10 Steps Hotels Can Take to Go Greener

1. Replace disposable plastic coffee pods and bleached paper filters.

How about reusable mesh filters and small packages of coffee in recyclable paper envelopes? Or take a cue from Portland, Oregon’s Heathman Hotel, which offers a French press in each room. Any of these three options reduces waste and cuts costs… a management no-brainer, if you ask me.

2. Replace disposable cups with ceramic or glass.

While we’re talking about coffee, can we get rid of the disposable cups… especially Styrofoam, which contains toxins and takes hundreds of years to break down? Your guests can drink their coffee in the room or fill up their travel mugs (bonus points if you sell reusable travel mugs on-site).

3. Turn room wastebaskets into trash sorters.

Improve recycling and the use of your staff’s time by turning each room’s wastebaskets into a simple sorting system. The Doubletree in San Juan, Puerto Rico does this. Each wooden wastebasket has two plastic bins nestled inside: one for regular trash, one for paper and plastic recyclables. Employees don’t have to sort trash from recyclables, and guests get visual confirmation that the hotel is taking an extra step in reducing its negative environmental impact.

4. Get rid of toiletries in little plastic bottles.

Matador contributor Teresa Ponikvar confessed that she loves hotel shampoos, conditioners, and lotions that come in little plastic bottles. So do I (and I have a whole collection of them).

But getting rid of these little plastic bottles and replacing them with refillable pumps that adhere to the side of the shower are much more environmentally friendly and cost efficient. Villa Sevilla in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico uses refillable pumps, and proprietor Marina Lawson says:

“Those small sample bottles of shampoo and conditioner are not only expensive but they generate much waste. Instead, we purchased wall dispensers for shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and hand soap. These are easily refilled and can be taken down to be cleaned. At the cost of $15 for each dispenser and about $0.06-$0.12 cents per ounce for the shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and soap, this won hands down over the cost of $0.75-$0.95 cents per one ounce unit of plastic bottled product with our logo. For guests on a week-long vacation, we calculated that we’re preventing at least 14 small plastic bottles from going into our landfills. We’re also lowering our operational costs, and we can pass those savings on to guests.”

5. Replace plastic laundry bags with cloth bags.

By now, I hope you’re cluing into the fact that going green also reduces hotel operators’ costs. Switch out those plastic bags guests use for laundry service and replace them with cloth bags, which the guest leaves in the room at the end of his or her stay, just like all the other linens.

6. Switch to a key card system that activates lights and air conditioning.

Last year, while working on a couple of city guide assignments for Gayot Guides, I stayed at five boutique hotels in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Oaxaca, Mexico.

In each hotel, I noticed that my room key controlled the lights, making it impossible for me to be irresponsible and leave the lights on when I went out. When the guest enters the room, he or she inserts the hard plastic room key into a wall unit that allows the lights and air conditioning to be controlled. When the key is removed, the lights and utilities are disabled.

According to Sylvie Laitre of Mexico Boutique Hotels, there’s an obvious reason besides environmentalism to switch to the key card system: electric bills are cut by as much as 40% in hotels where key cards are used.

7. Green your roof.

This step is a big one, no doubt… one that requires more planning, effort, upkeep, and up-front investment than the preceding tips. Yet it’s also one of the most visible ways to show your hotel’s commitment to the environment, and its long-term payoffs guarantee a respectable return on investment.

Among the benefits of green roofs: (1) longer lifespan of the roof; (2) cost savings on heating/cooling bills; (3) improves sound insulation; (4) improves aesthetics and–depending on design–creates attractive recreational/amenity space; (5) provides potential space for small-scale food production; and (6) contributes to decreasing overall temperature of urban spaces.

That roof you see in the photo above? That’s the green roof of Marriott’s Victoria, British Columbia property.

8. Build an on-site garden.

This is an especially smart step for hotels that also operate or host restaurants. On-site growing cuts sourcing costs and provides visual confirmation to guests that some of the food they’re enjoying is just about as local as it can get.

9. Implement a gray water recycling program.

Like the green roof and the garden, setting up a gray water recycling program is a step only the most committed hotels are likely to take, but Peter Kaiser, owner of Hacienda Los Laureles in Oaxaca, Mexico, offers persuasive evidence suggesting that the switch is worth the effort.

“We recycle approximately 90% of the water consumed per room (or 20.000.00 liters per day based on a full hotel)…, and recuperate 20,000.00 or more from our pool when cleaning,” Kaiser says. Not only does he feel better about the impact of his operations; he saves money, too.

Beyond gray water recycling, Kaiser also recommends installing energy-efficient light bulbs with a lifespan guarantee of one year or longer. In addition to being environmentally responsible, says Kaiser, “it saves me many complaints and work hours.”

Kaiser’s boutique hotel, which turns nine years old today, also has an excellent on-site restaurant, Los Cipreses, which composts egg shells, coffee grounds, fruits, and vegetables.

10. Encourage guests to enjoy environmentally friendly activities.

Provide bikes for loan or rental. Partner with local ecotourism companies to promote low impact activities that also expose guests to the local ecosystem. Include recommendations for local farmers’ markets and the like in your concierge’s list of recommended activities.

Community Connection:

Hoteliers: What other strategies do you recommend to your colleagues? Share your tips in the comments below and don’t be shy showing off the environmentally friendly steps you’ve taken to make your property greener!