Sustainability Efforts at Small Distinctive Hotels rewarded

Since the beginning of Small Distinctive Hotels, sustainability has played an important role, and all member hotels of the group have been actively engaged in diverse social and environmental initiatives. One of the group's entry criteria for new members is moreover the engagement in the process of CST, the national sustainability certification program. CST rewards touristic enterprises with a 5-level certification system based on criteria in the following categories:

1. Physical-biological parameter
2. Infrastructure and services
3. External client
4. Socio-economic environment

Consequently all members have been working with CST, and have recently begun to receive rewards for their arduous work. Three members of the group have received the results of their certification efforts, resulting in the following current situation; the levels are referred to as leaves, which represent the 5 levels (5 being the highest) of the system:

• 5 Leaves - Arenas del Mar
• 4 Leaves - Casa Turire, Grano de Oro, Cuna del Angel, Playa Nicuesa
• 2 Leaves - Villa Caletas, Peace Lodge
• Awaiting Certification - Villa Caletas, Peace Lodge and Florblanca

These results are by no means definite, and while some hotels are currently waiting for their evaluation, all hotels are constantly working on improving the environmental and social sustainability of their hotels. The latest results of Hotel Casa Turire, Hotel Grano de Oro and Hotel Cuna del Angel show that the continuous sustainability efforts are paying off. 

The success of the hotels' sustainability programs however is not expressed in quantities of leaves received but in positive actions implemented in terms of a harmonious relation with nature, content employees and surrounding communities as well as satisfied and fulfilled customers. We believe that by giving back to nature as well as communities, we can truly make a difference not only in our surroundings, but also in the attitude of our visitors who will ideally fly back home with a greater sense of responsibility and appreciation of nature, culture and communities.

We hope that you will have the chance to visit one of our hotels and witness these countless positive projects for yourself! To read more about sustainability at Small Distinctive Hotels, our nine members, we recommend you to have a look at the sustainability section of our website. Thank you for your ongoing interest.