By late 2025, most hotels have have done the visible work: LEDs, towel reuse, refillables, less plastic. But the biggest impacts may still sit out of sight in how we build, furnish, supply, and host. From a supplier’s lens (GCSTIMES) , three blind spots now matter most:

• Embodied carbon in construction and FF&E. Trend-driven refresh cycles, high-carbon materials, and short-lived imports quietly inflate footprints. Shift to specify low-carbon materials with EPDs, choose modular and repairable FF&E, prioritize refurbishment over replacement, and make warranties and take-back programs as standard criteria.

• Scope 3 supply-chain emissions. Purchased goods and services, F&B, contractors, freight, waste represent the bulk of impact. Changing these requires supplier-level data and governance: require emissions disclosures, flag catalog items with CO₂e and chemistry indicators, set basic carbon standards for vendors, and link contract renewals to verified improvements.

• Guest travel and events. Flights, ground transport, conferences, and weddings often outweigh any building-level efficiencies. Hotels can influence these emissions by integrating rail and shared mobility into booking flows, offering incentives for low-carbon arrivals, and providing “carbon-light” event templates with transparent reporting.

The opportunity now is to convert these unseen impacts into visible value. Properties that master
what guests don’t see will gain preference, resilience, and margin in 2026.