My friend recently went on a trip to London, and told me about this “cool, new, green hotel.” I had no idea what she was talking about. Originally imagining a hotel fully painted in green and filled with trees and plants, I was appalled when I found that she was, in fact, talking about an eco-friendly green hotel.

Qbic London is a hotel that prides on their sustainable operations – from offering sustainable toiletries to guests to their housekeeping process, to even giving guests access to free transportation.

The soaps they use are from a company called Stop-The-Water-While-Using-Me. These packaging acts as a gentle reminder to visitors to reduce water usage as they’re washing their hands or taking a shower.

Something else Qbic offers is that if visitors choose to not need housekeeping, which requires energy and water, they are rewarded with a free drink at the bar. Also, their mattresses are made from renewable, sustainable sources – guaranteeing an eco-friendly experience for their visitors.

Nowadays, it is inevitable for companies to take green initiatives and be sustainable. Looking at the Fairmont Waterfront, the hotel takes several green hotel initiatives, such as having their own rooftop herb garden and having a pollinator to provide a habitat for bees native to BC. Likewise, Marriott Hotel participates in supporting the preservation of the Amazon Rainforest, and also has solar panels installed in some of their hotels.

But if you were to ask me, I think Qbic is different than other hotel chains because being sustainable is incorporated into their values. Though it is wonderful that there is a growing trend to start sustainable initiatives within a business (like what previously mentioned hotels are doing), in my opinion, these initiatives are mostly seen as Corporate Social Responsibility projects. This means the company’s main focus is still in generating profit, and simply has green initiatives on the side for CSR.

However, Qbic’s values are strongly tied to being sustainable and minimizing our environmental footprints, while being a profit-generating business. This is clearly shown through their operations. They acknowledge that daily operations of a hotel, such as housekeeping and transportation services, use up a lot of water and utilities. Instead of continuing on with these operations and simply having a green initiative on the side, they’ve decided to tackle the issue and give solutions. Therefore, they offer free bikes for guests to get around, and directly reward visitors if they choose to save energy and not ask for their rooms to be serviced. Overall, I think Qbic is setting a good example for hotels and living spaces to follow!