How startups are redefining sustainable hospitality

How startups are redefining sustainable hospitality

by João Machado, CEO at Savearth

This content is available in Portuguese.

Sustainability has become a buzzword in recent years, but it’s far more than a trend. Any product built for the future should start from there. Real progress happens only when sustainability is treated not as a checkbox, but becomes a core mission. And startups are the ones leading this shift, proving that innovation is strongest when impact and profitability work together, not in opposition.

As guests become more aware of the environmental footprint of their travels, hotels face a major challenge: how to reduce water without compromising comfort or experience. Until now, most sustainability initiatives in hospitality have been limited to polite reminders about saving water. We all have seen them. A well-intentioned gesture, yes, but it’s not enough. Hotels can do more. Do better. The reality is far more urgent: a single hotel shower can reach 150L of water, four times the recommended amount, draining over €7B in losses from the industry every year!

This is where a new generation of climate tech startups is stepping in, transforming good intentions into real action. They don’t just inform, they engage. They don’t guilt guests, they empower them. Because one thing has become clear: sustainability only becomes real when people are actively involved. It can’t be a one-way street, it requires effort from both sides. If we want behavior to change, we need to make it personal, fun, and shareable.

Born from a personal wake-up call after learning that by 2050 five billion people could struggle to access clean water, Savearth, a Portuguese startup, represents this new mindset. By identifying that excessive water consumption in hotels is both an environmental and financial loss, we have decided to turn sustainability into a competitive advantage.

After a year of development and testing in leading hotel units in Lisbon and Porto, Savearth is launching the first AI-powered behavioral intelligence platform for hospitality. It combines smart sensing and advanced sound frequency analysis to interpret real-time water usage during showers, using an innovative AI model. But the real breakthrough lies in what happens next. More than just tracking, the system informs guests about the impact of their actions and rewards those who adopt more sustainable habits through a “save to earn” model that transforms eco-action into tangible value. We are building something that’s simple at its core but powerful in impact.

This approach doesn’t limit the experience, it elevates it. No pressure reduction, no intrusive alerts. Just a layer of intelligence that turns everyday behavior into measurable impact. Early pilots showed 46% average savings in both water and energy, alongside something even more valuable: guests expressing that, for the first time, they felt like part of the solution.

For hotels, Savearth also unlocks something they’ve never had before: data. Insights available through an intuitive dashboard or via an AI assistant on WhatsApp, giving managers real-time visibility over water consumption. In a world where data is gold, this turns sustainability into intelligence.

And this is just the beginning. While showers are our first use case, our vision goes much further. Savearth aims to become the leading AI platform for behavioral transformation in hospitality, tackling other sources of overconsumption, from towel changes to room cleaning and beyond, always through the same principle: empowering people to act smarter, not sacrifice comfort.

Startups like Savearth mark the leap from Sustainability 1.0, based on warnings and restrictions, to Sustainability 2.0, powered by data, AI and positive behavioral incentives. A paradigm where technology doesn’t control, it empowers. Less waste, more awareness, and more value per guest. In the end, technology is just the tool. What really creates impact is behavior with purpose.

If you’re building the future of hospitality, explore these and other breakthrough solutions at the Hospitality Innovation Summit on Monday, November 10th, from 4:30 PM to 8 PM at PortoBay Liberdade, Lisbon. If you’re shaping the future of hospitality, this is where you belong. Free registration here.