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Select a green hotel when traveling

Why This is Green

Hotels—especially big ones—tend to have large ecological footprints. Their size plus constant occupation and guest changeover equals high energy and water use, as well as large amounts of solid waste. According to Scientific American, daily laundering makes a large hotel go through several million gallons of water a year.

Fortunately, the prospect of saving money coupled with growing consumer interest has led many hotels to adopt sustainability measures. These range from recycling to lowering energy and water use, to replacing conventional shampoos and soaps with eco-friendlier versions. The Alliance for Water Efficiency estimates a hotel with 250 rooms at 80 percent occupancy could save up to $66,000 and 220,000 gallons of water per year.

Travelers interested in staying at a green hotel have their work cut out for them. There are many spots claiming to be eco-friendly when they are not. And there are too many eco-lodging certifications to keep track of and it’s hard to know who to trust. A few of the most reputable include LEED, Green Key, Green Globe, and Green Seal. There’s also the Green Hotels Association, and some of the bigger travel sites now have ways to search for eco-friendly hotels.

Learn More

How To

When planning a trip, do your best to book a green hotel by relying on third party certifications.

Ask questions if you don’t understand what’s green about a property. By patronizing hotels with the best sustainability practices, you are supporting their efforts and encouraging not-so-green hotels to improve.