It's time to have a look on another innovative solution towards more sustainable future of the industry.
This time we will dive into Griffith University and their ideas for Dimension 3 – Hospitality Tomorrow.
A hotel’s operation relies heavily on diverse resources and energy extracted from the environment, and many hotel operators are motivated to use the charming natural environment around their properties as a marketing tool to attract customers. However, the endless extraction of non-renewable resources from the environment and the large volume of waste and pollution generated by a hotel’s operation are harming the natural environment and depleting resources that are needed by future generations. The greenhouse gas emission of hotels is increasing, which contributes to increasing global warming. Consequently, without any protective actions, the natural environment where humans live will eventually deteriorate, to the detriment of demand for and success for the hospitality industry. Therefore, it is extremely important for a hotel to achieve sustainable operations and reduce their ecological footprint. This imperative is also attracting rising attention from both governments and the general public. Thus, this project recommends that hotels adopt 3D printers on-site to produce major consumables based on guests’ and operational demands. To enhance this proposal, the project team will cooperate with the Griffith University’s Advanced Design and Prototyping Technologies Institute (ADaPT), a professional institute in Australia that specialises in studying and developing 3D printing technologies.
3D printing has revolutionized manufacturing in the 40 years since its inception. The quest for innovation has significantly reduced the technology costs, has increased accessibility, and has broadened the limits of creative design. This proposal recommends the integration of solar-power assisted 3D printers into the rooms of hotel accommodation to respond to consumer demand of items such as toiletries, linen and other amenities. Using a smart TV, these items can be ordered and have the models printed in front of the guest's eyes. For larger scale items such as decorative or personal items such as swimwear, shoes or yoga mats, this request will be sent to a larger industrial printer within the hotel to be later delivered. The adoption of in-house 3D printing is in response to a need for increased transparency and simplification of supply chains to ultimately reduce the hospitality industry’s carbon footprint.
There are many anticipated benefits from the proposed innovation across the three pillars of sustainability (i.e., economic, social and environmental). These include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, carbon footprint and wastage, increased business transparency and attraction of like-minded customers and decreased costs logistically and internally. It is anticipated that this initiative will innovate the hospitality industry’s values to protect the local environment and society, reduce the single-use mentality and promote sustainable and transparent operations.
