Haven’t you heard? Being green goes directly to your bottom line. Being green goes directly to a higher long-term value of your property. Being green goes directly to your front doors which open wide to bring guests back again and again. Being green goes directly to keeping staff long-term because management clearly cares for their health and well-being.

How does being green translate to your bottom line? When energy-saving measures are introduced, such as energy management systems, fluorescent bulbs, ceiling fans, linen cards, lights out cards, motion sensors for public rest rooms, meeting rooms, exercise rooms, etc., energy bills are much reduced.

When water-saving equipment and techniques are introduced, such as low-flow showerheads, 1.5 gpm aerators, serving water on request only in restaurants, 1.6 gpm dishwashing valves, low-flow toilets, waterless urinals, toilet tank fill diverters in older toilets and linen cards, water bills are reduced dramatically. A California GM received an award for reducing water usage at his property by two million gallons in one year. How? He fired the chef! The chef was well known for having water running in 4 or 5 sinks at a time defrosting food.

Waste hauling is a huge expense for a hotel which can be lowered drastically through recycling and avoiding wastefully-packaged products. Hoteliers can ask vendors to deliver products in minimal wrapping. Vendors can be asked to deliver products one day, and pick up the packaging materials the next day. The New Orleans Intercontinental started a recycling program and hired staff to separate the materials. Management was absolutely astonished to find that these employees were pulling $1,000 a MONTH of hotel property out of the waste stream—napkins, towels, spoons, etc.—all of which had clearly been discarded prior to recycling. A Chicago Hyatt reduced their waste hauling by 80%! They had the same experience as the New Orleans hotel, except their staff was pulling $3,000 to $10,000 a month of hotel property out of the waste stream.

Being green means guests, staff and management are healthier. There’s just no doubt that when odors, fumes, soot, droplets and residues of toxic, poisonous chemicals are not in the air, on our food or on anything we touch, we are not absorbing or breathing them. Sooner or later all properties will be sold, and any green property will demand a higher price because it’s value is much enhanced by lower utility bills per square foot, its healthier aspects and owner care.

None of us can be really green without the smart, innovative vendors who provide green products and services. Being green means supporting green vendors, listening to their sales staff, purchasing their products and services and cheering them on.

Get help with greening by calling city, county, state and Federal entities that will be helpful to you. Seek out rebates, subsidies and tax credits. BECOME A PROUD MEMBER OF OUR ELITE CORPS OF GREEN HOTELIERS TODAY! See www.greenhotels.com/memship.htm to learn more.

"Green" Hotels are environmentally-friendly properties whose managers are eager to institute programs that save water, save energy and reduce solid waste--while saving money--to help PROTECT OUR ONE AND ONLY EARTH!

WHO WE ARE: "Green" Hotels Association's® purpose is to bring together hotels interested in environmental issues
From adding "Drinking water served on request only" to the menu to installing new HVAC systems, and with every measure in between, "Green" Hotels Association® encourages, promotes and supports the "greening" of the lodging industry.

HOW WE HELP: General managers, chief engineers and executive housekeepers do not have the time to search out all the environmentaly-friendly water saving, energy saving and solid waste reducing ideas that apply to the hospitality industry. So, "Green" Hotels Association® has dedicated itself to that purpose. On joining, members receive the very comprehensive 135+ page Guidelines and Ideas packed with great ideas options and techniques revealing how to reduce bills as well as the hotel's impact on your beautiful destination.

Jerwoman For over ten years "Green" Hotels Association® has been offering TOWEL RACK HANGERs and SHEET CHANGING CARDs which ask guests to consider using their linens more than once. These gentle reminders, now found in thousands of hotel guest bathrooms, can save 5% on utilities* alone. At least 70% of guests can be expected to participate*.

From B&Bs to Submarines: Chains from Adam's Mark to Xanterra* are purchasing. B&Bs, Jerman inns, motels, hotels, city parks, state parks, military locations, elegant hotels, resorts, business hotels, condos, apartments and even a submarine company have all purchased. Some hotel companies choose to make the cards mandatory. The linen cards get guests involved in your environmental program, and guests love helping protect the beautiful destinations we all love to visit

The "GREEN" CATALOG: "Green" Hotels Association® researched environmentally-friendly energy and water-saving products, and chose the best of the choices for hotels for our CATALOG OF ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCTS FOR THE LODGING INDUSTRY. The catalog contains such water-saving devices as a toilet-tank fill diverter, which saves about 3/4 gallon of water per flush, is invisible to the guest, does not affect the flush in any way, and costs less than $1! Hair and skin care dispensers save money and offer guests shampoo and soap at the push of a button. The guestroom recycler basket is a beautiful, sturdy open-diamond pattern, and is designed for long service.

MEMBERSHIP: We urge all hoteliers interested in our environment to take advantage of "GREEN" HOTELS ASSOCIATION® MEMBERSHIP immediately. Benefits include our bi-monthly Greening Newsletter'spacked with smart, practical ideas, heavy media publicity, an Internet listing and public identification as a "Green" Hotel via pole and front desk flags. Hotels can join for as little as $100! We welcome worldwide membership. For further information contact us TODAY!

PHONE 713/789-8889, FAX 713/789-9786, e-mail: green@greenhotels.com

YOU can MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

. . . about using guestroom towel-rack hangers and sheet-changing cards which encourage guests to consider using towels more than once and not having sheets changed every day:

"People have written in with lots of positive comments, saying they appreciate us trying to make a difference. The efforts have afforded the property a 5 percent drop in utility costs alone."

Ron Berger, General Manager of the Sheraton Rancho Cordova, Rancho Cordova, California. As reported in Lodging Magazine.

"I went into this with the belief that if one customer said they didn't like it I would stop it, because we're very sensitive about perceptions of cleanliness. To my amazement, I haven't had one complaint in more than four months. Some days, housekeeping staffers, who usually clean 15 rooms a day, don't change a single bed." He hasn't done a formal study of cost savings, but estimated "with confidence, that 70 percent of people staying more than one night participate in the program."

Greg Parsons, General Manager for Radisson Hotel Arrowwood Resort, Alexandria, Minnesota. As reported in the Saint Paul Pioneer Press.

"Hotels are finding that guests like to know hotels are doing their part to conserve and cut down."

Roger Ellis, spokesman for Steigenberger Reservation Service which handles luxury hotels, as reported in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

"I've never had any one single thing change my life the way your Towel Hanger has. I've always spent all day Saturday gathering up towels, washing, drying, folding and putting them back in guest rooms. Now my Saturdays are MINE. Now, with the Towel Hanger, only one in every 30 or 40 guests will want fresh towels on Saturday."

Larry Miller, Owner, River Run B&B, Fleischmans, NY.

"We have probably reduced our towel laundry for stayovers by something like 2/3rds by simply putting up the “Green” Hotels sign in the bathrooms. We should have done this a decade ago."

Bob & Stephanie Melvin, Innkeepers at Westchester House B&B, PARTNER MEMBER, Saratoga Springs, NY via e-mail.