Holding our heads above water: a new partnership between Hotel Institute Montreux and Bluewater

As things we take for granted go, water is certainly up there. We turn on the facet, and out it flows, clean, crisp and clear. Easy, right?

Not so. We tend to have a certain perception about where in the world water scarcity is a problem, but in actual fact, it’s much, much more commonplace and closer to home than we might think. For instance, did you know that up to 10 million American households, and 400,000 schools and childcare centers don’t have access to clean drinking water? Meanwhile, according to the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, hotels can go through a staggering average of 1,500 liters per room per day, and tourism as an industry uses roughly eight times more water per person than the local community. Clearly, this is not sustainable. We have much to learn, and hospitality can lead the way.

Here at Hotel Institute Montreux, that’s exactly what we intend to do. We’re thrilled to join forces with global water purification company Bluewater to launch a productive new partnership, which will instil mindful hospitality practices into the industry’s next generation of leaders and raise critical and crucial awareness of the issue of water conservation. Two heads, after all, are better than one.

The aim, is to share knowledge and intelligence, strengthening students’ overall learning experience and creating an alliance in the name of water sustainability. Bluewater will arm students with invaluable, international industry insights and water science expertise. Students will be able to get involved in events, listen to keynote lectures and benefit from a host of career-enhancing internship opportunities at Bluewater, with a view to the company offering them full-time positions upon graduation.

“Bluewater is proud to work with Hotel Institute Montreux to initiate this dialogue between a seat of learning and a private enterprise, and to have vital conversations about water quality and sustainability in the hospitality industry,” says Jedidja Rittri, marketing and sales head at Bluewater.

Hospitality is big business on a mammoth scale, with a global market value of USD 3,500 billion. That’s one powerful industry, and few have as important a part to play in shaping the values of people and society.

“Hospitality is big business on a mammoth scale, with a global market value of USD 3,500 billion. That’s one powerful industry, and few have as important a part to play in shaping the values of people and society. Whether you’re staying in a hotel or dining in a restaurant, hospitality has the power to influence your understanding of health, wellness, and sustainability issues, from quality of food, to how to create and provide access to safer, healthier water.”

At this point in the climate emergency, inaction is no longer an option, and water conservation is a key piece of the proactive puzzle.

“The United Nations says safe water access is at the core of sustainable development and is also essential for socio-economic development, energy and food production, and healthy ecosystems, not to mention human survival itself,” says Mr. Rittri. “And yet, access to clean water cannot be taken for granted, as more and more countries – and service industries like hospitality – face mounting challenges of increasing scarcity, chemical and industrial pollution of ground water, inadequate infrastructure investment and climate change. The goal of this partnership is to remove barriers to a less polluted world, while improving career and entrepreneurial opportunities for students at HIM.”

It goes without saying that this school takes its role in shaping the future of our industry, and its next set of leaders, very seriously. And what could be more critical to the future of hospitality than making sure our students are committed to safeguarding the planet it calls home?

“Sustainability is at the very core of Hotel Institute Montreux’s curriculum, which is why we are so excited to be joining forces with such a visionary company as Bluewater,” stresses HIM dean Ulrika Björklund. “This partnership will provide our students not only with hands-on experience, but also offer insight into the very complex issues of global water access and the socio-economic and environmental responsibilities our students will inevitably eventually shoulder, as tomorrow’s leaders in the hospitality industry. Our hope, is that they will be inspired to step out into the world and make a difference.”

Hospitality, like many others, can be seen as an environmentally damaging industry – but it’s also an ingenious one. Where there’s a solution to be found, its army of innovators will find it, and it’s in that same entrepreneurial spirit that Bluewater continues to move forward.

This partnership will provide our students not only with hands-on experience, but also offer insight into the very complex issues of global water access and the socio-economic and environmental responsibilities our students will inevitably eventually shoulder, as tomorrow’s leaders in the hospitality industry

“We’ve made it our mission at Bluewater to deploy our state-of-the-art water purification technology to eliminate the need for single use plastic bottles for good, and this partnership is one way we can face today’s water quality challenges head on and think creatively and collectively about potential solutions,” believes Mr. Rittri.  

Even ripples are small at first; yet, look how they grow. Someone has to start them. Let it be the students here, at HIM.