Innovative Ways to Embrace Responsible Tourism at SCP

Travel is meant to be indulgent and luxurious. For most travelers, hotels are a safe haven where we can leave behind guilt of over-consumption and enjoy plentifulness without care. Concepts like eco travels, sustainability in hospitality, responsible tourism, minimalist hotel, soulfulness, and community aren’t associated with luxury and travel. But why not? That’s precisely the reason someone needs to disrupt the industry and make it more sustainable.

SCP Hotel is taking a step in that direction. I spoke with Jordan at SCP and she explained their guiding principles with compelling examples that any hotel can implement to support sustainable tourism. In fact, she says, they like it if other hotels and resorts copy their ideas and spread the goodwill towards the planet.

Disclaimer: Colorado Springs tourism board and SCP Hotel provided my stay. But all opinions are my own.

I sat down with Jordan, from the SCP team to understand how SCP is embracing responsible tourism, but I learned so much more. She had tons to share about their concept of Soul, Community, and Planet. She spoke about all the things they do, which then promotes sustainability in hospitality. This article is an attempt to capture my conversation with Jordan and my observations during my visit to Colorado.

Soul, the ‘S’ in SCP

The first (and sometimes the last) person we meet at any hotel is at the reception desk. They are the friendly face and our host for the stay. But, as Jordan explained, at SCP they take the interaction to the next level, beyond getting the best room, best view, or upgrade. Looking past the physical aspect, they strive to connect with the soul of the guest. They try to understand where is the guest at – is the guest visiting Colorado Springs for their first trip, graduation, reunion, wedding, funeral or something else… Their goal is to meet the person where they are and serve to that need. To her, this is the most important aspect of what they do.

Jordan believes that this sense of compassion and connection draws people back to SCP as the place to stay in Colorado Springs and to share their stories with the community.

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Community Engagement

I wouldn’t have expected any hotel to be a place for local community engagement. I had expected SCP to be a great place to stay in Colorado Springs as a traveler. But Jordan explained, with examples, why SCP is a place for the community – for locals and travelers.

SCP Hotel buys all the food and drinks from local vendors. Jordan is constantly working with the locals to add foods that their guests would like to have while bringing in eco-friendly innovations from the community.

In the evenings they bring in local singers, musicians, and visiting artists. Locals come in to SCP for the music and to socialize.

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They buy local furniture and decorations for the hotel, adding to responsible tourism.

SCP Commons

The thing that first caught my eye in the community area was groups of kids and adults playing the many games placed all around the common areas.

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SCP provides co-working space called SCP Commons, that anyone can rent for a small monthly fee. They get access to office space, the commons, the SCP Fit.

Planet – Sustainability in Hospitality

For me, the biggest draw was their commitment to sustainable tourism. As you know, we travel a lot and travel has a high footprint on the plant, which is always bothersome for me. Last year we stayed at the Sousse eco-lodge in Namibia to promote responsible tourism. Earlier this year I wrote about sustainable cork products made in Portugal.

While in Colorado wanted to see what SCP Hotel is doing differently to promote eco-travels. Luckily, I found so much more than I expected. Preservation, conservation, and sustainability in hospitality are in their DNA and in everything they do. Here are a few practical applications I learned about –

SCP Hotel provides recycling and trash bins in each room. Its such a simple idea and yet no hotels do it!

The little toiletries bottles are so cute but also, unfortunately, they are so wasteful. On average, we throw away 3 bottles every day for each person on the trip. All of that will never decompose. At SCP, they partner with someone who recycles oil to make the soap and shampoo, which they put in large bottles by the sink and the shower. No more fumbling to open little bottles with wet hands, while generating a fraction of the waste. It’s a small change but a huge step in responsible tourism.

I found the story of the keycard sleeve the most telling of the team’s way of thinking. Jordan was so excited to tell me the story – one day they ran out of keycard sleeves and the vendor couldn’t make more fast enough. The team huddled together to brainstorm a quick solution. They came up with the idea of using printouts heading to the recycling bin. They cut up the paper and created a few cute sleeves. Its a great example of the team’s resourcefulness and quick action.

In the kitchen, water jugs are in fact old alcohol bottles. The cups, cutlery, plates, and bowls are washable – not disposable. Each room has 2 paper water bottles, which guests can refill for the duration of the stay. They were perfect for me because I carried them around as I went rock climbing in Garden of the Gods, visiting Pikes Peak, Segway tour, and Paints Mines Interpretive Park as part of my trip to Colorado.

Essentially the idea is to reduce, reuse, refuge (compost), recycle and minimize landfill. Now, I would like to see these in all places to stay in Colorado Springs and around the world.

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Minimalist Hotel! Really?

With The Minimalists and Marie Kondo’s KonMari shows on Netflix, minimalism is all the rage today. It’s a great thing because people are finding out that too much stuff contributes to stress and unhappiness. Jains and Buddhists have always believed in less possession (aparigrah).

Having only a few things that matter is freeing to the mind and the soul. Plus it’s less wasteful and more eco-friendly.

I love how the rooms at SCP have a minimalist feel. My room had everything I needed plus a lot of space which would have typically been occupied by unnecessary furniture. The wooden floor goes with the minimalist hotel concept and it also means there is no place for dust and dirt to hide. It’s a win-win!

The minimalist hotel concept doesn’t mean deprivation. SCP provides a list of amenities they’ll be happy to provide if you ask. If they don’t have something you need, they do anything they can to get it for you.

Hiring, Ownership and Decision Making

The first thing I noticed is that the staff has no uniform! They seemed to be part of the community and super friendly. But I was surprised to hear from Jordan that, they are encouraged to “do the right thing” for the customer. In the worst case, it would be a small wrong decision, which would be a great coaching moment. Decision making is simpler without the “let me ask my manager” mentality. She says that the founders encourage the team to think “what experience would I have wanted if I were in the customer’s shoes” and “own the decision”.

In order to disrupt the standard hotel thinking, the founders decided to deliberately hire the team from outside the hotel industry, with individuals that believe in the values. The team brings unconventional thinking for eco-travels and responsible tourism. They’ve added diversity in thought, race, state, and background. Together they bring fresh ideas and outside-the-box thinking.

Fair Price – Pay what you think is right!

When I looked for places to stay in Colorado Springs, I had not heard of ‘Fair Price’ for hotel stay – The customer has a say in picking the right price for their stay at SCP Hotel! It doesn’t sound financially prudent, but apparently, it’s working. It aligns with the guiding principle of “don’t let money affect the customer experience”.

Vision for SCP

I asked Jordan, what’s the vision for SCP? Where do they want to take the concepts of Soul, Community, Planet next? What is their vision for growth in sustainable hospitality? She had many ideas. I wish them all the best.

The gym and yoga rooms were fully functional during my visit. Soon their outdoor & indoor swimming pools will be open too.

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Her hope is to inspire sustainability in hospitality and influence other hotels to adopt their innovation in responsible tourism. As she described, “the planet is bigger than all of us”. I can see honoring the planet through responsible tourism has so much potential, even if it’s by touching one soul at a time. With the broader adoption of the concepts, we can do so much more.

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Inspiring Responsible Tourism at Home

The team as SCP hopes that people leave feeling inspired to have a more sustainable lifestyle. The hope is that responsible tourism will go the full circle and influence how people think at home, not just in a hotel they stayed in Colorado Springs.

Here’s a short video of my stay in SCP, a cool place to stay in Colorado Springs.

I was there only for a short time, but I’m hopeful that if SCP and others really embrace the Soul, Community and Planet mindset, we will see more adoption of concepts of a minimalist hotel, responsible tourism, and eco-travels around the world.

Related Articles

• My 6-Day Colorado Itinerary
• Rocky Mountain National Park – Itineraries, Hikes, and Drive Viewpoints
• Rock climbing in Garden of the Gods
• Visiting Pikes Peak
• SCP Hotel Home Page
• Our stay at Sossus Dune Eco-Lodge in Namibia
• Eco-friendly Cork Products in Portugal
• Villa Rosa, a small boutique hotel in Positano, Italy