Green Options

I’m coming to the conclusion pretty fast that just about every hotel will eventually be walking the talk when it comes to going green – though some are walking slowly while others are galloping as if there isn’t a minute to waste. While ecotourism continues to grow internationally, more American companies are grasping that going green can save some green too, which is also a point I make in ECOpreneuring.

A recent trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin (to enter a few food items in our Wisconsin State Fair) found my family and I bedding down at the Hotel Metro, a boutique, high-rise luxury 63 room hotel that features numerous green aspects, from energy efficient lighting to a rooftop hot tub spa kept clean by using a salt-water system, rather than chlorine. Metro Hotel is the first Milwaukee hotel to be certified by Travel Green Wisconsin, racking up 67 points in total.

We want to start the New Year off with an eco-bang, and so we’re launching a new Green Home Contest. Low Impact Living and Joie de Vivre Hotels challenge you to make your home as green as you can! We’re going to reward the greenest home of all with a luxurious 3-night stay at the very environmentally-friendly Hotel Carlton in San Francisco. More on the [...]

When Flavia Cueva returned to her family home outside petite Copan, Honduras, she was inspired. After having spent most of her life in the American Midwest, Cueva felt compelled to return to restore the decayed farmstead. Overlooking the ruins of an ancient Mayan city, the ideally situated farm seemed the perfect spot to create a small inn.

Seeking to respect the natural world surrounding the farm, Cueva labored to create an eco-friendly inn, one that would be as comfortable and charming as earth-friendly. Hacienda San Lucas is now an eight-room, idyllic inn nestled in the bucolic, emerald green hills of the Honduran countryside. In addition to being 80% solar powered, the inn has been involved in reforestation efforts and recycles and composts. At night, candles light the large rooms and pathways—all of which are constructed of locally-obtained, natural materials.

Evenings are as charm-filled as mornings are mellow. Dinners at the inn are magical (think candlelight, a cricket serenade and twinkling stars). Set on a patio and illuminated by the warm glow of candles, the Mayan-inspired, multi-course meals offer a chance to chat up other guests or to simply savor the balmy night air.

The antithesis of bland chain hotels, San Lucas seems to have popped off the pages of a book by Isabell Allende or Graham Greene. With its wide verandas slung with hammocks, rock-hewn walls and tranquil, otherworldly air, the inn is an ideal spot to get off the grid—literally and figuratively.

I remember reading the little placard on the bathroom vanity advising me to hang my damp towels with curiosity. We were on vacation and it was the first time I had ever heard of such a thing. We did this at home, but it seemed more practical - a way to avoid doing laundry each night. There was also a note about turning the lights out when we left our room. Little things.

We discussed the hanging of the towels and the turning off of the lights over a shrimp dinner that night at some tourist trap. I remember my mom saying that if we all do a little, we can do a lot. So I thought it was great when I heard of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s new executive order that requires state agencies and departments to hold meetings and conferences at lodgings that meet the new Florida Green Lodging standards.

Imagine the implications of urban sprawl if we had begun building out into the ocean in the ‘50s?  Well, as our world population rises and developed land in cities and surrounding zones becomes more and more scarce, we are starting to see ocean sprawl becoming more popular all over the globe. We are already seeing this with the development in the United Arab Emirates and the overzealous and outrageously expensive projects there and around Abu Dhabi.  They are essentially pouring mounds of sand into the ocean to create new “luxury” land and resort destinations. This is an image of the man made palm in Dubai’s Persian Gulf constructed for the Palm Island Resort. “When completed, the resort will sport 2000 villas, 40 luxury hotels, shopping centers, cinemas, and other facilities.” With these new types of developments this idea of vacationing on/in the ocean without actually needing to leave land is growing in demand.

When planning where to stay while traveling you probably consider cost, location, and comfort. Adding green to that list of criteria isn’t difficult and can make for a more rewarding stay. Here are a few things that can make your next trip a little greener.

Find a green hotel. While you might not be able to find a LEED rated hotel, you’ll more than likely be able to find

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Jeff Lazar, Lone MeadowThe hospitality industry is booming, but still has a long way to go in being green. I spoke with Jeff Lazar, owner of JLF, a leading supplier for custom seating in the hospitality industry, about his new collection of environmentally friendly seating, Lone Meadow and the challenges of being one of the few sustainable designers in this field.

Green Options: Why did you begin Lone

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Photo Credit: State of Michigan
Eco-tourisim is a growing field, but it's not the only sector where people want to find a green option when they need travel accommodations. Whether they are traveling for business or for recreation, even if they aren't headed to an eco-destination, travellers need a place to stay. And while the Building Design + Construction magazine's 2006 white paper on green building suggested that the hospitality

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We do it for business, we do it for pleasure - when travelling, a hotel stay is usually a must. Often, we have many choices to choose from, and we make our decision based on cost and assumed quality. There is, of course, a new factor coming into the picture, and it's green-ness. Today we'll tell you how you can green your hotel stays.