ROME, ITALY (Oct. 12, 2023) – The VRetreats collection, a part of VOIhotels, is proud to announce that four of its Italian luxury hotels have been certified as leaders in sustainability according to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) standards: Atlantis Bay and Mazzarò Sea Palace in Taormina, Sicily; Ca’ di Dio in Venice; and Donna Camilla Savelli in Rome. Each of the hotels met the strict criteria of GSTC, the premiere global authority in setting and managing standards for sustainable tourism worldwide since 2010. The hotels earned the certification under VOIhotels.
“Our commitment is to give our guests an authentic Italian experience while ensuring sustainability,” says Paolo Terrinoni, CEO, VOIhotels, of which VRetreats is a part. “Our VRetreats hotels celebrate the beauty, culture and history of Italy, and we’re committed to concrete actions to protect the environment as well as the social and economic development of the areas in which we operate.”
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council was established in 2007 to promote sustainability and social responsibility in the world of tourism, putting processes in place to certify energy consumption and behavior. It’s the only internationally recognized certification to ensure that social,
economic and environmental requirements are met in order to demonstrate the sustainability of a tourism brand.
The ambitious sustainability efforts of the four VRetreats properties include eliminating plastic; providing heavily vegetarian and zero kilometer menus, utilizing renewable energy; supporting reforesting projects; providing water for those in need –– even outfitting their employees in sustainable uniform shoes.
Sustainability Efforts at VRetreats:
The Gift of Water VRetreats has partnered with Wami to offer recyclable canned water, and to build aqueducts to bring water to communities that don’t have access. A donation of 100 liters of water for the countries most lacking is included with the purchase of each can.
Reforesting Efforts
In partnership with Forest Treedom, VRetreats is helping to expand green areas in Colombia to help foster biodiversity, support local communities and to combat climate change. A thousand coffee, avocado, lemon and papaya trees have been planted, with the goal of 1,500 trees by next year. The trees will absorb as much as 70 tons of carbon dioxide during their lifetime.
Energy Exclusively from Renewable Sources
Since 2022, the energy used in all VRetreats Collection hotels comes exclusively from renewable sources, such as solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, marine and biomass energy.
100% Recyclable Uniform Shoes
At Ca’ di Dio, Mazzaro Sea Palace and Atlantis Bay employees wear shoes from WAO, an Italian brand chosen for its eco-friendly products of non-animal origin that are recycled at the end of their lives. The Nylong model the employees wear is 100 percent remanufactured.
Electric Car Charging Stations
Guests with electric or hybrid cars who are staying at Rome’s Donna Camilla Savelli, and Sicily’s Mazzarò Sea Palace and Atlantis Bay have Porsche charging stations available for use.
Hempcare Refillable Packaging
VRetreats strongly supports the movement to reduce single-use plastic packaging by introducing refillable dispensers, which significantly cut back on plastic use in the hotel amenities. Instead it uses sustainable products from Hemp Ca Re by Allegrini with naturally sourced ingredients including Italian hemp oil.
VRetreats is working towards certifying each of its eight hotels. Founded in 2021 with just three facilities, today the collection boasts eight charming hotels and historic residences with a strong personality aimed at luxury travelers who love Italian art and culture. The collection consists of unique addresses of great artistic value: VRetreats exalt these aspects, enhancing the nature of the original buildings, characterized by an important past and embellished by cloisters, internal gardens and terraces seamlessly linked to the external environment and in which guests can reconnect with themselves and the place.
Read more about VRetreats sustainability efforts here.
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About VRetreats
VRetreats (https://vretreats.com/) is the luxury hotel collection of VOIhotels, a division of Alpitour World. VRetreats is dedicated to lovers of Italian art, history and culture and aims to redesign the concept of luxury, no longer an end in itself, but as a key to accessing the beauty of Italy. Each of the eight retreats have been selected for their personality and peculiarities, aspects that VRetreats heightens, enhancing the nature of the original facilities: they are oases of beauty with an important past and embellished by cloisters, internal gardens and terraces where guests can reconnect with themselves and the surrounding place. The project aims to have 12 boutique hotels in three years, in iconic Italian locations, even off the beaten tracks: there are currently eight hotels, in Sicily, Rome, Venice, Florence, Sardinia and the Italian Alps.
About J.MAK HOSPITALITY
J.MAK Hospitality (www.jmak.com) works alongside leading luxury hotels and travel services around the world to connect them with key travel agency partners and broader audiences who will impact their businesses and drive awareness. J.MAK focuses on hospitality brands with personality, helping each client articulate their individual flair, so they can authentically stand out. We harness our network to build relationships through in-person and virtual connection, as well as hefty marketing and social media engagement. We are passionate, experienced luxury travel experts disrupting the industry norm.
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