Hiisi Homes & Hotels, offering serviced apartments and digital hotel accommodation, systematically introduced responsibility as part of its everyday operation in only six months. During the project, the company completed the Sustainable Travel Finland program and obtained the EcoCompass certificate.
Towards more responsible everyday life with the board’s support
Hiisi Homes & Hotels, operating temporary homes and digital hotels, was founded in 2017, and responsibility has been an integral part of the company’s everyday life ever since.
The values of Hiisi Homes & Hotels include home and locality, which have been cherished as part of everyday operation. In addition to social and cultural responsibility, the company’s board of directors decided at the end of 2021 that the following year responsibility will be invested more comprehensively, by incorporating environmental issues and financial responsibility as part of the responsibility program.
Excellent results driven by a project expert
Hiisi Homes & Hotels was lucky to have a responsibility expert inside the house. Thus, in the beginning of the summer 2022, the person shifted to lead the responsibility project, with the goal of completing the Sustainable Travel Finland programme and obtaining the EcoCompass certificate. The qualitative goal of the project was surveying the current situation first and then creating a sustainability program for ecological living and tourism. Naturally, taking the first measures to a more responsible operation was an important goal of the project. Along the way, environmental responsibility became a steady part of Hiisi Homes & Hotels’ processes and everyday life.
In practice, environmental responsibility will be strongly present in the future, e.g. in communication and influence, procurement, optimization of logistics and development of operational processes.
“Our sustainability project completed in 2022 is a great and successful example of how even a small or medium-sized company can take a leap towards a more responsible everyday life – with a reasonable investment. Also, I’m certain that the investment will pay off in the long run, both in terms of direct cost savings and the developing brand image,” states Niklas Eriksson, CEO of Hiisi Homes & Hotels.
Sustainable Travel Finland programme and EcoCompass
Hiisi Homes & Hotels decided to participate in the Sustainable Travel Finland programme because it provided a good framework for the sustainability project. As part of the program, a certificate suitable for the company must also be obtained. Hiisi Homes & Hotels ended up with EcoCompass because it seemed as the best fit for the company’s size and multi-location operating model. The customization of the EcoCompass certificate to the operating environment was also perceived as a very positive aspect.
Completion of the EcoCompass certificate culminated in an audit in November 2022, where the current state and completed measures were examined in one temporary home and digital hotel destination. The audit was successful, and the official certificate was received in December.
After this, it was possible to complete the last steps of the Sustainable Travel Finland programme. Consequently, Hiisi Homes & Hotels was awarded with the Sustainable Travel Finland label in December 2022.
Responsibility as part of everyday life – now and in the future
According to CEO and CFO Eriksson, Hiisi Homes & Hotels’ task is to ensure that social responsibility is comprehensively fulfilled in their operations, in addition to being financially responsible. Hiisi aims at leaving a positive mark on its operating environment and wants to promote the well-being and happiness of various stakeholders.
A good example of this would be the systematic development of technology, where the target is to make the employees’ everyday life smoother by eliminating manual work steps. Thanks to this, it is possible to direct the personnel’s time towards more meaningful and value-producing tasks, meanwhile leading to a better resident experience.
“In life after the project, the responsibility work of Hiisi Homes & Hotels is coordinated by Tanja Eriksson, working as a project manager. In addition to new measures and processes, great importance is given to social responsibility, which has always been strongly present in Hiisi’s way of thinking. We think that when our team – the Hiisi Homies and their families – are doing well, it is reflected positively to various stakeholders, residents, and bookers. Staff and home always come first,” Eriksson proudly describes.
Hiisi Experience Group Oy
A growing family business founded in Vihti in 2017, which offers homes for temporary needs and cozy hotel rooms under the Hiisi Homes & Hotels brand.
More information:
Markus Veikkolainen
Entrepreneur
+358 40 670 8556
markus@hiisihomes.fi
Sustainable Travel Finland
Sustainable Travel Finland is a sustainable travel program and a trademark belonging to Business Finland Ltd. The goal of the program is to provide tourism companies and destinations with a sustainable tourism development model that facilitates the systematic implementation of responsible business practices. With the label, the Finnish tourism industry can communicate to tourists about Finland’s sustainable tourism. All travel companies and destinations that have met and passed the Sustainable Travel Finland program’s criteria and have the right to use the label are involved in the measures and cooperation.
EcoCompass
EcoCompass is a domestic environmental system suitable for all industries. It offers the advantages of a high-quality standard tailored to small and medium sized operators.