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Mindful travel

How you can help shape your hotel stay sustainably

Travelling, enjoying and discovering are privileges of mindful and interested people. In order to preserve the joys of travel in the future, we need the help of everyone: accommodation providers, tour operators, mobility companies, experience providers and also you, dear guests. With the following 13 tips and tricks, you as a guest can help to reduce the CO2 footprint of your trip and make the impact on people, nature and the environment as positive as possible.

1. conscious choice of destination and organisation of the journey.
The choice of destination, route and means of transport are central to the carbon footprint of your trip. As far as the destination is concerned, it is advisable to choose a destination close to you, especially for shorter stays (up to 2 weeks). There are a variety of travel destinations to discover in Switzerland and in Europe!

Did you know that you cause around 20 times less CO2 emissions when travelling by public transport than by car? With the long-distance bus you consume about a quarter of the C02 of a car and with the electric car about half of the petrol. This is shown in a study by Infras.

With Supersaver Tickets and Supersaver Day Tickets, Swiss guests travel particularly cheaply. And for foreign guests, the Swiss Travel Pass is just the thing: it offers free travel on most trains, buses, trams and boats in Switzerland, free admission to over 500 museums and 50% discount on many mountain railways. 

Do you have too much luggage in tow? Then take advantage of the SBB's luggage transport service in Switzerland and check in your luggage at home or at the next station for onward transport to your accommodation.

- Take advantage of the free luggage special. Check here whether this is offered for your accommodation.

- Check the prices and conditions of the SBB "door-to-door" luggage service under this link.

2. environmentally friendly mobility on site
Even if you have travelled by car, we recommend using public transport where available. Some of these are included with the guest card throughout the destination! If available, take advantage of the hotel's own bicycles for excursions in the vicinity or go on foot - this way you will experience even more deceleration during your holidays!

There are many examples of unrestricted mobility at your destination - we will mention just a few here: The Ticino Ticket for free travel on public transport throughout Ticino during your stay - so you can discover Switzerland's sunny canton completely free! The Ticino Ticket is included in all offers of the Ticino boutique hotels Remorino in Minusio-Locarno and La Rocca in Porto Ronco sora Ascona.

Or in the Engadine hotels Cresta Palace in Celerina, Castell in Zuoz and Saratz in Pontresina - all mountain railways and public transport are included in the stay in summer - in winter ski tickets can be purchased at the sensational price of CHF 45 per day. The "active and attractive" programme at the Hotel Belvédère in Scuol is unique: In addition to admission to the public mineral bath Engadin Bad Scuol, PostBus, Rhaetian Railway and mountain railways are included in the hotel price, always from April to mid-December, depending on operating times.

Or in the Valais - the Saastal Card, from which guests of the Grandhotel Walliserhof in Saas-Fee benefit, offers stress-free mobility in summer and autumn - mountain railways and all PostBus rides in the Saas Valley included!

Or how about a (winter) hike, bike tour or cross-country skiing tour from hotel to hotel? Discover our hotel hopping offers here!

3. CO2 offsetting of travel and hotel stay (where possible).
With myclimate you can offset your flight or your hotel stay. Some private selection hotels already offer the possibility to offset the hotel stay with the myclimate "Cause We Care" programme. As of October 2022, these are:

- Hotel Eden Spiez
- Hotel Belvédère Scuol
- Grischa - DAS Hotel Davos
- Seehotel Wilerbad Spa & Seminar

and last but not least our tours from hotel to hotel are all compensable! 

4. bring your own drinking bottle for excursions
Bring your own drinking bottle for excursions in your holiday destination. This way you can do without PET bottles and create less waste. In some Private Selection Hotels you can buy such bottles if you don't have your own at home. The hotel staff will be happy to refill your bottle with tea or another drink if you wish.

5. bring your own bath slippers/flip flops for the wellness area.
Bring your own slippers/flip-flops for the wellness area. This way you can do without the disposable bath slippers, reduce waste and: your own bath slippers are much more comfortable to boot! In some Private Selection Hotels, disposable slippers are no longer available and reusable models (e.g. from the REUSEME brand) are sold instead - for example in the Seehotel Wilerbad Spa & Seminar on Lake Sarnen or in the Alexander & Gerbi Hotels in Weggis on Lake Lucerne. At the Hubertus Mountain Refugio Allgäu, every guest is provided with beautifully fluffy, comfortable and reusable bath slippers free of charge with the invitation to take them home and continue using them.


6. choose regional and seasonal dishes.
Be open to new culinary discoveries and try the specialities from the region! More and more restaurants mark their dishes with a signet that stands for "regional ingredients" or "seasonal" or there is even a separate seasonal menu. If you are not sure which dishes are particularly seasonal and regional, ask your waitress. This also sensitises the staff to the need for regional and seasonal dishes as well as their labelling on the menu and helps the hotel to optimise its service.


7. integrate vegetarian dishes into the menu
If you treat yourself to a few days' break in a 4* hotel and perhaps have already reduced your meat consumption, you might want to treat yourself to a good piece of meat for the main course on this occasion - absolutely understandable and as long as it comes from the region, no problem at all. Tip: if the meat declaration only refers to the country of origin "Switzerland", ask the service staff exactly where it comes from - it is your right to know this and at the same time sensitises the guests around you as well as the staff.

If you look at the CO2 consumption, your footprint is always smaller with the choice of a vegetarian menu than with a meat menu, this is confirmed by countless studies. Have you nevertheless decided on a meat or fish main course? Then how about a pumpkin soup or beetroot carpaccio for starters instead of lobster soup or vitello tonnato?

For example, do you already know the Giodi Vegetarian and Co. restaurant at the Hotel Saratz in Pontresina? Here, the food is almost exclusively vegetarian, with the best local ingredients! Meat and fish are - if, then - "only" served as side dishes. 8.


8. less is more
Only take as much from the buffet as you can enjoy. It is better to go to the buffet 4 times than to generate food waste. Do you already feel full after the second course? Then ask for a smaller portion for the main course - often the next course is only ordered when the plates of the previous course are cleared.


9. use resources sparingly
Where the main power switch in the room is not automatically linked to the room card: turn off the lights and air conditioning when you are not in the room. Use towels several times - just as you would at home. The same goes for bed linen: put a little note on the bed that you don't need to change the bed linen or report it to the reception. In the wellness area, use the same drinking cup or sauana towel several times and minimise water consumption by turning off the tap when soaping up and by taking shorter showers.

In addition to energy generation from renewable sources, such as from a geothermal system in the Hotel Saratz or a lake water pump in the BEATUS Wellness and Spa Hotel, some hotels also offer innovative solutions for the economical use of resources. For example, in the HUBERTUS Mountain Refugio Allgäu, the bed linen is changed "only" every 2 days without any feedback from the guest - let's be honest, who changes the bed linen at home every day?! Most Private Selection Hotels communicate a conscious use of resources to their guests, so in many places only the towels on the floor are changed.
There are a large number of Private Selection Hotels that serve as showcases here. In many hotels, regional suppliers are even incorporated into the attractive weekly programme. At Hotel Eden Spiez, for example, guests are invited to experience the alpine wine culture of the Spiezer Rebbau-Genossenschaft, with a tour of the vineyards, a visit to the cellar and, of course, tasting.

At the Hubertus Mountain Refugio Allgäu, you can enjoy a particularly regional and seasonal Slow Food concept, and in some cases even visit the regional producers on guided hikes.  In the Private Selection Hotels, regionality and seasonality are an integral part of the menu - a prime example of this is the Hotel Belvédère in Scuol or the Hotel Alpenland in Launen, which proves that regionality and seasonality are also compatible with 13 Gault Millau points! And as the hotel name suggests, at the Bio- & Wellnesshotel Alpenblick you can enjoy superb organic cuisine with organic food delivered fresh daily from the southern Black Forest.

10. meet the local people at eye level and with respect.
The catering and hotel industry would not exist without energetic employees! Help us with your behaviour as a guest towards the staff so that we can continue to rely on motivated and satisfied employees in the future. Patience, attentiveness and understanding for other customs and traditions are required. Show understanding if, for example, every table in the restaurant is occupied. The service staff is in a stressful situation and it may take a minute or two longer. Meet the hotel staff and also the local people at eye level and with respect. Satisfied staff = more satisfied guests!

11. in harmony with nature
Nature is often one of our main travel motives when choosing a destination and accommodation. Leave it as you found it. When hiking, take your rubbish with you to the next village. If you see plastic litter on or near the trail, picnic area or beach, take it with you to the nearest litter bin. The environment and the next visitors will be grateful!

Also important to note for the protection of flora and fauna: do not leave hiking trails, close pasture fences after walking through them, do not disturb animals and keep quiet and approach slowly (if the trail passes them), do not pick protected plants, only use official barbecue sites and keep dogs on a leash where indicated.

You can enjoy nature particularly close, for example, at the Hotel Alpenland in Launen, where the Rohr-Lauenensee nature reserve is right outside the hotel door - or at the Bio- & Wellnesshotel Alpenblick in the middle of the Southern Black Forest Nature Park.

12. conscious souvenirs
Shop where the money will go to the people who did the work.  This also applies to souvenirs. It doesn't matter whether it's the farm shop around the corner or a shop that still makes handmade souvenirs. You should not save money in the wrong place. Because this way you directly support the local people. As a rule, such products are also of higher quality, so you will enjoy them long after your trip!

The souvenir shop of Hotel Le Clair de Plume in Grignan/Provence contains specialities carefully made by the hotel's own kitchen - the terrines with truffles you searched for yourself are heavenly, for example...! The boutique hotel L'Unicorno in Bedizzole near Lake Garda with its organic garden of more than 4 hectares grows not only olives and grapes but also practically every vegetable and fruit - the wonderful jams and pickled vegetables from the hotel's own boutique are legendary.


13. give constructive feedback
Don't keep things that stand out, your ideas or perhaps even your annoyance to yourself, but help to optimise the service so that the next guest - perhaps you again at a later date - can benefit from it. The Private Selection Hotels, their staff and all future guests will be grateful to you!