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| A&EM Hotel |
From replacing conventional plastic room keys with alternatives made from bamboo or recycled materials to reducing food waste and supporting responsible sourcing, environmentally conscious hotel practices are changing how visitors experience the country’s largest commercial centre.
The growing focus on environmental, social and governance principles, commonly known as ESG, reflects a wider shift towards responsible tourism. For travellers visiting southern Viet Nam, sustainability is becoming an increasingly useful consideration when choosing accommodation.
What ESG Means for Viet Nam’s Hotel Industry
ESG brings together three interconnected priorities: environmental protection, social responsibility and transparent business governance.
For hotels, environmental measures can include reducing electricity and water consumption, limiting single-use plastics, improving recycling and managing food waste. Social responsibility can involve fair employment, staff development, community partnerships and support for local cultural traditions. Good governance means establishing clear policies, measuring performance and being transparent about sustainability commitments.
Ho Chi Minh City’s hospitality businesses are well placed to explore these practices because of the city’s established hotel market, international visitor connections and demand for business travel.
Rather than treating sustainability as a marketing feature, hotels can integrate it into purchasing, housekeeping, food and beverage operations, building management and guest services.
Greener Room Keys and Fewer Single-Use Plastics
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| Hotel Indigo Saigon |
Traditional plastic room cards can potentially be replaced with cards made from responsibly sourced bamboo or recycled materials. Where suitable technology is available, secure digital room access may also reduce the need for physical cards.
Other practical changes include replacing miniature bathroom products with refillable dispensers, reducing unnecessary packaging and providing drinking water in reusable or refillable containers.
These measures can help reduce waste across thousands of guest stays. Their overall environmental benefit depends on factors such as material sourcing, product lifespan, cleaning requirements and appropriate disposal.
For visitors, such changes demonstrate how sustainability can be incorporated into ordinary hotel experiences without sacrificing convenience.
Reducing Hotel Food Waste Through a Circular Economy
Food waste is another significant sustainability challenge for hotels, particularly those operating restaurants, breakfast buffets and large-scale events.
Hotels can use kitchen monitoring systems to understand which dishes are frequently left uneaten, improve purchasing forecasts, adjust portion sizes and prepare food in quantities that better match demand.
Where food remains safe for consumption, suitable partnerships with registered charities and community organisations may enable surplus food to be redistributed responsibly. Food that cannot be donated may be suitable for other recovery processes, including composting, depending on local facilities and regulations.
These approaches can reduce the volume of organic waste sent to landfill while potentially lowering purchasing and disposal costs.
For travellers, responsible dining practices offer another way to support accommodation businesses that are working to reduce their environmental impact.
Supporting Local Communities and Vietnamese Culture
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| Hotel Majestic Saigon |
In Ho Chi Minh City, hotels can introduce guests to regional cuisine, local markets, independent businesses and cultural attractions. These connections can help tourism spending reach a wider range of businesses and communities.
For corporate travellers and organisers of meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions, social responsibility and environmental performance can also be important considerations when selecting accommodation and event venues.
How Green Certification Helps Travellers Choose
Recognised sustainability certification can help visitors distinguish between hotels with independently assessed environmental practices and those making general green marketing claims.
Viet Nam has been developing sustainability initiatives for tourism businesses, including the VITA Green certification programme. Travellers should check a property's current certification status, the organisation providing the assessment and the scope of any verified claims before making a booking.
It is also important to recognise that accommodation providers in different locations face different costs, infrastructure limitations and operational challenges. Hotels in provincial destinations such as Tay Ninh and Binh Duong may have different opportunities and resources for implementing sustainability measures.
Sharing knowledge, improving access to training and encouraging suitable investment can help more accommodation businesses adopt responsible practices throughout southern Viet Nam.
A More Sustainable Future for Ho Chi Minh City Hotels
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| Pullman Saigon Centre |
For visitors, the most meaningful progress may be found in practical measures: less unnecessary plastic, more efficient energy and water use, reduced food waste and stronger community connections.
Ho Chi Minh City’s focus on ESG hospitality highlights how hotels can combine comfortable accommodation with more thoughtful operations. As travellers increasingly consider sustainability alongside location, service and price, responsible hotel practices can help strengthen the appeal of the city as a destination for leisure, business and events.
Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism
Website: https://sodulich.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/For more travel inspiration read the daily online "The Holiday and Travel Magazine" https://theholidayandtravelmagazine.blogspot.com/
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