On the evening of 4 December, as Nairobi edged toward the festive season, the Dusit Princess Hotel Nairobi hosted a corporate dinner to thank long-standing partners who have relied on the hotel for conferences, meetings and executive engagements over the years. It was a familiar end-of-year ritual; networking, conversation, formal appreciation. But near the center of the room stood something that gently disrupted expectations: a Christmas tree constructed entirely from reused plastic bottles.
Modest in size and understated in presentation, the tree formed part of Dusit Hotels’ Tree of Life sustainability programme, which focuses on waste reduction, resource efficiency and environmental awareness within daily hotel operations. In an industry often associated with excess, the choice felt deliberate rather than decorative.
Earlier in the year, Impact Africa Consulting Limited selected Dusit Princess Hotel to host a three-day, high-level fundraising training for African non-profits. The decision was based on practical needs, not symbolism. Participants travelled from across the continent and included chief executives, directors, resource mobilization professionals, project managers and corporate leaders. What mattered was accessibility, reliable service, functional conference facilities and accommodation that allowed participants to move easily between sessions, rest and informal exchange. The hotel delivered on those requirements without complication.
Only later did a deeper alignment become apparent. Sustainability was never announced as a theme of the training, yet it was present throughout the experience. Single-use plastics were replaced with reusable bottles. Waste separation was visible. Energy use was moderated without affecting comfort. These measures did not draw attention to themselves, nor did they disrupt the programme. They simply worked.
By the time Impact Africa’s communications team returned for the December dinner, the recycled-bottle Christmas tree felt less like a novelty and more like a continuation of an established approach.
That ordinariness is precisely what gives the gesture its weight. The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that tourism contributes about eight per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, with accommodation and food services among the largest sources.
Hotels generate substantial waste, much of it plastic, particularly during peak and festive seasons, when decorations, packaging and disposable materials multiply. Against that backdrop, repurposing bottles into seasonal décor is not a symbolic flourish; it is operational sustainability made visible.
Across Africa, similar practices are emerging, often without fanfare. In Rwanda, several Kigali hotels have eliminated single-use plastics entirely, following the country’s national ban. Properties such as Kigali Serena Hotel have invested in refillable glass water systems and in-house bottling, reducing waste while maintaining international service standards.
In South Africa, some Cape Town hotels now incorporate reclaimed materials into interiors and seasonal displays, aligning with the city’s broader circular economy goals. In Morocco, eco-lodges in the Atlas Mountains use locally sourced and reused materials as part of their architectural identity, attracting travelers drawn to low-impact tourism.
What unites these examples is an understanding of sustainability as a design and operational choice, not merely a certification exercise. The Christmas tree at Dusit Princess Hotel fits squarely within this thinking. It communicates values without instruction or signage.
For international visitors, many increasingly conscious of the environmental cost of travel, such signals matter. Research by the World Tourism Organization shows that sustainability practices influence destination choice, particularly among business travelers and younger tourists. Hotels that demonstrate credible environmental responsibility are more likely to secure repeat business, conferences and longer stays.
The implications extend beyond reputation to investment. Sustainable tourism is no longer a niche market. The International Finance Corporation notes that demand for environmentally responsible hotels is growing faster than the wider hospitality sector in emerging economies.
Investors are paying closer attention to energy efficiency, waste management, water use and governance. Hotels that embed these principles in everyday operations, not just in glossy sustainability reports, reduce risk and strengthen their long-term value.
Kenya’s hospitality sector is well placed to benefit from this shift, but progress will depend on moving beyond isolated examples. Government has a role to play. Tourism, environment and trade ministries can accelerate adoption by integrating sustainability benchmarks into hotel classification systems, offering incentives for waste-reduction infrastructure and supporting local supply chains for reusable and recycled materials.
Countries such as Mauritius have begun linking hotel licensing to environmental compliance, while Kenya’s own Sustainable Tourism Strategy provides a policy framework that could be applied more consistently.
Dusit Princess’ example suggests that regulation does not always need to be heavy-handed. Visibility and consistency often matter more. When guests experience sustainability directly, through the objects they encounter, the water they drink and the spaces they occupy, it becomes part of a hotel’s identity. For establishments serving both local and international clients, this translates into reputational capital that is difficult to manufacture.
Read also: How Tanzania is using Nature-Based Solutions to secure the future of its Tourism industry
The recycled-bottle Christmas tree will eventually come down. The festive season will pass. What remains is the lesson embedded in its design: sustainability does not always require scale or spectacle. Sometimes it requires intention, repetition and the confidence to make responsible choices visible.
For Africa’s hospitality industry, navigating rising environmental expectations and an increasingly competitive global market, those choices are no longer optional. They are signals of readiness for the future.
In that sense, the tree at Dusit Princess Hotel was more than a seasonal decoration. It was a quiet marker of where sustainable tourism on the continent is heading, and of how small, practical decisions can begin to reshape an industry’s relationship with the planet.
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