Green Hotel Eco News

For an epicenter view of the USA's burgeoning "green hotel" movement, steer your hybrid rental car (or better yet, take rapid transit) to the Chinatown gate.

A block apart in this eco-conscious city, two high-profile boutique hotels are strutting their environmental bragging rights. Like an estimated two-thirds of U.S. hotels (up from about 10% a decade ago), the Orchard Garden Hotel and Kimpton's Hotel Triton ask travelers to conserve water and energy by not having linens and towels changed every day. Both hotels have installed low-flow toilets and showerheads, switched to non-toxic cleaning supplies, and print guest bills with soy-based ink on recycled paper.

But in other ways, the San Francisco competitors are taking divergent paths to the same goals — and their evolving efforts show how confusing and complex going green can be.

In bathrooms on the Triton's designated "eco floor," they're dispensed via refillable, wall-mounted containers rather than tiny plastic bottles destined for landfills. But elsewhere at the Triton, at 39 other Kimpton properties, and at the Orchard Garden (which opened in late 2006 and is one of only a few hotels built to meet the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council's stringent guidelines), amenities still come in individual bottles.

TODAY’S ECO WAKE-UP CALL: A recent survey this spring polled 1047 travelers that said they’re less likely to conserve water and electricity while away from home. Nearly 70% said they open a new mini-bottle of shampoo each time they shower at a hotel. 63% were more likely to leave the lights on at a hotel than at home. And three out of four think it’s important to have their hotel linens changed each day. (Source: USA Today, Starwood Hotels and Resorts survey).

In today’s show, America the Green talks with Yuan-Sing Chang, the creator of the world’s first LEED Gold Certified Hotel, making his hotel and spa the greenest in the U.S.

Resources
Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa the first LEED Gold Certified Hotel in the U.S.

U.S. Green Building Council a non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable building design and construction. Developers of the LEED building rating system.

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Last month, I pondered the inefficiency of a standard hotel room. Well, here’s an example of a supra-standard boutique hotel company that happens to be several shades greener, from their sustainable buildings, down to their organic shampoos and natural cleaning products. And they haven’t just jumped on the green bandwagon, they’ve been doing this since 1985.

Kimpton Hotels, based in San Francisco with over 40 three- and four-star boutique hotels around the US, has made a life-long committment to environmental responsibility. They’ve proven that operating with sustainable values won’t stop them from delivering a premium guest experience. In fact, polled hotel guests say they are loyal to Kimpton because they appreciate the sustainable ethic. A good portion of their clientele are business travelers whose companies have also adopted CSR strategies, and are committed to consuming products and services with the least impact.

You won’t hear about their green initiative on a flashy ad campaign, because Kimpton doesn’t advertise. What they save in the marketing department, they spend on programs for employees and enhancing guest experience, through programs like their EarthCare program.

Through this initiative, Kimpton provides in-room recycling, donates beverage bottled to local charities, prints with soy-based inks on recycled paper, offers organic snacks, gives guests the opportunity to re-use towels and linens, and serves only organic, shade grown and free trade coffees. These are things that any hotel could (and should) do at little or no additional cost, and Kimpton doesn’t stop there.

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The spiffy, new Cedar House Sport Hotel ($$$-$$$$) is geared toward active travelers who want a bit of style at night. Think high-end Ikea meets mod-Italian—platform beds with chrome and leather details, and feather-light high-thread-count duvets. Rooms are in several small, satellite buildings designed with a nod to green: nearly the whole place was constructed of recycled materials. Ask about outdoor-sports packages.

The GAIA Napa Valley, in American Canyon, Calif., and the Orchard Garden Hotel in San Francisco are among just five hotels in the world to be certified as meeting the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design code.

The LEED Green Building Rating System is a nationally recognized benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings, according to Ashley Katz, spokeswoman for the U.S. Green Buildings Council in Washington.

LEED certification means that third-party experts have verified that the building meets standards for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

The other LEED-certified hotels are the Inn & Conference Center Addition, a Marriott in Adelphi, Md., part of the University of Maryland University College; the Kandalama Hotel, in Damulla, Sri Lanka, owned by Aitken Spence Hotels Ltd., and the Vancouver Conference Center and Hotel, a Hilton in Vancouver, Wash.

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Electric car lovers willing to spend nearly $100,000 on the new Tesla Motors roadster will have some swanky places to plug it in.

Hyatt will install Tesla recharging stations at three hotels, stretching in an arc from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe. The two companies announced the agreement Wednesday at Hyatt's Fisherman's Wharf hotel, where a handful of surprised tourists watched Mayor Gavin Newsom take one of the gleaming, all-electric sports cars for a spin.

Granted, installing chargers at three hotels may not seem like much of a business alliance.

By placing rechargers at Hyatts at Fisherman's Wharf, Sacramento and Incline Village on Tahoe's North Shore, a Tesla owner could drive from San Francisco to the lake without fear of running out of juice. Tesla has already driven one of the roadsters from Tahoe back to the company's San Carlos headquarters without recharging, but that was downhill, said Diarmuid O'Connell, Tesla's director of corporate marketing.

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WASHINGTON (AP) Two hotels in California are the latest to meet the strict environmental standards set by the LEED Green Building Rating System.

The GAIA Napa Valley, in American Canyon, Calif., and the Orchard Garden Hotel in San Francisco are among just five hotels in the world to be certified as meeting the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design code.

The LEED Green Building Rating System is a nationally recognized benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings, according to Ashley Katz, spokeswoman for the U.S. Green Buildings Council in Washington.

LEED certification means that third-party experts have verified that the building meets standards for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

The other LEED-certified hotels are the Inn & Conference Center Addition, a Marriott in Adelphi, Md., part of the University of Maryland University College; the Kandalama Hotel, in Damulla, Sri Lanka, owned by Aitken Spence Hotels Ltd., and the Vancouver Conference Center and Hotel, a Hilton in Vancouver, Wash.

The Gaia Napa Valley was certified in June and the Orchard Garden was certified in May.

The Beverly Hilton is identified as green by the California Green Lodging Program. However, that program's guidelines are a very, very pale shade of green.

Put together to help California state employees travel green, the Cali Green Lodging Program awards one or two palm trees depending on a hotel's green commitment. The Hilton has one tree -- meaning it's at the "entry level for the program" and "might not have a written environmental policy in place." Basically, this hotel might become green one day -- Hilton Hotels are experimenting with a few eco-rooms in Chicago, after all -- but hasn't done much as of yet.

Still, the hotels on this list awarded 2 palm trees are likely greener options than other chain hotels. The lone hotel in the L.A.-area with this distinction: the New Otani Hotel & Garden.

Beyond that, the Cali Green Lodging Program's list seems rather out of date -- which explains why the Ambrose Hotel in Santa Monica -- which is very eco-friendly -- doesn't make the list.

But the Ambrose got a four-leaf award from the eco-guide Greenopia, and was named Certified Green Business by the City of Santa Monica. Both of Greenopia's and Santa Monica's criteria are much firmer than the Cali Green Lodging Program.

One other Santa Monica hotel also got the Certified Green Business distinction: Best Western Ocean View Hotel. A bit surprising, but apparently this hotel has made some real green changes, with "energy & water efficiency, environmentally conscious office purchasing, and use of less-toxic cleaning chemicals."

Lastly, a few hotels have earned the Energy Star label for using energy more efficiently than comparable businesses. Those are the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, the Renaissance Los Angeles Airport, and the Marriott Los Angeles Airport.

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