Our sustainability journey

Let's protect what we love

Driving sustainable change at MEININGER Hotels

From awareness to action

Welcome to our sustainable journey toward a better future!

We love having you over, regardless of what type of guest you are, to discover new places and people. To make sure that this is also possible in the future, responsible travel and hospitality are essential. As an affordable hotel chain, we believe that sustainability is more than just a choice—it's a responsibility we owe to our planet and future generations.

By following eco-friendly practices and minimizing our environmental impact, we know that every small step counts, and we're proud of the changes we've made so far. From reducing plastic waste and saving energy to sourcing locally and supporting community initiatives, we're committed to being more mindful and making a positive impact in the world.

Our journey toward sustainability is an exciting one, filled with learning, growth, and commitment to doing better. We dare to be bold by also taking big steps toward transforming our entire business model. Join us in our mission to protect our planet and build a more sustainable future, one stay at a time.

Meet our sustainability program

We've taken numerous initiatives over the past few years, such as:

reducing waste
eliminating single-use plastic
planting wildflowers in our backyards & keeping beehives to support biodiversity
"room cleaning only upon request" service to save water & avoid cleaning detergents
completing hundreds of volunteering hours with local organizations & partners

...just to name a few of our many other actions.

In order to ensure that these activities are meaningful enough, we also carried out a materiality analysis to identify the most important topics for MEININGER Hotels, measure our impact and do even better. By currently integrating environmental and social aspects into our business operations, we also want to inspire all of you, employees, guests or business partners to support us in our journey.

energy, water, waste and recycling
greenhouse gas emissions
mobility
diversity, inclusion and equality
health and safety
work-life balance & employee well-being
fair remuneration
responsible supplier management and local sourcing
cyber security
transparency, dialogue and credibility
innovation

What do MEININGER Hotels do for sustainability?

Switching on: energy saving mode

We want to be more sustainable and saving energy is a big part of that journey. All MEININGER hotels in Germany, Denmark and Austria are supplied with 100% green electricity from emission-free natural resources like solar, wind or hydropower. Plus, 90% of our hotels are equipped with LED lighting and motion sensors while we're working on the remaining 10%. We do regular energy audits and have installed energy-efficient appliances and key-card holders that switch off room lights.

Goodbye waste, hello recycling

We've managed to reduce our single-use plastic consumption by 95% in all MEININGER Hotels. We use soap dispensers in our bathrooms and dispensers for our F&B buffets in order to reduce plastic. In our German hotels, we teamed up with the Re-Cup deposit system for reusable coffee cups. Also, our partnership with Too-Good-To-Go in many of our hotels is a great way to save food. Make sure to use our recycling bins to do your part, too!

SOCIETY

We love people and want to contribute positively to our local communities. Our goal is to promote diversity, inclusion and fair chances for everyone. Hospitality is a people-driven industry, so it's all about getting to know different cultures since all of us and you, employees, business partners and guests, come from all walks of life.

With open hearts | Celebrating diversity & inclusion

We're a truly international company with 29 different nations working in our hotels and headquarters. By offering an internal trainee program via our M-academy, we support all of our people. Since 2022, we've introduced an LGBTQIA+ board and want to keep raising awareness on important social issues. Our goal: maintain gender equality while empowering people by offering a safe space where diversity and inclusion are more than supported, they are celebrated.

Local communities | Together for good

Since 2019, we've been firm supporters of the Earth Hour and Earth Day movements with activities throughout the entire year involving donating lost & founds, upcycling initiatives, cleaning river banks, painting kindergarten fences and more. In Berlin, we often open our doors to the German Red Cross and invite guests, employees, and residents to donate blood. Our goal is to increase collaboration with local suppliers for a fair and transparent supply chain.

Corporate governance

With our internal sustainability board and senior leadership team, we actively promote cultural change within our company. Based on our dialogue-oriented and solution-focused approach, we aim to deal with challenges, such as climate change, digital transformation, and many others.

Responsible supplier management

When taking on new suppliers in areas which we consider to be higher risk, procurement function undertakes supplier due diligence to reduce the risk of slavery and human trafficking. We include contractual clauses in all our higher risk supplier agreements and also in our standard template supply agreements in relation to the monitoring and tackling of slavery and human trafficking issues and compliance with legislation.

Compliance & code of conduct

MEININGER's Code of Conduct sets out binding rules that are to be followed by every employee, consultants and business partners. The code includes provisions to never engage in any activities that promote or encourage any kind misbehaviour. We encourage open door communication and feedback about any concerns our employees may have. We have an independent third party company whistleblowing system in place where our employees can raise their concerns anonymously.

Let's talk about Hotel Sustainability Basics

We're supporters of the Hotel Sustainability Basics, a globally recognized set of sustainability indicators for hotels by the World Travel & Tourism Council and the Sustainability Hospitality Alliance. We promote the global call for sustainable development in the hospitality industry.

FAQs about our sustainability activities

Why not all MEININGER Hotels have a green-building certificate?

That's because we only rent properties on a long-term basis from property owners. Working closely together with our landlords to achieve more efficiency and transparency regarding consumption.

Why do not all MEININGER Hotels have a sustainability label?

Some of our hotels have already received a local sustainability seal from local government institutions. We're planning to align our sustainability program with the Sustainability Development Goals and international reporting standards, such as the GRI.

Does MEININGER Hotels offer vegetarian and vegan options?

Absolutely. We offer vegetarian and vegan products like oats, soy milk, vegan spreads, and some vegan alternatives for cheese and cold cuts in all our hotels.

Why is my room not cleaned every day?

It's for a good cause! We implemented our "room cleaning only upon request" service in all MEININGER hotels which you can ask about at reception. This initiative helps significantly reduce water and cleaning detergents while minimizing the environmental impact of your stay at MEININGER Hotels.