Mixed Green Messages During Miami Hotel Press Tour

Last week I had an opportunity to tour the recently opened Hampton Inn & Suites Miami/Brickell-Downtown as part of a press tour. I wrote about the experience in my weekly column. I highly recommend visiting this property when you are in Miami. One of the things that struck me about the hotel is how well it is doing in getting its green messaging across to its guests in some areas but not so well in other areas. For example, as I was riding the elevator up to my floor, there was a large banner adhered to the interior of the elevator door that read "Be Cool, Carpool." I thought that was indeed cool. I know the hotel offers an optional towel/linen re-use program but I did not see any messaging about that in the guestroom. I mentioned it to the hotel owner and he was going to check on it.

The hotel had only been open a few weeks so it is understandable that something like that could have been missed but still this type of program is usually the most visible green program for guests. Also in the guestroom, but you had to look closely, was a tag on the bathroom shower curtain that said it had been made from 80 plastic water bottles. I thought that was great. Adjacent to the shower curtain was a dual flush toilet, however, that offered no visible signage to explain which buttton to push for liquid or which for liquid and solids. Maybe it is assumed today that travelers know the difference? In my travels I have seen dual flush toilets with instructions and some without.

Upon check-in, I was told there is a master switch just inside the guestroom that controls lighting and other outlets in the guestroom. That is fine but it would have still been nice to highlight that switch in the guestroom with something--perhaps some signage or a different color switch plate? The master switch was close to other switches so it could end up getting confusing for some. I admit that I had to play around with several switches before I knew which did what. Also in the guestroom, there was a waste container under the work station. The container was split into two with one half meant for trash and the other for recyclables. That was great but the words "trash" and "recyclables" were on the inside of the container, not on the outside. It was almost as if the hotel was ashamed of the fact that it was recycling. The general manager mentioned to me that they were going to address that.

I am not saying everything green about a hotel needs to be "in your face" but each green component should be thought about from a messaging standpoint and a practical guest usage standpoint. Admittedly, I am just being picky here with a really cool hotel. The hotel is doing good job telling its green story on its website. Be sure to check it out. I am curious to know how you convey green messages at your property. Be sure to leave your comments here.