Do you care if your hotel is green or not?!

[LittleMissSunshine]

Hi Everybody

As I wrote in one of the other threads, I'm currently in the middle of writing a big assignment on 'Green Hotels'.

Therefore I have a few questions that I'd love if you would take your time to answer.. every answer will be much appreciated!

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!!!

[forfismum]

couldn't give a monkies once the beer is cold

[Claire]

The last issue of BBC Radio 4's costing the earth series (see BBC - Radio 4 - Costing The Earth 03/08/2006 ) was dedicated to tourism and found that a package deal to Benidorm was environmentally better than many ecotourism packages, although they also said that of course it's better to stay more local (e.g. in britain if you're british). You can listen again at the link above, but only tomorrow (wednesday) and maybe thursday I think. I don't always find their arguments stand up too well but this program was quite good.

Regarding hotels it is nice if they're environmentally friendly but at the moment for me price is a big factor. I suspect that it makes more of a difference if you don't adopt environmentally friendly behaviours yourself as a matter of course though - e.g. it doesn't matter to me if my hotel key card turns the lights out in the room when I leave because I'm likely to have done it anyway.

Off the top of my head I'd like to see water saving devices in the bathroom, the option not to get towels washed every day, energy efficiency, double glazing and adequate natural ventilation....

[spadlet]

I think it's important that peple understand how stuff works in their hotel room, if something like natural ventilation is used which may have controls that people ae not used to (Not that I get confused in normal hotel rooms or anything).

I tend to stay in Youth Hostels because they have been cheaper and met all of my needs to date. I'm not sure how the average Youth Hostel rates with ecohotels but the Association did publicise the installation of eco improvements in some of their properties a few years ago (when i last read some of their literature).

Eco features do not neccessarily have to increase the running costs of a hotel.

[Karl]

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!!!

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.’

[macgardener]

-Does it matter to you if your hotel is environmentally friendly or not?

It hasn't been a deciding factor so far as we don't travel much and choosing environmentally friendly hotels would be very limiting at the moment. I have taken favourable note of places where we have stayed that have made genuine efforts to be environmentally friendly. Little plastic thingies that say "please help us to save water by leaving this sign out if you do not wish to have your towels and linen changed" which the staff then ignore, that doesn't count.

-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)

Yes, as long as I was actually paying for something, not just paying more because they feel they can charge more.

-What would you expect from a 'green hotel'?

That would depend on a number of things including location and whether the hotel was purpose built or retro-fitted. Claire's list is a good start. I would add that I like showers that aren't too awkward. A lot of water can be wasted while you adjust the temperature and reach for the shampoo and wrestle with the shower curtain etc.

[forfismum]

OK Mac,you do temp and soap and I will do the wrestling,green and fun

[UrbanFarmboy]

This is all about marketing. If they really cared they would do it because its the right thing to do. Not because they can make more money off people by playing on their emotions and charging a percentage more.

[Mollyh]

-Does it matter to you if your hotel is environmentally friendly or not?

It matters, but it is not normally my number one deciding factor (price and location being more important). That said, if price and location are comparable, I would go for the green one.

-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)

Not substantially higher rates, because to me that would imply eco-luxe. Green to me is more than 100% organic Egyptian cotton sheets and 100% organic shampoos -- these are the kinds of things I see when a hotel touts itself as green AND has a premium rate.

There are dozens of green things that a hotel can do to save itself money in the long run: excellent insulation, automatic shutoff of lights when the customer leaves the room, systems that save water are just a few, and general best practices (such as recycling and composting in the kitchen) are just a few. I don't think it's justified for a hotel to charge higher rates on these kinds of things, and they have more impact in the long run.

-What would you expect from a 'green hotel'?

See my answer to my previous question, plus following LEED specifications in constructing the hotel.

[forfismum]

From what I hear of hotels in Spain most folks would be happy with a hotel where construction had finished.But how come its important the hotels be green? I thought the idea was to cut out wasteful travel and reduce footprints etc ?So how can you be a true and honest greenie if you go holidaying all over the place?