When we talk about Sustainability at Hotel Waya we not only evoke respect for nature, the environment, rivers, mountains, water, but also the relationship with the communities and society in general, the preservation of culture and the contribution to the development of sustainable tourism for the region.
The development of the Hotel Waya Sustainability Strategy included as a priority, the geographic, historical and cultural importance of the sites where they currently operate and intervene through their different programs.
This background has been a fundamental pillar for the design and development of its Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Strategy involving all stakeholders in the Hotel’s value chain.
ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSION HOTEL WAYA
For Hotel Waya, this dimension has been fundamental in all the processes since its construction.
A comprehensive approach to sustainability must take into account the design of the infrastructure adjusted to local contexts, providing efficient services and durability, Hotel Waya to meet these requirements addressed not only the environmental risks, but has also ensured the financial resources not only to build but also to maintain the infrastructure during its useful life, took into account the needs of the population and understanding of the political and institutional dynamics to ensure that it is an enterprise that will generate high impact.
In its operational process, it has maintained and transcended its lines of leadership and energy and water management and has developed important actions for waste management and the linking of actors in the region that have helped to apply some good practices in this area. Additionally, it has extended its field of action to project the production of clean energy for the Hotel’s self-sufficiency and also to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
SOCIAL DIMENSION FOR HOTEL WAYA
For Hotel Waya, one of the most relevant material issues is the topic of inclusion: in terms of employment, internal supply and the articulation of some suppliers or local allies in their tourism plans.
The hiring of local human resources has always been a premise, even since the construction of the Hotel, where a significant percentage of local human resources were hired. At the operational level, the challenge has been to increase the percentage of employment of human resources from the region, for which purpose it has sought to make alliances for educational and training processes in different trades of the value chain. In inputs for the Hotel, it has been possible to generate an impact on the linkage of local suppliers in some services and products of its value chain, thus strengthening local participation and the growth and development of small businesses. The latter includes some allies and tour operators where it has provided support to extend its seal through the experiences offered to visitors.
ECONOMIC DIMENSION FOR HOTEL WAYA
In this dimension, Hotel Waya focused on achieving tourism integration with small tourism providers in different parts of the lower, middle and upper Guajira. Its vision has always been to consolidate a cluster that allows anchoring sustainable tourism as a fundamental pillar for the socioeconomic development of the region. Likewise, internal supply represents economic income to the supply chain, which has allowed these small suppliers to grow with the Hotel and generate added value to their portfolios.
Finally, this type of project has great potential in the design of experiences that really highlight the richness of the area in all its biodiversity and culture to give greater value to the destination. Training and empowering small suppliers and the community to provide services that are aligned with the entire Sustainability Strategy and contribute to regional development plans has been a challenge for Hotel Waya.
