An exclusive interview with Floris Licht,

In 2018, Mr.Floris Licht was one of the initiators of Event Park Amsterdam which is the Convention Bureau for Haarlemmermeer. This bureau represents the area located between Amsterdam, Leiden and Haarlem which includes Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, in terms of promoting national and international MICE business.

In May 2021, Mr. Licht I launched a new sustainable initiative for the hospitality sector in The Netherlands, which has since grown rapidly and is now being rolled out globally, “Hotels for trees“.

Let’s read about his unique concept of “Hotel for Trees” and his admiring experience in his mesmerizing career journey. And why should you booking your rooms in “Hotel for Trees”?

Q:Tell me about yourself and your unique journey to a unique concept of Hotel for Trees.

Floris Licht:

My name is Floris Licht. I am a hotelier and currently work as General Manager at DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Centraal Station. I’ve been working for this hotel for 2.5 years, but the concept of Hotels for Trees actually originates from my previous role as General Manager of Novotel Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

During this job, my owner offered me the opportunity to do an Executive MBA at Nyenrode University, and it was during these studies that I first wrote about the concept of Hotels for Trees as part of a school assignment.

This assignment got me a good grade and ended up on a pile with the other papers and reports, and it was not until the COVID lockdowns that I realized I had the opportunity, but above all the time, to turn this idea into reality. What started with 10 hotels participating in July 2021 has in 3 years’ time grown into a worldwide movement with close to 230 hotel partners in 40 countries planting around 400.000 trees per year.

Q: How would you describe your leadership style, and how has it evolved over your career?  

Floris Licht:

I am a leader who focuses very much on innovation and growth, sustainability, but above all, the wellbeing of my team through trainings, growth opportunities, empowerment, giving them the right tools, and having fun.

In the past I probably was somewhat more focused on the result and achieving this at all costs, whereas over the years I have come to realize that the only way to achieve long-term and sustainable results is by creating a team around you that is as committed, passionate, and loyal as yourself.

Q: Were there any challenges you faced with Hotel for Trees? And how did you overcome them?

Floris Licht:

The main challenges for Hotels for Trees continue to be the following three. Firstly, there are still many countries and cultures in which sustainability is not considered a big issue. As such, hotels located in these markets or gathering to these guests do not yet “feel the pain” and show less interest.

Secondly, many hotels are run by leaders that hold more traditional/conservative views when it comes to topics such as digitalization, equity, and/or sustainability, whereby they often only implement sustainable practices based on financial ROI, ignoring the bigger impact of these opportunities.

Q; How do you see your customers embracing a change with Hotel for Trees? Any uncomfortable scenario with the change among your customers.

Floris Licht:

Guests of our hotel partners currently plant up to 1,500 trees per day, which clearly shows more and more guests are willing to skip their daily cleaning for the right reason.

So far, we have not received any negative feedback on what we do. I think the main reasons for our success are the simplicity of the concept, the fact that the “sacrifice” by the guest is limited, and the transparency with which we operate.

We are a non-profit, and each tree of 50–100 cm is truly planted and certified by a notary, which is very different from some other partners that throw seeds out of an airplane. That said, there is a huge difference between planting a seed and growing a tree for 30 years with respect for the local biodiversity and community.

Q; Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the hospitality sector. Do you see any pros and cons?

Floris Licht:

The cons are that planting a tree for skipping a clean is financially less interesting than offering a guest a cup of coffee or some additional loyalty points.

That said, hotels that offer points or an F&B credit calling this “green” or “sustainable” should become increasingly worried since more and more guests recognize “greenwashing” practices when they see them, which could severely backfire.

Pros are that the above is not true if more guests skip the clean when offered to plant a tree than when offered points or a drink.

Next to this, the concept makes the planet greener and is liked by guests, corporate buyers, and event planners, which helps conversion. We also often hear it drives employee engagement and recruitment while reducing turnover, whereas in some hotels it also helps relieve some of the often-high workload for the housekeeping world. 

Q: With the increasing use of AI and digital world solutions? Are you planning to integrate the concept into Hotel for Trees?

Floris Licht:

AI is not sure, but we are working on a 2.0 version of our website, whereby our plan is to create a very sophisticated API that can easily plug in to a variety of hotel tools and websites, making it even easier for hoteliers to participate and enter their daily trees planted into our platform.

Thank you.