If hotels claim to be green, why don’t they try this?

by Janice Hough on November 17, 2009

kea lani

These days, hotel chains are trying to one-up each other on their “green” practices. Of course, many of the policies which supposedly are about saving the environment are also about saving the hotels money.

Not changing bed linens unless requested, not automatically supplying fresh towels, not having as many automatic toiletry giveaways — these and other “innovations” may be good for the planet, but they are also good for the hotels’ bottom lines.

And some hotels have figured out that to save energy, a room key must be in a particular slot, or the lights all go out. Which means when a traveler leaves a room, there is no chance of accidentally leaving the lights on. (Personally, I like the last one, but would love a modification to leave at least a soft night light on, as entering a pitch-dark room can be disconcerting, especially for a single traveler.)

But other hotels, the Fairmont and Kimpton chains, for examples, have figured out a low-tech easy way to help the environment – regular and “recycling” trash baskets in the rooms.

Like many travelers, I recycle at home. But in a hotel room, generally you have to throw all garbage into the same basket, with sometimes a separate option in the bathroom. And while newspapers, cans and bottles are all recyclable, food products and other things are not.

I have to wonder if hotel staff separates the trash. I would assume either that they don’t, or it’s very time consuming.

A second basket, color-coded in some ways for recycling, has got to be a very inexpensive option. And not particularly time-consuming for housekeepers. In addition, the hotels would presumably make some money off the materials they recycled.

So why aren’t they all doing it?

(Photo of Fairmont Kea Lani- Maui, by dennis and aimee jonez/flickr.com/creative commons.)

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Tagged as: "Green" hotels, environmental hotel policies, Fairmont Hotels, Kimpton Hotels., recycling

  • Allison

    Doubletree has segregated bins too.

  • Dave

    Sounds like a great idea–just like the great idea of not automatically supplying fresh towels. The challenge comes, in my mind, with the housekeeping staff. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve followed the instructions–leave the towels on the rack if you don’t want them replaced and on the floor if you do–only to have them replaced. I can just picture the recycle and trash can contents being combined into one big bag on the cart in the hallway. Wish it weren’t so.

  • http://aol.com barbara

    Oh please,the Green Taliban again. Those dipensers are just bacteria breeders. I am fed up with regulation after regulation. It would just give hotels an incentive to impose some new hidden charge.It would give them another reason to impose a penalty on those who not dispose of their waste as prescribed. When we go on vacation the majority of us want luxuries. Iwant fresh fluffy towels every day. Also fresh linens on my beds every day.

  • Amy

    Here we go again with the “but they’re saving money!” whining.

    Yes, they’re saving money. When I change to efficient light bulbs in my house, I save money. When I unplug vampire appliances at home, I save money. When I change to a newer TV model that’s more energy-efficient, I save money. If I water my lawn less often, I save money.

    Are greening efforts only supposed to count if they’re painful? Isn’t being able to save money by “going green” one of the biggest selling points?

    Or is it OK for individuals to save money, but bad for businesses to do the same?

    It’s becoming a tiresome meme.

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  • Melissa

    At Disney World they supplied a special bag for recyclables. It would be nice to have bins in hotel rooms or even on every floor at the elevators. It would save me the trouble of packing recyclables to take home. Solid waste disposal is a large issue for the U.S.

    The option to reuse towels is an option, so those who need new fluffy towels get fluffy new towels. I just wish cleaning staff was better at leaving towels when you don’t want them replaced.

    In the future, the high costs for trash disposal, energy, and clean water will push forward reforms anyway. Look at Europe, their high costs have really pushed the green revolution there. The travel industry needs to be greener for many reasons: the environment, economics, social responsibility and consumer desires/needs. Whatever the reasons the results count.

  • http://www.fairmont.com/kealani Wendy

    I work for The Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui. I appreciate your recognition of our environmental initiatives, of which we have over 50 – I’ve personally counted them. Some of them are easy – switch to non-bleached coffee filters. Some are expensive, such as our Aqua Recycler which has been saving tons of water since 2005 by filtering out laundry detergent from the washing machines and reusing it. As for our in-room recycling, I assure you it is getting recycled. It took many operational tries, but our team figured out a plan. The housekeeping staff has separated bags on their carts to dump the recyclables. They leave these bags at strategic points on each floor where housemen take the bags and put them in their respective areas in our recycling center. We personally do not redeem any for money. However, we invite a non-profit organization to collect them and keep the money. To date, over $20,000 has been raised through our recycling cents program. We are proud to be environmental stewards on the island and hope other hotels may learn from our operational trials and errors. And to note – many of our programs are at a greater cost to the hotel, but we do it because it’s the right thing. We hope that our other programs help offset those costs. Please refer to our hotel’s website for more informaiton if you are interested.

  • http://aol.com barbara

    Why not pass your savings along to the comsumer? Iam sure you have pass some of these costs on to the consumer. Also you get a nice tax deduction

  • http://aol.com barbara

    Sorry my last post should have been revised. Why not pass along your savings to the consumer. Instead you donate it to non profit. What a nice tax deduction . Guess I am just very cynical about the color green.

  • http://aol.com barbara

    Another thought to the greenies; I would not be suprised if within ten or less years hotels will start charging. Firstly they will start imosing a fee for extra towels. Then sheets changed daily new fee, and on and on. Finally a stiff fee for not using coded baskets. Thank you so much greenies.

  • Lila Davis

    Hilton Palmer House Chicago had a paper sack made of recycled material in which to put the recyclables. It was, however, hanging with the laundry bag in the closet and not seen until day 3. Towel service was strange – one bath towel left, the other replaced – and both were hanging on the racks.

  • Dean

    Barbara,
    Respectfully, you were a bit harsh on Wendy. She indicated they did not recover any funds from the recycling effort. The non-profit did so. This reduces the administrative overhead cost to the Fairmont of delivering the recyclables, collecting the monies and properly documenting all the proceeds from the recycler. This approach increases the net value to the non-profit as they can perform such functions with volunteer personnel. Further, I guessing the Fairmont is not applying these funds for the tax deduction as the value and paper trails are difficult to track sufficiently for the IRS. While I recognize that the ultimate purpose of having a business is to turn a profit (after all, otherwise it would be a charity), that does not mean that companies never do the right thing simply because it is right.

    Dean

  • Hapgood

    I’m rather conflicted about this whole issue. At home I change my sheets once a week, and use towels twice before putting them in the hamper. That actually has more to do with the hassle of doing laundry rather than any “green” concerns. So I suppose I could live with that while on vacation.

    On the other hand, I’m paying a pretty penny to stay in a hotel, so why shouldn’t I have fresh towels and enjoy the feeling of freshly laundered sheets that I normally only have once a week? Yes, that’s a callous disregard for the environment. But arguably, so is any travel involving transportation other than a bicycle or walking. I’m also rather cynical about the likelihood that hotels will exploit “green” as the latest excuse to generate the “ancillary revenue” that now seems to be the motto of the entire travel industry.

  • http://aol.com barbara

    Hagood ,I am in total agreement with you. You expressed it better than I could. I can vizualize it now. Soon surcharges on new towels every day, fresh linens etc. And then the ultimate – a fine for not placing your disposables in the right bin. Dana Believe me if there is a way to make a profit and make and take write offs most would.

  • Tim

    In my city, we have bins that we are to put recyclables in and put out with the trash so special trucks come by and pick up the recyclables. This used to be free–we could recycle all we could within the rules and not have to pay.

    Now, for about the last year and a half, we have to pay a monthly fee to recycle, no matter how much or little we recycle.

    This change make me wander how worthwhile recycling is. If there is not a market for used aluminum, are we really helping by picking it up in special trucks, taking it to a recycle center, then have the recycle center throw them away because the can’t sell it?

    I bet this also affects the hotels in my city; my guess is that it is cheaper for them to throw everything away instead of recycling. And since just about every hotel is struggling, who could blame them?

  • Steph

    Just stayed at the Best Western in Milan. They have separate bins for paper, plastic, glass.

    When I stay at hotels with no in-room recycling facilities, I make the effort to recycle the stuff myself. I ask at reception if there are any facilities in the hotel, & bring the recyclables down myself. If I have a rental car, I take the recyclables with me until I spot somewhere to drop them, usually near big supermarkets.

  • http://aol.com barbara

    Steph. I think you are a good person who is very naive. Why use your gas to get rid of the stuff- not carbon efficient or whatever.

  • Kevin M

    Barbara, Steph may be naive, but I think you’ve got a touch of bitter. Steph said he takes it with him in the rental car – presumably wherever he’s already going – and when he sees a place to recycle the stuff, he does. To me, that’s extra green – recycling AND combining a trip.

    Yes, someday, some hotels may start to charge a fee for daily fresh towels or fresh linens. Someday they may charge for fresh air. As the old joke goes, someday they’ll put a pay toilet in the room to make that a revenue center as well. But I don’t think most will follow suit, and unlike airlines, which seem to be looking for ways to “unbundle” common services and charge for them, hotels instead seem to be looking for ways to charge for “out of the ordinary” things they used to do as a courtesy – receiving packages for guests, for instance.

    And in any event, I don’t see a fine for not putting recyclables in the right bin. As that would have to be charged “after the fact”, it would have to be a pretty steep fine to recover just the costs of assessing it, and I don’t think hotels are so dumb as to alienate their guests by sending a $25 retroactive “fine”. Even minor room damage tends to get written off wear and tear, as too difficult to collect.

  • kiwin

    One problem with “a room key must be in a particular slot” is that it makes it hard to charge devices (cameras, shavers, computers, etc) when you are not there

  • Janice Hough

    Great point kiwin. A girlfriend and I ran into this last month, we ended up taking one key with us and leaving another key in the room, because we almost ran out of laptop power…. Maybe as this trend continues hotels could have ONE outlet just for charging things , that isn’t connected to the lights.

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  • http://www.rezhub.com/GreenTravel/GreenHotels.aspx Green Hotels

    I think it is important to be able to differentiate between hotels doing the bare minimum to be labeled as green, and those taking the extra steps, like the Fairmont properties, who have been pioneers. When looking for this information, search out websites that offer details as to why a hotel is green or environmentally friendly.

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