The question ‘how can we invite guests to actively participate to save resources whilst on holiday’ has been the quest of my research at Griffith Institute For Tourism. It has been a fascinating PhD with intriguing insights, and a commercial output in the form of My Green Butler. It is a smart service which persuades you to reduce resource consumption while maintaining overall stay satisfaction. My Green Butler recognises you want a comfortable stay but don’t want to be wasteful, so the digital advisor helps you make smart choices to save precious resources. What’s great is that all financial savings you generate go to local wildlife causes.

There is very little sustainability-oriented innovation in tourist accommodation beyond imitation and reliance on technology. My Green Butler is a service innovation which uses social technologies as its driving force, going beyond guest compliance with towel/re-line re-use messages, to generate customer value through the resource conserving experience. In parallel there is a training program to upskill accommodation staff. This is the invention of Australian accommodation provider, Crystal Creek Meadows in Kangaroo Valley, which is soon to be used by other tourist accommodation in Australia, Dubai and the Europe.

Christopher Warren

The My Green Butler project has been acknowledged by the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation) as a worthy sustainable tourism project.  Ecotourism Australia has been supporting the project and is happy to celebrate its success. Christopher is a Finalist in this year’s  WTM Responsible Tourism Awards for his work on changing guest behaviour in tourist accommodation.  To find out more about My Green Butler click here.