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The rise of green hotels
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How many ways can a hotel go green? At least 140, a hotel group in Boston found out.
The Saunders Group, which own three hotels in Boston, is at the forefront of an environmental movement within the hotel industry in the United States.
At the Boston Park Plaza, a 977-room hotel owned by the group, some 140 changes have been implemented to make the hotel more environments friendly.
For example, guests are given the option of not changing their towels daily. The hotel also disposed of the usual disposables -- shampoo, hair conditioners and other toiletries. These were replaced with permanent, on the wall dispensers.
By doing so, the hotel saved more than 2 million disposable bottles a year. At US 17 cents per bottle, that amounts to annual saving of US$340,000. With the money saved, the hotel could afford to give its guests higher quality toiletries made from natural ingredients.
Other changes include using ultrasound- -- nstead of chemicals -- to clean chandeliers; donating surplus or damaged linens, blankets, foods and furniture; recycling the hotel’s 2,400 telephone books; and shredding office papers and using them for packing.
Non-toxic and biodegradable cleaners are used in rooms. And by installing low-flow shower heads and toilets, the hotel managed to save 16.5 millions gallons of water, plus 29,000 gallons of water-heating fuel, annually.
The green hotel initiatives seem to be paying off. Boston Park is already getting extra bookings from groups which are concerned about the environment. Other hotel groups in the US are also trying to be more green, reports New Age Journal. (1994)
Some only make cosmetic changes, like printing their dining room menus on recycled paper. But others go further. The Inter-continental chain has produced a 200-page environmental manual for all its hotels, covering such areas as waste management and indoor air quality.
Green hotel rooms
The Marriot chain has joined the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Light Program to reduce emissions of green house gases by upgrading its lighting system.
A few hotels in the Holiday Inn, Ramada and Marriot chains are also offering “green rooms” where guest get filtered air and water -- for $5 to $15 extra.
And guests are willing to pay more. A 1992 travel association survey revealed that, on average, consumers are willing to pay 8 percent more to use an environmentally conscious travel service, including green hotels.