Re-envisioning the Baja Hotel: Strategic Planning for Regenerative Tourism Through the Flourishing Business Canvas

Photo by Matthew Hicks via Unsplash

Re-envisioning the Baja Hotel: Strategic Planning for Regenerative Tourism Through the Flourishing Business Canvas

Sustainable business practices are critically important today, and tourism is no exception. Travellers seek experiences that provide enjoyment and contribute to the well-being of local communities and the environment, and businesses must respond by taking meaningful action. In this post, we will explore the Flourishing Business Canvas as a strategic framework using the fictitious Baja Hotel, a coastal motel in Baja, California, as an example discussed in a conversation between Rob and Lesley. This discussion highlights the potential for transforming a traditional hotel into a regenerative model that aims to positively contribute to a thriving community through respectful relationships and preserve sense of place. They seek to envision a business model that honours and deeply respects the complex relationship between guests and hosts.

Understanding the Baja Hotel’s Journey

Rob and Lesley, the new owners of the Baja Hotel, embarked on a journey to redefine their business model and create a sustainable and regenerative hotel. The previous owners had faced several challenges, including increasing energy consumption due to climate events, rising operating costs, and uncertainty about making the property more resilient in the face of climate change, particularly coastal erosion.

However, Rob and Lesley saw an opportunity to turn things around. Their vision was to create a “regenerative accommodation” where guests could enjoy their stay and actively participate in healing and coexisting with the natural environment, local communities, and indigenous cultures. The Baja Hotel aimed to address climate concerns while also making guests part of the solution, thus alleviating eco-anxiety among travellers.

Strategic planning is essential for businesses adapting to changing market dynamics and evolving consumer expectations. In their recent strategic planning session, the new owners of the Baja Hotel, Rob and Lesley, decided to use the Flourishing Business Canvas as a framework to analyze their company and chart a course for the immediate and long-term future. This multi-dimensional approach goes beyond traditional business modelling by encompassing three critical dimensions: economic, social and environmental.

Understanding the Flourishing Business Canvas

The Flourishing Business Canvas provides a comprehensive framework for businesses to create a more holistic and sustainable approach to their operations. It emphasizes the interconnectedness of economic, social, and environmental factors.

1 — Economic Dimension

The Flourishing Business Canvas’s economic dimension addresses financial aspects crucial for any business’s sustainability. This means evaluating revenue streams, cost structures, and partnerships for the Baja Hotel. By taking a deeper look at their financial operations, Rob and Lesley can better understand how to make their hotel economically resilient while contributing positively to the community.

2 — Social Dimension

The social dimension focuses on the impact of the business on society. It encompasses employee well-being, community involvement, and the broader societal contributions of the company. Rob and Lesley recognize that their hotel is not just a place for guests to stay; it’s an integral part of the local community and an opportunity to foster meaningful connections and realize the potential of all stakeholders.

3 — Environmental Dimension

The environmental dimension of the Flourishing Business Canvas evaluates the business’s ecological footprint and sustainability practices. For the Baja Hotel, this dimension is paramount, given its coastal location and the challenges associated with climate change, energy consumption, and coastal erosion. Rob and Lesley are committed to reducing their environmental impact by implementing energy-efficient practices, addressing water and waste management, and promoting the regeneration of local ecosystems.

The Baja Hotel’s Flourishing Business Canvas Journey

Through their strategic planning session, Rob and Lesley embarked on a journey to transform the Baja Hotel into a regenerative, nature-based experience. They recognized the need to go beyond traditional business models and embraced the Flourishing Business Canvas as a guide to creating a sustainable and regenerative hotel.

Their journey encompasses various elements, including:

• An Ecosystem-Based Approach: Acknowledging their role within a diverse ecosystem, the hotel seeks to create a regenerative model that benefits not only their business but also the environment, local communities, and indigenous cultures.
• Immersive Experiences: By actively involving guests in regenerative activities, the Baja Hotel fosters a sense of community and active participation in healing and regeneration.
• Nature-Based Healing: Nature-based therapy and healing are central elements of the Baja Hotel’s experience, creating a space where guests can contribute to healing the environment, the community, and themselves.
• Coexisting with the Community: The hotel aims to build a sense of coexistence with the local community and natural environment, fostering mutual understanding and collaboration with indigenous groups and youth.
• Addressing Eco-Anxiety: By actively involving guests in regenerative activities, the Baja Hotel helps them feel better about their travel decisions and acknowledges the negative impacts of the tourism sector.
• Economic Diversification: The hotel explores opportunities to diversify the local economy, extend the tourism season, and support local businesses, reducing the feast-and-famine cycle.
• Stakeholder Engagement: The Baja Hotel seeks to engage various stakeholders, including local authorities, residents, indigenous groups, and post-secondary institutions, to create a comprehensive regenerative model.
• Tracking and Measurement: Employing technology to connect guests to their regenerative actions, the hotel measures their positive environmental impact, reinforcing the sense of responsibility and connection.

Being Accountable to Regenerative Action

Based on the discoveries from the Flourishing Business Canvas, Rob and Lesley decided on three Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to measure progress toward their regenerative goals for the Baja Hotel. It is important to note that they set a date for the canvas, understanding where they could take immediate action within a year as a step toward their long-term aspirational vision of regeneration.

Objective: Create a Regenerative Ecosystem

• Key Result 1: Plant 1,000 mangroves and native species in the surrounding area within the next year, tracking the survival rate and impact on coastal resilience.
• Key Result 2: Collaborate with at least three local indigenous communities to develop and implement sustainable tourism experiences that respect and benefit their culture, ensuring 90% positive feedback from guests.
• Key Result 3: Reduce the hotel’s carbon footprint by 20% within the next year by implementing energy-efficient practices and offsetting emissions through nature-based activities.

Objective: Foster a Sense of Community and Well-being

• Key Result 1: Host monthly community tables where hotel guests, residents, and indigenous community members come together to share stories and meals, with an average attendance of 30 participants per event.
• Key Result 2: Launch a guest engagement program that encourages 80% of guests to participate in regenerative activities during their stay, such as planting trees or engaging in community-building initiatives.
• Key Result 3: Partner with local educational institutions to provide opportunities for internships, research projects, and cultural exchange programs, resulting in at least five academic collaborations within the year.

Objective: Promote Responsible and Immersive Travel

• Key Result 1: Develop a blockchain-based tracking system to measure the impact of guest participation in regenerative activities to achieve a 90% satisfaction rate among guests who actively engage with the system.
• Key Result 2: Increase guests’ stay length during the off-season (May to October) by 25%, providing incentives for extended stays through immersive educational experiences and seasonal promotions.
• Key Result 3: Collaborate with at least three other hotels or accommodations in the Baja Peninsula to create a regenerative tourism network to attract 500 travellers to experience the region within the year.

These emerging OKRs are designed to align with the hotel’s regenerative goals, emphasizing ecological restoration, community engagement, and responsible travel practices. They provide precise and measurable targets to gauge progress and the overall success of their regenerative transformation.

Closing, but Not Final Thoughts

The Baja Hotel’s strategic planning session and adoption of the Flourishing Business Canvas demonstrate how a traditional business can transition into a regenerative, sustainable, and socially responsible model. By focusing on a holistic ecosystem-based approach, immersive experiences, nature-based healing, and active participation of guests, the hotel is leading the way in transforming the tourism industry.

This approach emphasizes the interconnectedness of economic, social, and environmental factors and aims to create a world where all living things can flourish together. The Baja Hotel’s journey inspires other businesses to adopt a similar holistic approach and actively participate in creating a sustainable and regenerative future for all.

In our next and final session for the Baja Hotel, we will collect and summarize Rob and Lesley’s thoughts on re-envisioning a hotel that rises to the challenge of providing hope and healing through tourism.

Rob Sinclair is the founder of Conscious Brands, a firm that helps organizations transition from shareholder governance to stakeholder driven organizations. Lesley Robb is the founder of Swell Impact, a firm specializing in branding and sustainability strategies for the tourism sector. Together, they openly explore holistic business models by prioritizing play over perfection and co-creating community.