Quote:
Originally Posted by LittleMissSunshine
Hi Everybody
My questions to you are as follows:
-Does it matter to you if your hotel is environmentally friendly or not?
-And if yes, would you be willing to pay higher room rates for this?
(as you probably know, green products are not the cheapest in the world)
-What would you expect from a 'green hotel'?
Thanks for your time!!!
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Response to Question 1.
Yes, to some extent it matters - if their operation involves the emission of copious quantities of black smoke from the kitchen, I would prefer if it is directed away from my room.
But seriously, since we spend our day-to-day lives doing so much positive things for the environment, when going on holiday, we would be entitled to a little "non-green" activity - I mean vacations are supposed to be fun and different from everyday life, not necessarily more of the same. If the hotel stay is a business trip, or just intransit (e.g., overnight until the next step on your journey), you would be staying in the hotel for a very short time (and possibly jet-lagged) and I doubt that the green-ness of the hotel would matter much. In such a circumstance, taking the "environmental friendliness" of the hotel into account would only cater for psychological needs of the traveller, on an individual basis it would make no practical difference.
Response to Question 2
Only if the higher prices are demonstrably related to something that makes a tangible difference to the environmental impacts of the hotel AND significantly improves the quality of the experience of staying there.
Response to Question 3
I would hope for sincerity and green-ness based in a practical reality, but I would expect the hotel to be offering little more than the typical corporate-style
PR-heavy "green-washing".
I suppose that this promotional "news" article gives an example of what we should expect from "green hotels"; it would almost definitely be based on marketplace research of what consumers expect (ASAP News – May 14th, 2008 by Jan Schauseil:
100% green hotel from IHG ).
QUOTE:
Plans have been unveiled by the InterContinental Group that it plans to erect what it calls the Innovation Hotel, an establishment that will be one hundred percent ecologically friendly. The latest announcement of a new project from the group comes along with pledges to reduce emissions in all its regular properties as well, as a cross-panel effort to become more eco-friendly as a company. The Innovation Hotel’s efforts will include the donation to food banks of all the kitchen’s unused non-perishable food items. The building’s power and heat will be largely provided by the hotel’s waste, and everything from the windows, fittings and the furniture will be constructed with recycled materials. IHG’s David Jerome said, ‘People who do their bit for the environment when they’re at home are likely to be interested in doing the same when they’re staying in a hotel. Responsible tourism is about growing in a way that makes sense for business while managing our impact on the environment and community.’