The Queens Hotel, Cheltenham is proud to announce its recent achievement of Gold status in the Green Meetings Awards, marking a first-time win for the hotel, alongside retaining its Gold accreditation in the Green Tourism category. These prestigious accolades represent a significant milestone in the hotel’s ongoing dedication to sustainability. As part of Sutton Hotel Collection, The Queens Hotel becomes the second hotel in the collection to earn recognition, joining The Castle Hotel in Windsor as a celebrated leader in sustainable hospitality. These achievements further cement the Collection’s reputation to offer for both business and leisure travellers exceptional and environmentally-conscious stays.
The award submissions were supported by partner Mission Net Zero whose invaluable guidance contributed hugely towards achieving these new accolades. A recognition of a concerted and collected effort by The Queens Hotel team, the Gold status reflects the team’s dedication to the values embodied by Green Tourism.
General Manager Shaun Bowles commented: “Now more than ever it is vital that businesses are held accountable for their impact on the environment. It is this transparency which allows guests and travellers to identify hotels with sustainable practices and green values.
The Green Tourism and Green Meetings Awards accreditations are based on extensive criteria under the three pillars of ‘People’, ‘Places’, and ‘Our Planet’, with Gold awarded to those who can evidence excellent achievement across 80% of sustainability goals.
As such, these awards acknowledge the hotel’s wide-ranging initiatives, including a partnership with Greenview, which monitors energy and water use and calculates wastage, to facilitate specific energy saving targets. Furthermore, using the Hotel Carbon Management Initiative (HCMI) measuring tool, The Queens Hotel reduces and measures CO2 emissions on an annual basis. In September 2024, the hotel also signed the Tourism Declares Climate Emergency pledge to show its shared commitment to unite all stakeholders in transforming tourism to deliver effective climate action.
Commenting on the hotel’s multi-faceted approach to sustainability, auditors highlighted that the hotel’s “genuine pleasure in running and promoting a sustainable events and meetings business in the area where they operate is evident throughout the assessment”. Reflecting on The Queens Hotel’s long-term commitment to an evolving sustainability programme, auditors for Green Tourism projected the hotel will “become a beacon of sustainability in Cheltenham”.
Sustainability is a cornerstone of Sutton Hotel Collection, which comprises The Queens Hotel, The Francis Hotel in Bath and The Castle Hotel in Windsor. The collection actively encourages guests and staff to adopt sustainable travel practices and explore the rich diversity of the surrounding areas.
Each hotel is deeply committed to preserving cultural heritage, offering guests an authentically local and distinctly British experience. This approach is guided by a dedication to warm hospitality. With community and environmental stewardship at its heart, Sutton Hotel Collection acknowledges the impact of its operations on local communities and takes its responsibility to minimise this impact with diligence and dedication.