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From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine
Green Hotels Charge Mother Earth Less for Your Stay
Many hotels now ask guests to re-use towels and not request new sheets every day to save water and energy. What other eco-friendly trends, if any, are taking place in the hospitality industry?
Asking guests to re-use towels and keep their sheets for more than one night are just a few of the ways the lodging industry has been greening up operations. According to the Green Hotels Association, a trade group of hotels, motels and inns across the U.S. that is committed to sustainable business practices, thousands of member establishments share common goals of saving water, energy and other resources — while saving money — to help protect the planet.
Travelers don’t seem to mind. Such minor concessions as saving towels and sheets are garnering some 70 percent participation among guests, according to the association, and in the process are saving lodging establishments as much as five percent on utility bills.
Other examples of green-friendly hospitality strategies abound. Shower wall-mounted body washes (ubiquitous in Europe) are replacing those tiny, individual soap bars and disposable shampoo and conditioner bottles. Room lights are being retrofitted with energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs. Some establishments are installing occupancy sensors so that lights go on and off automatically when guests enter or leave their rooms. Still others are providing cloth laundry bags made from retired sheets and installing low-flush toilets to save water.
Hotel restaurants and banquet facilities are also getting in on the act, serving water upon request only, shunning disposable paper and plastic in favor of reusable pitchers and pourers for cream and sugar. Some are also using coins or chips for car parking and coat checking instead of paper tickets. Outdoors, solar energy is powering signs and, in tropical areas, heating water. And mowed landscaping is being replaced by plantings and other ground cover to reduce lawnmower use and its inherent air and noise pollution.
Green Seal, a nonprofit organization that promotes the use of environmentally friendly products and practices throughout the business world, began working with the lodging industry a decade ago. They work to educate the 54,000 U.S. hotels and motels about the economic benefits of environmental choices and publish Greening Your Property, a comprehensive guide to green purchasing and operations for the hospitality industry. The guide helps hoteliers find environmentally friendly options for nearly everything they buy. Additionally, Green Seal’s hotel certification program helps tourists, meeting planners and business travelers identify environmentally responsible lodging options.
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