A resource for travelers interested in green hotels
http://www.environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com/
Environmentally friendly hotels, or green hotels, are lodging properties which take one or more environmental actions. This website has selected not only some green issues that you can easily see and experience during your visit, but also some issues that are less visible, like being active in and responsible to the community... (more)
As there is often a lot of confusion with the terminology involved, we have worked with the author to come up with the following definitions to help all students. Addressing hotels' environmental impact is obviously very important.
Allergies: People are increasingly chemically sensitive, as well as having more allergies and reactions to airborne particles that reside in bedding, carpets, and curtains. Pets can be a concern to many travelers too.
Alternative Energy: Adopt renewable energy sources, such as biomass, small hydro, solar, wind, geothermal, tidal energy and photo-voltaic conversion systems, because are more environmentally friendly than fossil fuels. They also allow for more stable electric supply for operations and guests.
Bulk Soap and Amenities: Providing guestroom amenities like shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and soap from a bulk dispenser rather than in individual packages reduces waste and reliance on petrochemicals. Guests have the opportunity to enjoy higher quality amenities for a lower cost to you. This approach saves time and money for the lodging property.
Composting: What a great way for a hotel to decrease its need for waste disposal. Composting is biological decomposition of solid organic materials by bacteria, fungi, and other organisms into a soil-like product that can be used to enrich garden soils. This enrichment not only nourishes the soil but also helps increase moisture retention and thus decrease the need for additional watering.
Cotton Towels and Linens: Providing natural fiber sheets and towels for your guests lightens your step on the planet and pampers your guests. Bamboo, cotton, soy and other natural fiber products don't add VOCs to the air, thus helping air quality in guestrooms where they are used. Sheets and towels that are a blend of cotton and synthetic fabrics aren't environmentally friendly (or as comfortable much of the time) because of their reliance on petrochemicals. Organic cotton is even better than regular cotton because of its not relying on petrochemical fertilizers.
Donating to Charity: One often overlooked aspect of being sustainable, or green -- and a great part of recycling -- is donating to charity. What do hotels do with sheets, towels, table linens, furniture, carpeting, window coverings, appliances, bedspreads, etc that aren't usable or useful to the property any longer? Selling or donating them to others is a great way to have the goods reused and keep the items out of the landfill. Food scraps can be donated to farmers while buffet leftovers can be given to shelters or farmers. What can't be given away can be composted.
Durable Service Items: Remove disposables from the dining room and food service as much as possible. Dishes, cups, glasses, mugs, tableware, and serving pieces that are long-lasting, not disposable, are truly a greener way of approaching operations. And it looks nicer too.
Eco-friendly Food Served: Locally grown food is a better choice. It's better for the environment and it tastes better too. Offering food that's been grown in a manner sensitive to its natural habitat for preserving wildlife and other plants, organically grown and raised, or local and thus freshly "harvested" makes more sense, though it often requires rethinking our eating habits.
Educate Guests About "Green": An important, and often overlooked, aspect of being a green hotel is teaching people looking at their website, and guests staying at their property about the green actions that have been taken. The why of those actions is an important part of the education, as well as encouraging others to take green actions above and beyond what the hotel has done.
Educate Staff About "Green": For your green program to work you have to teaching your employees about the green actions the property takes, why those actions are important, why the staff needs to support the program, as well as encouraging staff to take their own green actions. Better yet, get employees involved in coming up with ideas and helping overcome challenges in being green.
Energy Conservation: Reducing the amount of energy used, for example, through the use of energy efficient lighting and appliances, turning off lights and appliances when not in use and using insulation and weather stripping is a vital step in being green and sustainable. This is energy efficiency too. It is possible to dramatically reduce energy consumption for powering our homes and buildings (and cars) without major sacrifices. Lessen your dependency on fossil fuels and non-renewable resources, and reduce the costs connected with excessive energy use.
Environmental Cleaning: Approaching housekeeping and laundry from the perspective of not using harsh or harmful-to-people chemicals or cleaning styles greens your hotel. Many environmental cleaning products are also easier for chemically sensitive guests to tolerate. Not using perfumed or scented laundry supplies, carpet cleaners, cleaning supplies, or air fresheners is part of environmental cleaning.
Fresh Air: Guestrooms that either have windows and patio doors that open do their guests and employees a big service. Filters and a fresh-air exchange system within the hotel contribute to fresh air too. Fresh air, even in most cities, is healthier than the musty, stale air of closed-up rooms.
Gray Water Recycling: Wastewater from wash water in the kitchen, bathrooms sinks and showers/tubs, laundry sinks and tubs, and washing machines (clothes and dish) where only non-polluting, biodegradable soaps are used is known as gray water. Gray water is disallowed by many municipalities, but education will help bring it into more common use at properties with gardens. Recycling this water is done via using it to flush toilets as well as, water gardens and landscaping. As it filters through the soil on its way to ground and subterranean water sources it is cleaned even further. Using it on the gardens and landscaping reduces the amount of fresh water needed for that purpose.
Guestroom Recycle Bins: Recycling containers placed in guestrooms so they can put their recyclable items there, rather than in the trash, is a great way to educate guests and ease housekeeping's work load. Putting a bin in the room specifically for recycling helps remind guests they can be green on the road, not just at home.
Hotel Recycle Bins: Making it possible for guests and staff to recycle is another easy green action hotels can take. Containers placed around the property make it easy for people to recycle items, rather than throwing them in the trash.
Maintenance for Conservation: Maintenance is a good business policy anyway, but when it's also reducing resource use it's saving money and the planet. Replace old, wasteful fixtures (light bulbs, toilets, shower heads and faucets that allow more than 2 gallons/minutes through) and appliances (like washers and driers, fridge and freezer, HVAC, ice machines, and computers) as they break or wear out, with new efficient fixtures and appliances.
Newspaper Program: Newspapers are a huge waste of resources when they are provided to every occupied guestroom. They should be available to guests, if your clientele wants them, without giving them to everyone.
Non-Smoking Rooms: At least some guestrooms need to be smoke free. Smoke free rooms help people with allergies and chemical sensitives. Some hotels have either entire floors that are non-smoking or are completely smoke free.
Organic Food Served: Organic food has been grown without the the use of fertilizers or pesticides. Organic plants are healthier when their nourishment comes from soils enriched with compost. Pest control happens when plants are grown organically, with companion planting techniques, and via natural pest controls through beneficial insects.
Participate in Green Programs: There are lots of green and sustainable programs available for hotels. Properties that are involved in such programs deserve recognition. We hope such participation is an indication of some green action and effort.
Promote "green" in Their PR: An important aspect of being a green or sustainable hotel is telling the world about your green actions and philosophy. Some acknowledgement of a green program is an important step.
Recyclable Disposables: Styrofoam-like products not only rely on petrochemicals but also last "forever" in landfills, and aren't truly recyclable. Most plastic products also don't degrade in landfills and consume precious non-renewable resources in their manufacture. There are recyclable and compostable products we encourage the use of instead.
Sheet Re-use Program: Not washing sheets daily provides a huge water savings, as well as energy, chemicals and manpower, not to mention the wear-and-tear on the sheets themselves. There are different names for this program, but it's an important one to adopt no matter what you call it. Hotels take different approaches to this program, but as long as they make it available to their guests they are making a difference. It's vital to train housekeeping to comply with the hotel's "rule" so guests value its green policies.
Towel Re-use Program: Washing towels when guests request fresh towels has the same sort of savings the sheet re-use program does. Again, make sure housekeeping staff complies with guest requests to keep their towels.
Water Conservation: Reducing water usage around the hotel is a great practice to incorporate. Water use reduction methods include capturing water for use through water storage or conservation projects; using low-flow toilets, shower heads, and faucets; washing sheets and towels less frequently during a guest's stay; xeric landscaping with native plants and those that don't require much additional water during the year; and gray water recycling systems.
Xeric Landscaping: This doesn't mean "zero landscaping" or the use of gravel indiscriminately. Xeriscape is a coined word derived from the Greek 'Xeros', meaning dry. Water conservation as the major objective. Plants native to the region are often incorporated. A xeric garden is a sustainable, an attractive landscape based on sound horticultural practices that conserves water.
Source:
http://www.environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com/
Environmentally friendly hotels, or green hotels, are lodging properties which take one or more environmental actions. This website has selected not only some green issues that you can easily see and experience during your visit, but also some issues that are less visible, like being active in and responsible to the community... (more)As there is often a lot of confusion with the terminology involved, we have worked with the author to come up with the following definitions to help all students. Addressing hotels' environmental impact is obviously very important.
Allergies: People are increasingly chemically sensitive, as well as having more allergies and reactions to airborne particles that reside in bedding, carpets, and curtains. Pets can be a concern to many travelers too.
Alternative Energy: Adopt renewable energy sources, such as biomass, small hydro, solar, wind, geothermal, tidal energy and photo-voltaic conversion systems, because are more environmentally friendly than fossil fuels. They also allow for more stable electric supply for operations and guests.
Bulk Soap and Amenities: Providing guestroom amenities like shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and soap from a bulk dispenser rather than in individual packages reduces waste and reliance on petrochemicals. Guests have the opportunity to enjoy higher quality amenities for a lower cost to you. This approach saves time and money for the lodging property.
Composting: What a great way for a hotel to decrease its need for waste disposal. Composting is biological decomposition of solid organic materials by bacteria, fungi, and other organisms into a soil-like product that can be used to enrich garden soils. This enrichment not only nourishes the soil but also helps increase moisture retention and thus decrease the need for additional watering.
Cotton Towels and Linens: Providing natural fiber sheets and towels for your guests lightens your step on the planet and pampers your guests. Bamboo, cotton, soy and other natural fiber products don't add VOCs to the air, thus helping air quality in guestrooms where they are used. Sheets and towels that are a blend of cotton and synthetic fabrics aren't environmentally friendly (or as comfortable much of the time) because of their reliance on petrochemicals. Organic cotton is even better than regular cotton because of its not relying on petrochemical fertilizers.
Donating to Charity: One often overlooked aspect of being sustainable, or green -- and a great part of recycling -- is donating to charity. What do hotels do with sheets, towels, table linens, furniture, carpeting, window coverings, appliances, bedspreads, etc that aren't usable or useful to the property any longer? Selling or donating them to others is a great way to have the goods reused and keep the items out of the landfill. Food scraps can be donated to farmers while buffet leftovers can be given to shelters or farmers. What can't be given away can be composted.
Durable Service Items: Remove disposables from the dining room and food service as much as possible. Dishes, cups, glasses, mugs, tableware, and serving pieces that are long-lasting, not disposable, are truly a greener way of approaching operations. And it looks nicer too.
Eco-friendly Food Served: Locally grown food is a better choice. It's better for the environment and it tastes better too. Offering food that's been grown in a manner sensitive to its natural habitat for preserving wildlife and other plants, organically grown and raised, or local and thus freshly "harvested" makes more sense, though it often requires rethinking our eating habits.
Educate Guests About "Green": An important, and often overlooked, aspect of being a green hotel is teaching people looking at their website, and guests staying at their property about the green actions that have been taken. The why of those actions is an important part of the education, as well as encouraging others to take green actions above and beyond what the hotel has done.
Educate Staff About "Green": For your green program to work you have to teaching your employees about the green actions the property takes, why those actions are important, why the staff needs to support the program, as well as encouraging staff to take their own green actions. Better yet, get employees involved in coming up with ideas and helping overcome challenges in being green.
Energy Conservation: Reducing the amount of energy used, for example, through the use of energy efficient lighting and appliances, turning off lights and appliances when not in use and using insulation and weather stripping is a vital step in being green and sustainable. This is energy efficiency too. It is possible to dramatically reduce energy consumption for powering our homes and buildings (and cars) without major sacrifices. Lessen your dependency on fossil fuels and non-renewable resources, and reduce the costs connected with excessive energy use.
Environmental Cleaning: Approaching housekeeping and laundry from the perspective of not using harsh or harmful-to-people chemicals or cleaning styles greens your hotel. Many environmental cleaning products are also easier for chemically sensitive guests to tolerate. Not using perfumed or scented laundry supplies, carpet cleaners, cleaning supplies, or air fresheners is part of environmental cleaning.
Fresh Air: Guestrooms that either have windows and patio doors that open do their guests and employees a big service. Filters and a fresh-air exchange system within the hotel contribute to fresh air too. Fresh air, even in most cities, is healthier than the musty, stale air of closed-up rooms.
Gray Water Recycling: Wastewater from wash water in the kitchen, bathrooms sinks and showers/tubs, laundry sinks and tubs, and washing machines (clothes and dish) where only non-polluting, biodegradable soaps are used is known as gray water. Gray water is disallowed by many municipalities, but education will help bring it into more common use at properties with gardens. Recycling this water is done via using it to flush toilets as well as, water gardens and landscaping. As it filters through the soil on its way to ground and subterranean water sources it is cleaned even further. Using it on the gardens and landscaping reduces the amount of fresh water needed for that purpose.
Guestroom Recycle Bins: Recycling containers placed in guestrooms so they can put their recyclable items there, rather than in the trash, is a great way to educate guests and ease housekeeping's work load. Putting a bin in the room specifically for recycling helps remind guests they can be green on the road, not just at home.
Hotel Recycle Bins: Making it possible for guests and staff to recycle is another easy green action hotels can take. Containers placed around the property make it easy for people to recycle items, rather than throwing them in the trash.
Maintenance for Conservation: Maintenance is a good business policy anyway, but when it's also reducing resource use it's saving money and the planet. Replace old, wasteful fixtures (light bulbs, toilets, shower heads and faucets that allow more than 2 gallons/minutes through) and appliances (like washers and driers, fridge and freezer, HVAC, ice machines, and computers) as they break or wear out, with new efficient fixtures and appliances.
Newspaper Program: Newspapers are a huge waste of resources when they are provided to every occupied guestroom. They should be available to guests, if your clientele wants them, without giving them to everyone.
Non-Smoking Rooms: At least some guestrooms need to be smoke free. Smoke free rooms help people with allergies and chemical sensitives. Some hotels have either entire floors that are non-smoking or are completely smoke free.
Organic Food Served: Organic food has been grown without the the use of fertilizers or pesticides. Organic plants are healthier when their nourishment comes from soils enriched with compost. Pest control happens when plants are grown organically, with companion planting techniques, and via natural pest controls through beneficial insects.
Participate in Green Programs: There are lots of green and sustainable programs available for hotels. Properties that are involved in such programs deserve recognition. We hope such participation is an indication of some green action and effort.
Promote "green" in Their PR: An important aspect of being a green or sustainable hotel is telling the world about your green actions and philosophy. Some acknowledgement of a green program is an important step.
Recyclable Disposables: Styrofoam-like products not only rely on petrochemicals but also last "forever" in landfills, and aren't truly recyclable. Most plastic products also don't degrade in landfills and consume precious non-renewable resources in their manufacture. There are recyclable and compostable products we encourage the use of instead.
Sheet Re-use Program: Not washing sheets daily provides a huge water savings, as well as energy, chemicals and manpower, not to mention the wear-and-tear on the sheets themselves. There are different names for this program, but it's an important one to adopt no matter what you call it. Hotels take different approaches to this program, but as long as they make it available to their guests they are making a difference. It's vital to train housekeeping to comply with the hotel's "rule" so guests value its green policies.
Towel Re-use Program: Washing towels when guests request fresh towels has the same sort of savings the sheet re-use program does. Again, make sure housekeeping staff complies with guest requests to keep their towels.
Water Conservation: Reducing water usage around the hotel is a great practice to incorporate. Water use reduction methods include capturing water for use through water storage or conservation projects; using low-flow toilets, shower heads, and faucets; washing sheets and towels less frequently during a guest's stay; xeric landscaping with native plants and those that don't require much additional water during the year; and gray water recycling systems.
Xeric Landscaping: This doesn't mean "zero landscaping" or the use of gravel indiscriminately. Xeriscape is a coined word derived from the Greek 'Xeros', meaning dry. Water conservation as the major objective. Plants native to the region are often incorporated. A xeric garden is a sustainable, an attractive landscape based on sound horticultural practices that conserves water.
Partial Press Quotes:
"Several other accrediting agencies and third-party Web sites exist; [our expert's] favorite is environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com."--Newsweek
"Environmentally Friendly Hotels (www.environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com) contains links to more than 2,300 hotels worldwide, mostly in the United States and the tropics. The mix of environmental practices among properties ranges widely."--Washington Post
"Websites such as www.environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com and forums ... which list a number of green places to stay in the UK, are also a useful research tool."--Scotsman
"Best Green Hotels (environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com) is one starting point. The group maintains a worldwide list of hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, resorts, lodges and inns that are committed to the environment. Their ratings include a breakdown of the factors they are based on and user reviews." --Canvas
"www.EnvironmentallyFriendlyHotels.com now makes it possible for us to rate and read about our favorite places hotels, motels, inns, lodges, bed and breakfast residences and resorts. Such info's good to know before we go."--Natural Awakenings
"Many hotels worldwide are adopting green policies, but they may be hard to locate and identify. Use Google to link to www.environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com and other membership-based Web sites, or Quikbook.com and reservations sites with green listings. You can also stick with notably environmentally friendly chains, such as Kimpton Hotels." --ArcaMax
"environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com Search for green hotels worldwide on this online database. Hotels that recycle, conserve power and water and use alternative energy, all-cotton towels and non-disposable service items rank high on the list."Seattle.Pi
"You might also want to swing by-- Environmentally Friendly Hotels, a site that rates the green-ness of a hotel based on user submitted information."--Green Options
"Several other accrediting agencies and third-party Web sites exist; [our expert's] favorite is environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com."--Newsweek
"Environmentally Friendly Hotels (www.environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com) contains links to more than 2,300 hotels worldwide, mostly in the United States and the tropics. The mix of environmental practices among properties ranges widely."--Washington Post
"Websites such as www.environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com and forums ... which list a number of green places to stay in the UK, are also a useful research tool."--Scotsman
"Best Green Hotels (environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com) is one starting point. The group maintains a worldwide list of hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, resorts, lodges and inns that are committed to the environment. Their ratings include a breakdown of the factors they are based on and user reviews." --Canvas
"www.EnvironmentallyFriendlyHotels.com now makes it possible for us to rate and read about our favorite places hotels, motels, inns, lodges, bed and breakfast residences and resorts. Such info's good to know before we go."--Natural Awakenings
"Many hotels worldwide are adopting green policies, but they may be hard to locate and identify. Use Google to link to www.environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com and other membership-based Web sites, or Quikbook.com and reservations sites with green listings. You can also stick with notably environmentally friendly chains, such as Kimpton Hotels." --ArcaMax
"environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com Search for green hotels worldwide on this online database. Hotels that recycle, conserve power and water and use alternative energy, all-cotton towels and non-disposable service items rank high on the list."Seattle.Pi
"You might also want to swing by-- Environmentally Friendly Hotels, a site that rates the green-ness of a hotel based on user submitted information."--Green Options
Source:
http://www.environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com/
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