Most of us love travelling to exotic places, seeing new cultures, trying new foods, and having novel experiences. Who doesn’t like a relaxing vacation? The modern globalized economy allows us to book tickets to any corner of the world within minutes.
Tourism contributes to 10% of the global GDP and accounts for one in every ten jobs worldwide. But do we ever think about the environmental impact of travel and vacations? The United Nations Environment Programme found that the tourism sector consumes a lot of resources like water, energy and land, and produces a ton of waste in the form of fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emissions, solid waste, and sewage.
That’s why, it is important to have a sustainable approach to tourism, and that applies to vacation rentals as well. In this article, we will look at the vacation rental market in USA. Then, we will discuss what is eco-friendly tourism, and finally, how you can build eco-friendly vacation rentals.
Vacation rentals in USA
A 2023 report by Grand View Research shows that the global vacation rental market size was estimated at USD 82.63 billion. According to a report by Statista, it is projected to generate a revenue of USD 19.77 billion by 2024 in USA. Clearly, this market has lucrative investment opportunities.
Why eco-friendly vacation rentals?
Eco-friendly vacation rentals are ones where the owners, managers and all stakeholders, try their best to minimize the negative environmental impact of their activities. There are many ways in which vacation rentals devastate the native land, economy and culture.
Take for example, a private vacation rental built on a beach- a beautiful sea view cottage. This construction takes up valuable space that could be a home to local fishermen and villagers. It could also disrupt the ecosystem of the beach. Sea creatures and local flora would stop growing up there because of this modern concrete structure. Doesn’t sound very pretty now, does it?
Apart from such direct impact, vacation rentals also bring tourists- and they could disturb the lives of native people by causing shortage of resources, taking up space, and overall being a nuisance. Take for example, the case of Kashmir, India, where unregulated tourism threatens to destroy the ecological balance of certain fragile locations.
While these negative effects are unintentional, there are ways to avoid them. Enter, eco-friendly vacation rentals. These properties are built using eco-friendly materials, so as to avoid negative impact on the natural environment. They also follow sustainable practices when it comes to usage of key resources like water, land, food, etc.
What makes a rental eco-friendly?
Green construction materials
Green construction materials are those that minimize the carbon footprint of a property. The most popular and known option, is bamboo. Its strength is like that of wood, yet it is flexible, because it’s a type of grass. It can be used for roofs, and scaffolding during the construction process.
Bamboo absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and gives us cleaner air. Plus, it is cost effective and easy to grow and harvest. Other eco-friendly materials include recycled plastic, laminated timbre, stone, cob, cork, etc.
Renewable energy
Renewable energy sources are those that utilize natural resources that are virtually unlimited in supply- like sunlight, wind, and organic waste. The easiest step you can take is installing LED lighting. These lights consume less energy, and also last longer, thereby reducing waste.
The next step would be to use appliances that are energy star compliant. These devices fulfill certain criteria set by the US Environment Protection Agency, or the US Department of Energy.
You can also install solar panels for generating electricity. You can customize the system as you want- you can select which devices you want to be run on solar power- and solar panels can be installed accordingly, so that it benefits both the environment, and your pockets!
If your property sits in an area with constant breeze- like a beach, for example, you could also install wind turbines. Unlike solar power, which is absorbed only during the day, wind turbines run 24/7, as long as there is breeze.
Water conservation
Water conservation will help you save on utility bills, and also avoid shortage issues during summer. You will have to assess the water supply arrangement of the area. Where does the water come from- rivers or groundwater? How is the rainfall- is it regular?
If rainfall is seasonal, the first step would be to install a system for rain water harvesting. The next step is to change how people interact with water appliances. Install dual flush systems, that flush different quantities of water for liquid and solid waste.
Make sure that you do regular maintenance checks and repair leaks and cracks. Encourage residents to dry their laundry in the air rather than using an automatic dryer. If possible, you can install systems that allow you to reuse water. For example, water from a drinking water purifier can be used for watering plants. Soapy water from washing machines and showers can be reused for flushing toilets.
Attract environmentally conscious travelers
Climate change and global warming impact all of us. But the newer generations are more concerned, because they have more time left on this planet, and they are seriously worried about their future. In fact, Gen Z generation is emerging as the ‘sustainability generation’
It would be reasonable to say that the next generation of tourists is going to care a lot more about the environment than the current one. If you are focusing on sustainability in your real estate project, make sure you advertise it to the right audience.
In fact, you can onboard Gen Z influencers and activists to spread the word about your eco-friendly initiatives. Working in niche areas like this certainly pays off, as long as you know your target audience.
If you are a real estate investor, we hope this article helped you explore the niche of sustainable vacation rental properties. Sustainability can be your unique selling point that will earn you great profits, and also help you do good for the planet!
