ALBUQUERQUE—In keeping with its commitment of being one of the most eco-conscious hotels in the country, the historic Hotel Andaluz—formerly La Posada de Albuquerque in downtown Albuquerque—used a mere 300,000 gallons of water for the entire month of May this year. That compares with 1.2 million gallons of water that the La Posada used in May 2004 and 730,000 gallons in May 2005—the last two years it was open. Since Hotel Andaluz opened in October 2009, the hotel is consuming an average of 770,000 gallons of water less per month than its predecessor, the La Posada. In fact, when comparing...

BETHESDA, MD.—The Courtyard Charleston/Summerville in South Carolina will be the first hotel built using Marriott International’s green hotel prototype, in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). This will dramatically accelerate the company’s goal to have 300 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) hotels by 2015. Marriott is the first in the hospitality industry to launch a green hotel prototype that has been pre-approved by USGBC as part of its LEED Volume program, meaning that any Marriott hotel that follows these plans will earn basic LEED certification, or possibly higher, upon USGBC final approval. The new Courtyard hotel...

DALLAS—Motel 6’s newest property in Northlake, Texas, is the first economy hotel in the nation to attain LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the first hotel for parent company Accor to gain the distinction. “With the brand’s ‘Phoenix’ prototype, we are setting the pace for the future of Motel 6, which, in line with our values, must be as energy-efficient as possible,” said Olivier Poirot, CEO of Accor North America, Motel 6 and Studio 6. “LEED’s high environmental standards lend a great deal of credence to our efforts, and we...

HEALDSBURG, CALIF.—The July 4 holiday weekend turned out to be a good time to open for the new water-themed h2hotel in California’s Northern Sonoma Wine Country. The four-story, 36-room hotel sold out—a good sign for the owners of the $19 million property. A collaboration among David Baker + Partners, the architect responsible for the AIA design award-winning Hotel Healdsburg, Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture, and Marie Fisher and Jen Gadiel Interior Design, h2hotel is primed to earn a  LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Unique in many ways, h2hotel is located within 10 miles of 100 wineries and...

BOSTON—Spend some time chatting with Brian Gorski, director of engineering at the 498-room Hyatt Regency Boston and you will quickly understand how the all-electric hotel has been able to slice its annual power consumption by a whopping 42 percent—from 12.3 million kilowatt hours of usage per year to 7.1 million. The drop in energy consumption did not happen in just one year but over a time period of approximately 10 to 12 years when approximately $3 million was spent on improvements in infrastructure, equipment and other systems to improve energy efficiency. NStar, the Massachusetts-based, investor-owned electric and gas utility,...

SAN FRANCISCO—In partnership with Marshall’s Farm, cxecutive chef jW Foster of The Fairmont San Francisco has installed honey beehives in the hotel’s new culinary garden in order to help support the bee population, which has decreased in number by 90 percent since the 1980s. Beekeepers established four nascent beehives, each containing approximately 20,000 bees, in the culinary garden that is located outdoors on the hotel’s lobby level. When the beehives mature in four to eight weeks, they will each house up to 50,000 bees. The United States Department of Agriculture believes a virus is responsible for the collapse of honey...

NORMAN, OKLA.—Oklahoma’s largest hotel and conference center has become the first property to earn the highest sustainable travel certification offered by ECO—Encouraging Conservation in Oklahoma—the state’s premiere sustainable travel program. The National Center for Employee Development (NCED), located off State Highway 9 in Norman, earned the Platinum Travel Standard certification by meeting set criteria and implementing sustainability programs. Hardy Watkins, Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department executive director, said the NCED is a good sustainability practices model for all conference centers. “Since NCED is the largest conference facility in the state, its environmental impact is significant,” Watkins said. “By implementing sustainability programs...

WHITEFIELD, N.H.—Visitors to the Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa in New Hampshire’s White Mountains can’t miss the 121-foot wind turbine that stands like a tall white tree behind the 144-room hotel and adjacent to the on-property nine-hole golf course. The 100-kilowatt system has been up and running since late last September. According to Gene Ehlert, marketing manager for the resort and spa which sits on 1,700 acres, it is too soon to know exactly what percentage of the property’s electricity needs it will eventually meet, but he said the $500,000 turbine has been meeting about 15 percent of...

MARKHAM, ONT.—The Algonquin Eco-Lodge—located at the southern tip of Algonquin Provincial Park near Bancroft, Ontario—flipped the switch on a unique project that will use the natural power of water to provide electricity for the lodge. Nestled on the shore of picturesque Moffat Pond, about 2.5 kilometers from the lodge’s parking lot, the lodge boasts true tranquillity as guests hike in and regular vehicle traffic is nonexistent. However, this peacefulness comes at the cost of being off the power grid. With a desire to make the Algonquin Eco-Lodge more comfortable for guests, and to be true to the goal of being...

NEWPORT, ORE.—One of Oregon’s greenest inns—The Viking’s Greenstone Inn—is just days away from its May 21 opening. Located in Newport within steps of the Pacific Ocean, the 20-room inn features solar panels positioned on a recyclable metal roof, a waste water heat recovery system, a series of seven on-demand water heaters, a key card-based guestroom energy management system, and carpeting made from recycled materials. According to Brendan Carmody, who owns the inn along with Bonnie, his wife, there are plans to add a charging station for electric vehicles toward the end of this year. The owners also intend to...