HORSHAM, PA.—Green Key Global, the exclusive provider of the Green Key Eco-Rating Program (“Green Key”) in the United States, will be exhibiting at the 2009 International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show (IH/M&RS) in New York City from November 8 to 10. Green Key is among the first programs of its kind to rank, certify and inspect hotels and resorts based on their commitment to sustainable “green” practices. The show is being held at the Javits Center; Green Key will be exhibiting at Booth No. 2578.
Those attending the show can visit Green Key to:
• Learn more about the Green Key program and how participating properties are able to adopt sustainable green operational practices and benefit financially from increased bookings and reduced operating costs.
• Reduce their personal environmental footprint; for each visitor to the Green Key booth, Green Key will purchase TerraPass carbon offsets to cover a portion of the emissions from their travel to New York for the show.
• Save on Green Key membership; visitors can stop by the booth for a special IH/M&RS discount code for Green Lodging News readers for either a group of hotels or individual property.
• Grow wildflowers. Pick up a Green Key business card and enter the information in a PDA; when returning home, plant the card, water and wildflowers will grow.
The Green Key evaluation is a comprehensive 140-question audit that is self-administered by the staff at the participating property. Upon completion, the answers are tabulated and the property is awarded a ranking of 1 to 5 Keys and a corresponding display plaque. The property also receives a comprehensive report that includes recommendations, best practices and potential areas for improvement and savings. Unlike other programs of this nature, Green Key is focused entirely on hotel operations and includes random, on-site verification of audit results, mitigating the risk of score inflation. There are currently more than 1,200 Green Key rated properties in the United States and Canada; all are listed at www.greenkeyglobal.com.
“The Green Key Eco-Rating Program is the only one of its kind that addresses the specific needs of hotel operators,” said Arthur Hall Adams, a LEED Accredited Professional and CEO of the environmental architecture and design firm AHAdams & Company. “This program is sound environmentally and fiscally and is an exciting addition to the ‘green’ movement.”
