Four Asia-Pacific properties take HICAP sustainable awards
HICAP announced four winners of its 2026 Sustainable Hotel Awards on 7 October 2026. The organiser published the list on its own news page.
The 36th edition of the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific runs 20-22 October 2026 at the Fairmont Singapore and Swissotel The Stamford. HICAP lists the conference as Tuesday to Thursday.
The awards recognise hotels in Asia Pacific for new methods, strategies and technologies in sustainable development. HICAP runs five categories. Where no winner emerges in one of the five, the organiser honours a maximum of four hotels or companies.
Four Seasons Resorts Maldives wins on biodiversity
The Biodiversity Action and Education category went to Four Seasons Resorts Maldives. The group operates at Kuda Huraa and Landaa Giraavaru.
The citation records a Reefscapers partnership past 9,000 coral frames since 2001. Teams relocated 28,000 corals during the 2024 bleaching event. Turtle centres have cared for more than 500 turtles and released more than 280.
The same citation records research across 77,574 coral colonies. It counts 1,058 Maldivian graduates from the apprenticeship programme since 2001. A Baa Atoll internship introduces students to marine science. A four-year pathway with Maldives National University pairs academic study with resort fieldwork.
Guest coral sponsorship funds part of the work. Marine Discovery Centres turn the fieldwork into education for guests, schools and young Maldivians.
1 Hotel Melbourne takes the heritage reuse category
1 Hotel Melbourne won the Building Renovation, Preservation, Adaptive Reuse and Conversion category. The hotel sits on Melbourne’s Birrarung waterfront.
The heritage-listed Goods Shed No. 5 houses dining, events and public spaces inside the hotel precinct. The citation says more than 2,000 heritage elements were restored or repurposed, including bluestone pavers, timber purlins, doors and windows.
The property holds 277 rooms. More than 4,500 square metres of reclaimed timber runs across the hotel and its residences. Former wharf piers became guestroom signage. Trees cleared for the Metro Tunnel became reception furniture.
Hotel Management reported the 277-room count and 36 suites in April 2025. Hotel Designs carried the same figures and counted more than 2,000 living plants in the design.
The REGENERATION art collection includes Australian and First Nations artists. Yhonnie Scarce built The Ray Fin around eel migration into the Birrarung. The adjoining Seafarers Rest park reconnects visitors with the river.
Uga Ulagalla wins for community work
Uga Ulagalla in Sri Lanka took the Positive Community Impact category. The resort frames its community strategy on three pillars: water, women and wildlife.
The citation records a first reverse osmosis facility at Athungama in 2021. That plant served about 800 residents at the start. Four years on, the programme runs ten plants across villages, temples and schools, and the citation puts the reach above 10,000 people.
The citation counts two community electric-fencing projects protecting three villages across 8.4 kilometres. Travel Weekly reported the second fence on 28 July 2026 and gave its own measurements. It put the Earu Wewa fence at 4.5 kilometres, protecting 65 households, with work begun in February 2026. It put the first fence at 3.74 kilometres at Pittala Konderama and Karambe, dating from January 2023 and protecting 70 families. Travel Weekly put the total investment at AU$19,206.
A women-led beekeeping initiative carried ten participants through a first harvest. Ten more are expected to join. Uga Ulagalla funds the work through occupied-room contributions, waste-sale revenue and guest donations.
Auko Eco-Wellness Lodge wins for design
Auko Eco-Wellness Lodge in Vietnam won the Sustainable Design category. The property sits beside Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and builds flood adaptation into the plan.
Buoyant foundations let selected ground-level lodges rise with floodwater. Canopy accommodation and bamboo walkways sit above historical high-water levels. The project holds 30 keys.
The citation records an EDGE Advanced Preliminary Certificate issued in December 2025. Its assessment predicts about 64 per cent energy savings, 47 per cent water savings and 56 per cent less embodied carbon against the baseline.
The operator publishes its own numbers on aukoways.com. That page puts energy savings at 65 per cent. It repeats the 47 per cent on water and the 56 per cent on embodied materials. It describes the property as EDGE Advanced-certified and counts thirty lodges.
Deep overhangs, insulation and cross-ventilation answer the humid climate, and air conditioning runs only in sleeping areas. Solar is designed to supply 47 per cent of annual electricity demand. A treated wastewater system supplies irrigation on site. Reclaimed fishing-boat timber and local bamboo cut material demand.
Judges, sponsor and the panel listing
The judging panel spans consultants and operators across the region. HICAP lists Chiara Calufetti-Lim of WATG, Matthew Carlisle of Cundall, Lyndall DeMarco of Only Sustainability, Robert Hecker of Horwath HTL, Eric Ricaurte of Greenview, Masaru Takayama of the Global Ecotourism Network and Claire Whitely.
The announcement prints Mark Eckstein, Hervé Houdré and H2 Sustainability Consulting as one panel entry. The awards page lists them apart, naming Mark Eckstein as an Independent Sustainability Advisor and Hervé Houdré as Founder of H2 Sustainability Consulting.
Preferred Travel Group sponsored the 2026 Deal of the Year and Sustainable Hotel Awards. Preferred Travel Group covers Preferred Hotels & Resorts and Beyond Green.