves internally, too. This means prioritizing a collaborative approach with our community, working with an ever-growing network of creatives and experts across a range of fields. It means regularly hosting round-table discussions, Lunch & Learns, and more—at our Berlin headquarters and wherever else we pop up in the world, to engage with people, to contemplate, and to challenge our perspective.

We are working on new goals and rewards for responsible work travel, offering more robust employee education around sustainable and diverse practices, ongoing flexible work arrangements, and giving our staff one day per year to participate in a social or environmental initiative.

Our impact report presents a detailed overview of our sustainability efforts and delves into our progress and achievements, highlighting on the outcomes of projects and initiatives undertaken throughout 2022 and 2023. We don’t always get the answers right, but we always aim to do better.

Download Impact Report 

Conscious Future

BP The Good Traveler Header

Conscious Future

The Good Traveler

The good traveler is a considerate and respectful traveler who moves with the lightest of steps possible and equips both mind and body for their journeys. Here’s a mental packing list that we intend to keep working on, as best we can, one step at a time...

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Conscious Future

The Best Ways to Approach Voluntourism

“Voluntourism” is considered the fastest growing trend in travel, but only 55% of nonprofits measure their overall impact. So, how can we be sure we’re enacting positive change?

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Trippin Voluntourism 001

Conscious Future

Will Biomaterials Build Our Future?

We spoke with leading designers, architects, and innovators about some of the most inspiring biomaterials that we can already use to build and create today.

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Conscious Future

BP Cervo Panel Recap 07

Conscious Future

“The future of travel needs to be for all travelers. It needs to accessible, inclusive, and sustainable.”
Kesang Ball

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Design

The Design Diaries
Fernando Laposse

How do you balance the need for creativity with the ecological impact of production? You take humble natural materials and transform them into refined design pieces like London-based Mexican designer Fernando Laposse.

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Conscious Future

DH Sustainability Page Queer Travel

Conscious Future

A Guide to Travelling When You’re Queer

“I saw and heard how countries have starkly different climates and laws for LGBTQ+ people. And that was only the West—the world beyond can be much less accepting, often for reasons to do with culture and religion.”

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Conscious Future

Ethical Ecotourism: What to Engage With and What to Avoid

According to research carried out by Tourism Concern, more than 75% of wildlife tourist attractions across the world have a detrimental impact on animals and their environment (cue Tiger King).

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Conscious Future

DH Sustainability Page Slow Down

Conscious Future

Slow Down: Lessons Learned in Small-Town Italy

A mental packing list of sorts, The Good Traveler lays out our aspirations on the path to becoming more respectful, considerate travelers. To learn how these ideas can shift and shape our journeys, we have invited ten travelers we admire to go into the world and explore each tenet throughout 2023.

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Conscious Future

Our Conscious Journey Podcast

Welcome to the Our Conscious Journey podcast in collaboration with The Conduit. The podcast focuses on ethical and sustainable hospitality and travel, in conversation with our conscious hoteliers to explore the question: what is in store for the future of hospitality?

Listen

All Conscious Hotels

View hotels

All Conscious Hotels

All Conscious Stories

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All Conscious Stories

Member of and in collaboration with Weeva, The Conscious Travel Foundation, Normative, Leaders for Climate Action, and Sustainable Hospitality Alliance.