Tips for Finding Eco-Friendly Hotels when Traveling

Entry #246, August 16, 2010

When you and your family travel do you wish you could take your green living practices with you? The search is over; hotels around the world have been implementing eco-friendly environments, practices and maintenance rituals into their establishments.  When searching for green hotels and while staying, use these helpful tips to know what services are offered. Don’t forget, you’re the guest, ask the hotel in advance what eco friendly practices and amenities they offer.

Green hotels help you keep your earth friendly lifestyle when traveling

BATHROOMS:

Feeling comfortable when you travel is to have the feeling of cleanliness and home comfort that you would provide for your own family. Green hotels often will have low flow water faucets and the option for towels to be laundered or not.  Organic complimentary toiletry products like hair products, bubble bath, and soaps to name a few. Cleaning products used by housekeeping are eco-friendly, free of harmful chemicals, dyes and perfumes.

Hotel bathrooms should offer eco-friendly toiletries

HOTEL ROOM:

A non-smoking environment and HEPA filtered air system could be standard amenities in a green hotel.  There can be different levels of “green” standards depending on your locality and the demand for these establishments where you are traveling.  In hotel rooms look for bed linen to have the option of being laundered on an alternate schedule, similar to bath towels.  Bed sheets, furniture, and window treatments will often be made with organic and quickly renewable materials like seagrass, jute and bamboo.

Hotel rooms have many recycling and earth saving practices

GREEN PRACTICES:

Around the world eco-friendly hotels are using green principles and training their personnel in eco conscious living for your comfort and peace of mind.  Here are a few ideas that some hotels have adopted:  1.) Recycled wire hangers from guests’ dry cleaning 2.) Giving phone books to only guest’s who request them, to save on paper. 3.) Recycling receptacles located in hotel for guests to recycle paper, newspapers, aluminum, cardboard, etc. 4.) Reclaimed water usage for watering plants and landscaping. 5.) Hybrid car parking discounts for reducing energy consumption – hotel rewards you for driving your hybrid car to the hotel!

Green hotel restaurants offer alternative lifestyle menus

HOTEL RESTAURANT:

When traveling and staying at hotels, the restaurant at the hotel is usually not weighed into the decision as to whether you will stay at the establishment.  At green hotels this is the complete opposite in consideration factor. These hotels will boast about their organic menu, on-site grown herbs, and menu items catered to special diets and lifestyles.  Many green hotels will use locally sourced foods and will change the menu frequently to reflect what local organic markets have in stock in the immediate region.  Fresh, personalized, organic food and attention to green practices is what staying at an eco friendly hotel is about.

Every year green hotels are making a bigger presence in the world hospitality market. Look for these hotels under “green hotels” in your search engine query. There are several to choose from, and many belong to green hotel associations for easier locating and amenity finding.

Freshome readers tell us if you have stayed at a green hotel and what your experience was.  Would you recommend it to a friend? We’d love to hear!

For more eco-friendly ideas on Stagetecture, click here.