Green hotels are finding value in retaining carefully crafted print products to bolster branding and foster customer loyalty. Hotels within the Green Pearls network, such as Hotel Das Rübezahl in Schwangau, Germany, are leading the way by producing sustainable print materials that align with their environmental ethos. The recent release of the fourth edition of Das Rübezahl’s guest magazine, BergGeist, in early April 2025, highlights how print can remain relevant when executed with sustainability in mind.
Laurena Hollweck, Marketing Manager and Assistant to the Management at Hotel Das Rübezahl, explains the rationale: “We want our guests to take the time to sit down, flip through the pages, and feel the stories. This is more likely to happen with a print magazine than with a quick scan of an online text.” The magazine’s high-quality design, tactile feel, and durable construction encourage repeated engagement, ensuring the hotel’s messages resonate over time. Its content, featuring stories about regional producers and sustainable practices, reflects the hotel’s commitment to ecological and social responsibility.
Hollweck emphasises the importance of sustainable production: “We have learned how much of a difference it makes to consider sustainability when choosing paper and printing methods. Eco-friendly paper, certified printing companies, and the conscious decision to produce fewer copies with a higher quality are not only ecologically sound, but also increase the perceived value of the magazine.”
Key lessons from Hotel Das Rübezahl’s sustainable printing approach
- Less is more. The hotel avoids overproduction, targeting specific audiences such as guests, partner companies, and loyal customers to ensure magazines are valued and not discarded. This approach prioritises meaningful distribution over mass printing.
- Sustainability starts with content. The magazine’s stories highlight local producers and sustainable lifestyles, reinforcing the hotel’s values and fostering a connection with readers.
- Collaboration over compromise. Partnering with like-minded photographers, writers, and printers ensures high-quality results while upholding shared sustainability goals.
Despite these efforts, sustainable printing faces challenges. Paper production, a significant concern, consumed 19 million tonnes in Germany in 2021, with 5.9 million tons being graphic paper, much of which is discarded after single use. Virgin fibre paper, often sourced from monoculture plantations in South America and Indonesia, contributes to deforestation. To counter this, hotels like Das Rübezahl prioritise recycled or alternative papers, such as those made from grass, hemp, or apple juice production waste, as seen at APIPURA hotel rinner in South Tyrol. Hotels also opt for FSC or PEFC certified papers from sustainably managed forests.
Ink usage poses another challenge. Conventional inks, containing mineral oils, plasticisers, or heavy metals, harm the environment. Green hotels are adopting non-toxic, biodegradable vegetable oil-based inks that are easily removable during recycling. Hotel Luise in Erlangen, Germany, uses recycled paper or sugar production waste paper for limited printed items like calendars and brochures. At LA VIMEA Vegan Hotel in Naturno, South Tyrol, a refillable ink bottle system reduces waste, complementing their minimal-printing approach, which relies heavily on QR codes for guest information.
The printing process itself demands scrutiny. Uncoated natural papers, while eco-friendly, absorb more ink, requiring skilled printers to minimise waste. Sustainable print companies are adopting green electricity, optimising water use, and offsetting emissions to reduce their environmental footprint. Hollweck underscores this holistic approach: “Sustainability means taking responsibility for the entire life cycle of a product – from the first draft to the last page.”
Across the Green Pearls network, hotels balance digital and print communication. Klaus Pichler of Hotel Weihrerhof in South Tyrol notes: “We rely on digital communication and reduce printed materials, *but we use sustainable paper options for important information.” High-quality print products, such as menus or magazines, remain in circulation longer, building trust and creating tangible connections with guests.