Hotel: HCMI & CHSB

💡 High-Level Description

The Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI) and the Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking Index (CHSB) are two prominent methodologies within the hotel industry, specifically tailored to measure carbon footprints and promote sustainable practices. The HCMI, a global standard introduced by leading hotel chains and organizations, focuses on providing a consistent method to calculate and communicate the carbon footprint of hotel stays and meetings. It considers variables like energy and water usage, waste production, and even outsourced services.

On the other hand, the CHSB, pioneered by Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, serves as an index that allows hotels worldwide to benchmark their energy and water usage, greenhouse gas emissions, and other sustainability metrics against peer institutions. By collating data from diverse geographical regions and hotel sizes, CHSB equips hoteliers with vital insights to improve their environmental efficiency and sustainability credentials, ensuring they remain competitive in an increasingly eco-conscious global market.

Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative

Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI) is a free methodology and tool for hotels to calculate the carbon footprint of hotel stays and meetings in their properties.

The methodology was developed by the hospitality industry to create a consistent methodology for all hotels to measure and communicate their carbon impact. HCMI is currently being used by over 25,000 hotels globally. The ambition is that, through widespread use of HCMI, understanding, transparency, and accuracy across the industry will be improved.

Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking Index

The Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking Index (CHSB) is an industry-led global data collection and benchmarking initiative, with data on energy, water, and carbon emissions from over 20,000 hotels around the world. Participants in the CHSB index include major hotel brands, operators, and owners, representing all regions of the world.

The public dataset is published by Cornell’s School of Hospitality Research free of charge and contains average hotel performance for different types of hotels in different geographies. Hotels that participate directly in the index receive a confidential, bespoke benchmarking report showing how they are performing against their competitive set.

CHSB data is used by governments, corporate customers, travel management companies, and numerous other organizations to determine benchmarks and estimates for energy and water usage, and carbon footprints.

GHG Protocol

GHG Protocol establishes comprehensive global standardized frameworks to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from private and public sector operations, value chains, and mitigation actions.

Building on a 20-year partnership between World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), GHG Protocol works with governments, industry associations, NGOs, businesses, and other organizations.

Sample API Request

{
  "expand": [
    "items"
  ],
  "items": [
    {
      "type": "hotel",
      "methodology": "HCMI",
      "external_reference": "string",
      "country": "AU",
      "city": "Villa La Angostura",
      "hotel_type": "urban_location",
      "stars": 4,
      "hcmi_member": false,
      "number_of_nights": 1
    }
  ]
}

API Request Items

• "type": "hotel" (required)

• "methodology": "HCMI" (required)

• "external_reference": A unique identifier that helps link the resulting emissions to the requested item. Especially useful if multiple items are requested since SQUAKE cannot guarantee to keep the same order. The maximum length is 128 characters.

• "stars": Stars is mutually exclusive with hotel_type; stars is prioritized over hotel_type. Minimum value is 1, maximum value is 5.

• "country": Two-letter or three-letter code as defined in ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 and alpha-3 respectively. Minimum length is 2, maximum length is 3.

• "city": Here is the database

• "state": Here is the database

• "hcmi_member":true or false.

• "number_of_nights": Minimum value is 1.

• "hotel_type": hotel_type is mutually exclusive with stars, stars is prioritized over hotel_type. Available values include: airport_location, convention_hotel, extended_stay, full_service_nonresort, full_service_resort, hotel_average, etc. Default value is "hotel_average".

• Default values

  • "hotel_type": "hotel_average"

Sample API Response

{
    "carbon_quantity": 44475,
    "carbon_unit": "gram",
    "items": [
        {
            "carbon_quantity": 44475,
            "carbon_unit": "gram",
            "external_reference": "string",
            "type": "hotel",
            "methodology": "HCMI"
        }
    ]
}

Bibliography

• Ricaurte, Eric. Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking Index 2024: Carbon, Energy, and Water. 2024