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BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biters stay at hotels with efficient toilets, faucets and showerheads, each night we'll save enough water to fill 11,263 whirlpool bathtubs.
COCKTAIL FACT
Guests staying at the Jules Undersea Lodge in Key Largo, FL must have scuba certification, since the entrance is located 21 ft under water.
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home › tip library › Green Hotels
Want a hotel room that won't disturb the earth?
The Bite
You're in luck. Four-star green hotels show that eco-friendly doesn't mean cockroach-friendly. You'll get efficient lighting and water fixtures, alternative fuel vehicles and recycling...everything but an organic mint on your pillow.The Benefits
- Planet goodness. The hospitality industry spends $3.7 billion per year on energy, and an average-sized hotel buys more products in a week than 100 families do in a year.
- Safer working conditions. Some hotels use green cleaning supplies that minimize workers' exposure to toxic chems.
- Charitable contributions. Some progressive hotels have habitat conservation programs and donate partially used soap and shampoo.
Personally Speaking
Biter team member Sara spent "the night of her life" at the eco-friendly Villa Florence in SF - we think it might have had something to do with the eco-friend who joined her...Wanna Try?
- Fairmont - uses efficient light bulbs and faucet fixtures, and all check-in computers are powered by wind. Get more green info here.
- Kimpton - U.S. chain (hotel names vary) that uses eco-cleaning supplies, efficient lighting and in-room recycling bins. Check out its eco-commitment here.
- Leading Hotels of the World Leading Green Initiative - carbon offset your lux hotel room's energy use when you book through this site.
- Saunders Hotel Group - family-owned hotel chain on the east coast, with three Boston hotels using eco-practices.
- Green Hotels Association - check out its member list of green hotels and services.
May 21,2007
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All editorial suggestions in this tip are the result of testing and a preference for the tip topic. No advertiser has paid to have its company referenced in the tip. For more information, please read our Editorial Policy.
Fabulous in Fluffy Robes
A few years back, there was a commercial (I think it's for auto insurance or something) where George Hamilton-ish guy talked about how he was a celebrity and everyone treated him
specially because of it.
The point of the commercial was that EVERYONE gets treated the same way - celebrity or not - by that company. (Sad for the company that I can't remember what it was - not the best branding...)
Well, that guy is me when I stay at hotels.
I LOVE hotels. Even when traveling on business, I still get to my room and look through all the bath products, check out the minibar, explore the in-demand movie options... Once you've done a ton of business traveling, you realize it's the same - night in, night out. But I always show up, put on the big fluffy robe and traipse around as though I own the place (or at least my little box within the place). I eat my pillow-chocolates and order the four-hundred-thousand-dollar oatmeal for breakfast.
And yes, for the past few years, I've actually hung up my towels and requested that housekeeping doesn't change out my sheets. Just because I'm fabulously famous (in my mind) and HAVE a maid (for a few minutes each morning) doesn't mean that I need to act like I do...
-Heather... off to do some birthday yoga...
Biter Comments...
Another thing I've taken to doing during hotel stays is actually using the "do not disturb" sign on my door. I leave it on all day, even when I'm out. I'm usually only staying for a few days, so I don't feel the need for someone to come in to do a thorough cleaning each day. I just make my own bed (sort of!) and head out. I figure that has to cut down on the amount of chemicals and energy used. If I don't do a thorough cleaning of my own home every day, I don't see why I need that kind of cleaning in a hotel room either.
Another way to find eco friendly places is to look thru the local food and sustainability networks. Generally, the B&B's, hotels or cabins that are serving local food, will also be practicing earth-friendly ways as well. Sometimes though, they can be more pricey. We just rented a cabin and shopped at a local farm market to stock the fridge for the weekend!
I stayed at the Orchard Garden Hotel in San Francisco that is a "green" hotel and it was awesome. It seemed brand new, modern, super clean, yummy breakfast, they had recycling in the room, glasses instead of plastic cups, great service, yummy room service, an ipod port in the room. Yeah!
https://reservations.synxis.com/LBE/rez.aspx?Hotel=15090&Chain=6017&Promo=SFCOM
Do any of these hotels have organic beds? Theres where they really need to invest! lifekind.com is where we just bought our new king sized bed last wk. it's awesome,and no toxic disgusting smells offgassing on my 2 yr old. and into the earths atmosphere.
Disclaimer - this post has nothing to do with today's bite. It's just here to say OMG Cricket is sooooooo cute and precious!! I just looked through the photo albums, and yeah, you're all hot -really! - but still, Cricket takes the prize for cutest of all :D
FYI: There is a new hotel being built in Jackson Hole Wyoming (Hotel Terra I think is the name) and it is being LEED Platinum certified. Good news for green building and development and the hotel industry. To be PLatinum certified there are strict guidelines that must be enforced including recycling building waste as well as using recycled building materials. Sweet.
Check out Gaia Napa Valley Hotel in American Canyon, CA.
www.gaianapavalleyhotel.com
I stayed here for the first few nights when I moved out to CA the other month, it tracks the carbon emittance, electricity and water usage...the rooms are beautiful and elegant, feels like you are at a spa....I highly recommend it.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT HEATHER - WE LOVE YOU AND KISSED THE MANATEES IN THE BAY FOR YOU TODAY!! Love, Quinn in FL.
Hotels, lovely places indeed. I consider them my natural habitat :D I don't know of any local hotels here that are eco-friendly, but I'm pleased to see that a lot of them have been putting up signs reminding people to conserve water and to reuse towels.
The Beehive in Rome is very eco friendly. I highly recommend it. Plus their on site cafe is vegetarian.
Staying at contentious accommodations and traveling with earth-friendly tour operators is one of the easiest things we can do to be more sustainable while traveling. Check out http://www.worldhotel-link.com. It's a booking site, like Expedia, but this site makes an effort of making the good guys stand out. Their focus is on the developing world where tourism has such a big impact on the lives of so many. I also travel a lot for business and I also like the comforts of nice hotels and it’s possible to find hotels that do something to have a positive impact on their destinations. My site Accommodation and Tours in Cape Town. Check out http://www.capetownhotel-link.com. I see a lot of you have made recommendations for eco-friendly places - please let us know if you come across any accommodations or tours in our WHL destinations that we've missed!
Just an update to my last comment - our new website is http://www.whl.travel. And my site has been updated to http://www.cape-town-hotels.travel. We've started another site for the Cape Winelands where all the guesthouses are locally owned and operated and very often eco-friendly in some really beautiful areas - think Napa and Sonoma but with less crowds and more authenticity! Check out the Cape Winelands (Franschhoek - my favorite, Paarl, Stellenbosch, Montague and Wellington): http://www.cape-winelands-travel.com.
I would love to stay at a Green Hotel. Look at the resorts in Dominican Republic that are wasting so much water in a country where the water is scarce... We have to be more aware of that and more responsible.
I've been traveling to SEAsia many times and always found that there're many green hotels in many of thier famous tourist spots. the concept of Ecotourism is now spreading through the region which is really good.
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Katherine | May 21, 2007 at 06:27 AM