Sustainable Food Tools - Ways to Communicate with Guests

Fourteen different displays and signage were developed and implemented at the breakfast offer of hotels in Gran Canaria. The local origin and authenticity of food products as well as the prevention of plate waste were chosen as the central sustainability dimensions to be communicated to hotel guests. In a series of experiments, the effectiveness of the communication tools was empirically tested and showed consistently positive results. In hotel resorts in Gran Canaria, the use of a combination of tools such as posters (in the lobby), speech bubbles on the buffet, local product displays (on the buffet), and table displays increased the consumption of local food significantly (by up to 350% per product). At the same time, a combination of tools addressing issues related to food waste reduced the edible plate waste by 15%.