SAN FRANCISCO—Joie de Vivre’s Hotel Carlton in San Francisco won the 2009 Innovation award for its environmental efforts at the Sixth Annual Hotel Hero Awards in San Francisco. The award is given to the hotel or hotel company that uses the most innovative approaches to improve the customer experience in a San Francisco-based hotel.
Located in the urban heart of San Francisco, the 161-room Hotel Carlton is the first solar powered hotel in the city. In addition to installing solar panels last year, the property introduced new green practices and policies to further reduce its carbon footprint. The Green Business certified hotel installed large-format amenity dispensers, filtered water machines with in-room reusable glass pitchers and reinforced its guest recycling program with both in-room and public recycling bins. Communication and education materials placed throughout the hotel include a lobby solar energy production monitor and energy/water savings quick fact sheets. Hotel Carlton also introduced green meeting options allowing for turnkey, zero waste meetings at the hotel for clients.
“Winning the Innovation award is a great honor. The team at Hotel Carlton believes sustainability is a thoughtful effort of every individual to do what they can to leave Earth in a better place than it is currently,” said general manager Pamela Flank. “We want to share the importance of considering the Earth with our family, friends, guests, and coworkers. One day we will pass on the Earth to the next generation, and we want to give them the gift of a healthy and beautiful place to live.”
Hotel Hero Awards
Created to acknowledge the best and the brightest in the city’s hotel industry, the Hotel Hero Awards are presented by the Hotel Council of San Francisco, which represents more than 80 hotels in that city. There were 35 finalists selected from 180 nominees. Nine were awarded top honors. Categories for the nominations included: Beyond the Call of Duty, Community Spirit, Innovation, Lifetime Achievement, Rising Star, and Unsung Hero. Established six years ago by Chip Conley, Founder & CEO of Joie de Vivre, the Hotel Hero Awards were created to help acknowledge and celebrate the hotel industry and the employees whose efforts and commitment to it are so critical. The program promotes hospitality as a noble and worthwhile career by recognizing some of the industry’s top local performers while also celebrating the industry’s successes.
The Hotel Carlton offsets all carbon used in operations to make the establishment carbon neutral. It is a member of the Mayor’s Solar Founders Circle and is in the process of LEED-EB Gold Certification. For more information, visit www.jdvhotels.com/hotels/carlton.
