SAINT CHARLES, MO.—Ray Burger, president of Pineapple Hospitality, a company that markets and sells numerous green products and programs, has launched EcoRooms & EcoSuites. The online directory is a one part certification/one part marketing initiative for green hotels, resorts, inns, motels and B&Bs. The website is up and running with five properties: the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa, American Canyon, Calif.; Orchard Garden Hotel, San Francisco; The Ambrose Hotel, Santa Monica, Calif.; the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort, Lake Placid, N.Y.; and the Habitat Suites Hotel, Austin, Texas.
Burger and his board of advisors have set the bar high to be listed on the site. Properties must use the following: green cleaning products that include a long list of attributes; consumable paper products made from recycled fibers; amenity dispensers or individual products minimally packaged in recycled and/or recyclable materials; lighting that is energy efficient; and high-efficiency plumbing fixtures. EcoRooms & EcoSuites properties must also offer recycling and linen/towel reuse programs.
Site members pay a fee of $350 and must complete a downloadable application. There are no site inspections, although Burger says he has personally visited the five current member hotels. Pineapple will soon add a points-based option for eligible properties.
A Who’s Who in Green Hospitality
For Pineapple’s president, EcoRooms & EcoSuites is something he has wanted to do for more than 10 years. To help him build his venture, he has assembled a board of eight advisors. They include: Dierdre Wallace, president, The Ambrose Group; Natalie Marquis, general manager, Habitat Suites Hotel; Wen-I Chang, founder and president, Atman Hospitality Group; Stefan Muhle, general manager, Orchard Garden Hotel; Rauni Kew, marketing and green programs, Inn by the Sea; John R. Hendrie, principal, Hospitality Performance; and Stephen Tagliatela, innkeeper, Saybrook Point Inn & Spa.
“One of the purposes of the board is to create a group of mentors for those aiming to operate green hotels,” says, Burger, who adds that he is currently seeking additional board members from the mid-Atlantic and Southeast areas. “The board has a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience to draw from.”
“The green policies that we have put in place will be a standard soon—probably within five to 10 years,” Muhle says. “What we consider cutting edge now, everyone will be doing. We’ve already seen this in Europe. We are still just a little behind.”
Go to EcoRooms & EcoSuites.
Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
