Is going green for your hotel? Take this 2 minute survey and find out:

• Is your hotel interested in cutting expenses?
• Is your hotel interested in increasing revenues?
• Does or would your hotel like to tap into the environmentally conscious traveler market?
• Do you have any staff that complains of respiratory issues (asthma, chronic bronchitis, etc)?
• Has there ever been an accident on site due to spillage of hazardous chemicals?
• Is the hotel replacing expensive equipment more often than necessary?
• Does the hotel have a limited marketing budget?
• Has the hotel not been able to maintain occupancy rates and ADRs during the recession?
• Does your hotel have conference space?
• Does management and staff care about protecting the environment for future generations?

IF YOUR HOTEL ANSWERED YES TO MORE THAN FIVE QUESTIONS, YOU SHOULD CONSIDER GOING GREEN

I can’t go green. It costs too much!

Just like all improvements, sometimes there is an upfront cost. However, the difference is green has paybacks, sometimes extremely quick paybacks, that end up saving the hotel massive sums of money in the long run. In addition, because of these quick paybacks, there are many vendors that will agree to be paid out of the cost savings, eliminating the upfront cost altogether. And green does not have to cost anything at all. Policies and behavioral changes can begin saving hotels money immediately. (Ask our consultants how).

Green is just for tree huggers

Green is also for business people! The most common reason why hotels go green, for better or worse, has more to do with the financials than with saving the planet. It makes business sense. Greening your property will cut down on utility expenses and can increase revenues. Staff is also more productive and healthier (averaging 2.88 fewer sick days according to a University of San Diego study). Few things can accomplish all of the above without affecting the guest experience, all with the added bonus of saving the planet!

There’s no way my property would qualify

Most properties don’t – initially. But depending on which certification you go after, it can be surprisingly easy to green your hotel. For example, it may not make sense for some hotels to go after LEED, but Florida Green Lodging Program could be accomplished in 30 days.

We don’t need a consultant, we can do it ourselves

Very true. We also don’t need hairdressers, wedding planners, website developers, accountants and the like. But most of use professional services when we want things done right the first time. Sustainability is no different, and considering the limited depth of talent in the field, the high frequency of “green washing” and the vast number of new green products coming on the market daily, it pays to have a highly trained professional who knows “what is what” on your team.

We will save lots of money by going green "in-house"

Some think it’s more cost effective for staff with no background in sustainability to train themselves on the job. Consider the following: 1) there is a steep learning curve. Sustainability is about integration – integrating the needs of people with that of the environment and our wallets. That said, it is multi-interdisciplinary. For example, focusing only on energy efficiency can actually cause the indoor air quality to deteriorate, thus both areas need to be properly understood to obtain the best results; 2) the industry is relatively young with few mentors available and thus most staff will be need to be self-taught; 3) the staff person will have reduced time to do the job they were originally hired to do; 4) the process will undoubtedly be slower; 5) there are plenty of opportunities for costly mistakes to occur, especially when dealing with upgrading or retrofitting expensive equipment.

My hotel is too small, it doesn’t make sense to go green!

Any sized property can benefit from going green, regardless of size. As long as your property has utility bills, humans on-site and is located in an ecosystem, your guests, staff, the environment and your wallet will benefit.

My guests would run away!

Surprising, quite the opposite is true nowadays. Ecotourism is one of the fastest growing segments of the travel industry. More people actually recycle than vote in the United States! (www.epa.gov) And as time goes on, more and more consumers are choosing to vote for sustainability with their dollars.