With more and more Americans looking to go “green” when they travel, a number of Web sites have begun to offer eco-friendly travel options. In a partnership announced April 15, Orbitz—a leading online travel company—has aligned with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program to give travelers the option of choosing Energy Star labeled hotels when they book with Orbitz. As an Orbitz “micro-site” that was launched in April 2007, www.eco.orbitz.com provides eco-friendly options and guidance to help individuals make informed decisions and reduce their environmental footprint when traveling. Now, in addition to renting hybrid vehicles, purchasing carbon offsets,...

In a previous column (click here) I detailed how to make it known you’re “green” during your trade show experience. I covered the trade show booth, general marketing tips and effective ways to disseminate your information in a green way. You’ll next need to get the word out and create a buzz (more PR functions); these can be done through announcements, events, and so forth. Just make sure they are green. Prior to exhibiting at a trade show or consumer show, you need to get the word out about your company and the fact that it will be exhibiting green. If...

As any facility manager will tell you, energy costs have become a major budget concern for those in the lodging industry, and as energy prices continue to climb, the future doesn’t appear to offer much relief. And while energy-wise green building principles are quickly catching on for new construction, many managers are unaware of the basic opportunities for saving energy in their existing facilities. How does one go about finding such opportunities? Often, the solutions begin with an audit of your facility’s existing energy and water use. While such audits can come in many levels of detail, even a simple...

Businesses nationwide are feeling the pinch as energy prices continue to rise. As the price of energy increases, so does the cost of production, transportation, and commodities necessary to keep hotels up and running. The need to cut expenses and maximize each dollar is more important than ever. For many hotel property managers facing rising energy bills, energy costs have come to the forefront as a major budgeting issue. The current energy market makes large bills unavoidable to a degree, but what many facility managers don’t know is the volatility of the energy market is a huge factor in determining...

At $100 per barrel for crude or “black gold” as the “Beverly Hillbillies” sitcom suggested, we all wish we’d strike oil in our backyards. Before erecting your own rig, there are ways to minimize the impact that astronomical crude oil prices have on our budgets. Servicing HVAC equipment, adding insulation, purchasing energy-efficient lights and equipment are all laudable conservation measures. However, the greatest source of heat loss and gain is often overlooked—windows, the environmental and security Achilles’ heal of any building. A quality insulating window film retrofit will reduce the flow of energy in and out of windows and...

Hotels are going green (really)! And sustainability is the hot issue in the hotel industry. Although hotels have been the last real estate asset class to embrace sustainability, it looks like things are really changing. At the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS), trash recycling containers were a welcome sight, and the program featured a full panel on green hotels, a keynote, and lots of mentions about sustainability by many of the speakers. I thought some of the most interesting comments came from the Hotel Leaders Outlook panel. Here are a few of the gems from hotel industry leaders on the...

It’s that time of year again—time to exhibit at a trade show or consumer event, and it’s time to make it known that your hotel is green, or at least striving to be. It’s great that consumer and industry trade shows are now greening themselves. They (the shows) definitely make it known that they are green or environmentally friendly through their marketing, promotions, publicity and often advertising. And if you’re exhibiting there, it only makes sense that you make travelers aware of your eco-friendly facility. The question remains, just how do you accomplish this? Because there are so many...

America’s feelings about global warming and its threat to our planet clearly shifted dramatically in 2007. Once ignored by the masses, it has become a mainstream issue driving millions of consumers to find out how they can live a more eco-friendly existence. That momentum is the impetus behind a new wave of consumer marketing. From Wal-Mart’s goal of selling one million compact fluorescent light bulbs in a year to Home Depot’s new Eco Options line of products, the race for green market share is on. That trend has only continued in service industries like lodging and hospitality, where many...

In a previous column (click here), I detailed what you need to know to write an effective “green” press release. Once you have done that (really, an essential part of an effective public relations campaign), it’s time to make it come to life. It’s not “alive” until it gets picked up as a story in a media vehicle (publication, TV story, etc.). That is when the true fun begins. Here are some things to consider when pitching: 1. Once you determine your press contacts and bloggers, call these people and explain your story idea and why you believe they should...

Design elements cannot be overvalued in the hospitality industry. Carpet contributes to the signature impression, adding comfort to small spaces and human scale to imposing interiors. When specifying carpet for hospitality, there are three considerations to ensure sustainable selections—design and purpose; maintenance during useful life; and end-of-life options. Where do you start and what do you ask? Fortunately the carpet industry has removed the angst from the green certification process. Now a single standard identifies carpets that have a reduced environmental impact. The first multi-attribute American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved Standard—NSF 140-2007, Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard was introduced at...