Inside the role: What does a hotel sustainability manager really do?

Written By Liam Barnes

Why the role looks different in every property — and why that matters. In the first of a new series, meet two trailblazers in Thailand driving change through culture and context...

Words by Liam Aran Barnes

Meet Ladda (left) and Nok (right), who are sustainability leads at Anantara properties.

Ask five hoteliers what sustainability managers do and you’ll probably get five different answers. Some will say audits and reporting. Others are likely to point to guest engagement, staff training, or food waste.

More hotels are now hiring for the role. But what that looks like in practice is still surprisingly undefined.

That’s the starting point for this new Tuu series. We’re speaking to the people doing the work inside hotels across Asia, to understand how the role functions, where it sits in the organisation, and what’s helping drive actual progress.

We’re kicking off with two managers from the same brand: Kanokwan “Nok” Homcha-aim leads sustainability at Anantara Layan in Phuket. Laddawan “Ladda” Yonthantham works across Anantara’s three city properties in Bangkok.

Their roles share a title. But little else.

From Bangkok to the beach - two titles, two paths…

Meet Ladda and Nok.

Ladda grew up in Nakhon Si Thammarat in southern Thailand, where a love of nature took hold early. She studied conservation biology and began her career as an outdoor educator before moving north to manage the elephant camp at Anantara Golden Triangle, improving welfare for elephants, supporting mahout families, and guiding guest education. Ladda then earned a master’s in International Sustainable Tourism Management. 

That mix of fieldwork and formal training now shapes her role across Anantara Siam, Anantara Riverside, and Avani+ Riverside, where she connects group-wide goals with the realities of daily operations.

“A lot of the work I do doesn’t show immediate results,” Ladda says. “But it lays the foundation. It helps teams prepare for tougher standards or simply gives them space to care about something beyond their day-to-day tasks.”

Nok’s work in sustainability is grounded in lived experience. She studied forestry, worked with climate NGOs, and eventually settled in Phuket — though she’s often out leading walks, hosting workshops, or checking in with teams.

But the spark came earlier. At 15, she visited Khao Yai National Park on a school trip. “I was a city girl who’d never felt at peace in the city,” she says. “That trip changed everything.”

She began in CSR and later trained as a naturalist, shaping her current role into one that blends education, operations, and daily connection. Her campaigns — from “Clean Your Plate” to mangrove walks — aim to make sustainability feel real, not abstract.

One guest told her a walk had prompted them to rethink their plastic use back home. “That’s what I try to do,” she says. “Make it personal.”

Ladda leads by building systems and partnerships. Nok focuses on empathy and experience. Both models reflect what the role can become when rooted in local context.

Systems vs storytelling: How they create change

In Bangkok, Ladda concentrates on internal systems. This includes staff training, audit preparation, and improving how the hotels manage food and solid waste. She is also working to integrate sustainability into everyday decisions rather than treat it as a one-off initiative.

Much of her early work was about building trust. She took time to learn how each team operated and where sustainability could make things easier, not harder. That patient approach paid off. After one training, staff began finishing their meals in the canteen, not because they were told to, but because the message had landed.

“These things take time,” she says. “But that’s how culture starts to shift.”

Nok spends much of her time in Phuket helping others see the relevance of environmental issues in their own lives. 

“It’s not that people don’t care,” she says. “It’s that they don’t always feel the issues are connected to them.” 

Nok listens first. If someone cares about their children, she talks about the future. If it’s about community, she speaks to health and livelihoods.

“We track everything: water, energy, waste, even bird species during nature walks,” Nok explains. For example, after reviewing purchasing records and waste data, she realised that single-use plastic had become less of a concern in guest-facing areas. As a result, she shifted focus toward reducing food waste.

Nok's sessions often combine real urgency with storytelling. One internal workshop was titled From Global Warming to Global Boiling. 

“At the end, I said: ‘เราจะตายกันหมด’, which means ‘We’re all going to die’,” she says. “The tone was maybe a little dark, but it worked!”

Several colleagues later told her the session had changed how they thought about their choices.

Common mistakes hotels still make

Ladda and Nok agree that sustainability is often misunderstood inside hotel operations. It’s still seen by many as something extra — a campaign or a certificate — rather than a lens for better decision-making.

“Sustainability shouldn’t be a checklist,” says Ladda. “It should shape how we make decisions, from purchasing to how we operate kitchens, maintain equipment, or run front-of-house. Most of the work happens out of sight, but that’s where the progress happens.”

She also highlights a common constraint: the lack of a dedicated budget. Even small allocations allow teams to test better options without worrying about the cost.

Nok has seen the same. She’s watched hotels lean into sustainability messaging because others are doing it, without putting the right systems behind the scenes. In some cases, the drive to appear sustainable can lead to superficial gestures with little long-term value. 

“It’s easy to reuse towels or put up signs,” she says. “The harder work is in operations such as sourcing differently, reducing impact and changing suppliers.”

For both, success depends on how well sustainability is embedded in the hotel’s operations.

Practical tips for hotel sustainability roles

✅ Hire for mindset, rather than credentials. People skills, curiosity and consistency matter most.

✅ Let the role move. Sustainability touches every department. It needs the flexibility to engage across them.

✅ Budget for better choices. Progress is difficult when every decision is judged on price alone.

✅ Start with small wins. Behavioural change is more likely when the first steps feel manageable.

✅ Make it personal. Change is easier when people see how it relates to their own lives.

Why local context is the key to sustainability success

Ladda and Nok work in different contexts, with different strengths. One brings guest-facing experience and an instinct for education. The other brings scientific training and operational structure. But both are shaping what sustainability looks like in practice.

They’re building trust, guiding teams, and pushing for progress one conversation at a time.

More hotels across Asia are now hiring for these roles. But titles don’t drive change. People do. And in many cases, it’s women like Nok and Ladda who are quietly redefining what leadership looks like in sustainable hospitality.

As more hotels invest in the role, the success of these roles comes down to clarity, support, and alignment with daily operations.

Sustainability doesn’t look the same everywhere. That’s what makes it work. The most effective approaches reflect the people driving them and the cultures they’re helping to shape.

Liam Barnes
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