PHOENIX—On Monday, May 4, Maui Prince Hotel Makena Resort, located in Makena, Hawaii, became the 500th lodging property to complete iStayGreen.org’s online self-audit. The property earned a 3 Green Eco-Leaf Rating. The eco-rating allows the public to know the specific environmental initiatives in place at a property, which enables the environmentally conscious traveler to make informed lodging decisions.
Properties complete the comprehensive online self-audit and earn a Green Eco-Leaf Rating ranging from 1 to 5 Green Eco-Leafs with 5 Green Eco-Leafs being the highest level attainable. Ratings are based on environmental initiatives in place at the property. Only nine properties have earned the coveted 5 Green Eco-Leaf Rating thus far; five in the United States and one in each of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, and Ecuador.
It appears that the majority of properties completing the self-audit fall in the middle of the rating scale. The Green Eco-Leaf Ratings break down as follows: 9 percent 4 Eco-Leafs, 29 percent 3 Eco-Leafs, 39 percent 2 Eco-Leafs, and 23 percent 1 Eco-Leaf. While iStayGreen.org’s highest percentage of “green” lodging is located in the United States, more than 18 percent of the audited properties are located outside the country.
Site Traffic On the Rise
“iStayGreen.org has grown from a few hundred visitors daily in the fall of last year when we had our soft launch, to several thousand visitors daily searching for green lodging,” says Richard Varner, founder of iStayGreen.org. “We’re experiencing exponential growth in the self-audit program as well, with five to 10 new properties earning the Green Eco-Leaf Rating daily.”
In April, 119 hotels completed the online environmental self-audit and earned the Green Eco-Leaf Rating. Based on what is in the pipeline, it is anticipated that more than 1,000 properties will have received their rating by the middle of summer.
The lodging industry recognizes the need to create a sustainable future for travel. Properties completing the self-audit and earning the Green Eco-Leaf Rating range from high rise metropolitan hotels to eco lodges, and from luxury resorts to family run bed and breakfasts.
Go to iStayGreen.org.
