Gatlinburg Hilton Garden Inn to Pursue LEED

According to WATE, Channel 6 in Knoxville, Tenn., construction is set to begin soon on a Hilton Garden Inn in Gatlinburg, Tenn., that will pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The hotel will be built where the River Oaks Shopping Center now sits. "We want to do this to protect the environment and protect all the natural resources of the Great Smoky Mountains," said developer Logan Coykendall. Coykendall says they will reuse materials from the existing River Oaks Center. They will also use up to 20 percent recycled materials on the new building. It is a project slated to cost $15 million. The new hotel will also be made with regional materials. "Instead of getting materials from China or somewhere, we will try to get them from as close to home as we can," Coykendall said. The project should be complete by the summer of 2009. Click here for more details.

Random Thoughts on Green Hotel Certification

By the end of this year, it is likely that the Hotel Association of Canada's (HAC) Green Key Eco-Rating Program will have 1,000 hotels participating—quite an achievement. HAC has made it easy for hotels to join with its Web-based application process and 140-question survey. While Canada's program is not perfect, it is an example of one that can be ramped up quickly. Canada's accomplishment begs the question: Why doesn't the United States have a user-friendly rating program that encourages widespread participation? There are many answers to this question.

The American Hotel & Lodging Assn. recently studied the idea of running a program and/or endorsing one but decided its role is to present the different alternatives to the industry and let hoteliers decide for themselves which certification programs to pursue. Meanwhile, numerous entrepreneurs have come out with their own programs. In some cases they have gained some traction but in other cases they have not. These well-intentioned entrepreneurs often suffer from small staffs, little capital and a lack of marketing muscle and creativity. In fact, I rarely see them at industry events. Meanwhile, excellent programs such as the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (not originally designed for hotels), the EPA's Energy Star, and Green Seal's rating program grow at a snail's pace—each with their own positive agendas. A number of states also have their own programs—some thriving, some on life support.

The certification dilemma will not be solved quickly. There are those that justifiably argue for a national certification program that includes a mandatory on-site audit, while others are willing to accept a program similar to Canada's that offers more of a self-certifying model.

As far as the environment is concerned, the more programs there are the better, but it is confusing for the consumer. What our industry really needs is a certification summit—a conference at which the certification challenges and complexities are finally settled. But could it really happen? Would entrepreneurs be willing to check their ambitions and egos at the door? Would so many different stakeholders be willing to share the potential spoils of a certification program that has the potential to have tens of thousands of members? Don't count on it. What do you think?

Let's Do the Opposite of Haiti

We need look no farther than Haiti to understand the importance of trees in a tropical environment. The impoverished country, which has been hammered over and over by this fall's tropical storms and hurricanes, has lost 98 percent of its forests--and not from the storms. Desperate for income, farmers have been chopping down their trees to sell the wood as charcoal. With few trees remaining, the topsoil is extremely vulnerable to erosion. That is why the recent storms have been so devastating. There was no earth to absorb this summer's deluge. Haiti is an example of how not to manage the environment. Why does Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax" come to mind? Do you remember the story about a "mossy, bossy" man-like creature who speaks for the trees?

According to an article in USA Today, over the past 20 years, the U.S. Agency for International Development has planted 60 million trees in Haiti, but the poor chop down 10 million to 20 million trees each year. At one time, Haiti was a country ripe for ecotourism. Today, it is a country in desperate need for fast-growing trees. In Haiti, there is a lesson for all of us. Taking trees for granted can be a deadly mistake.

DNC Spurs Denver Marriott Tech Center's Efforts

The Denver Marriott Tech Center wrapped up August in a "green" fashion. Accepting the challenge of the Democratic National Convention, Barbara Readey, area general manager, put together a Green Team, which is made up of hourly associates, middle management and senior leadership. She asked the team to not only think about short-term solutions for the DNC, but also long-term sustainable goals. The hotel ended up replacing 628 toilets (3 gallons per flush) with low-flow 1.6 gallons per flush versions and replaced 3.5-gallon-per-minute showerheads with 2.5-gallon heads in all guestrooms. These two items saved 60,000 gallons of water during the DNC. Long term, the hotel anticipates saving 6 million gallons of water annually.

The hotel also built a 3,000-square-foot "green" patio using recycled concrete from the old Stapleton Airport. Mike Monroe, co-chair of the Green Team and director of engineering, used xeriscaping around the patio with river rock and mulch. An in-room recycling program was kicked off in time for the DNC. This program allowed the hotel to recycle more than 1,000 tons during the DNC week alone. The program was deemed so successful that the hotel will continue this effort and estimates recycling more than 70,000 tons annually. The property's in-room towel & linen reuse program was also initiated for the DNC, which helped reduce the hotel's carbon footprint to 2,000 tons lower than the average of a building its size.

We Need More Risk Takers Like Jiminy Peak

One of the things that impresses me most about the lodging industry is the number of individuals willing to take risks—oftentimes huge financial risks. In green lodging I see this time and time again—entrepreneurs willing to spend a lot of money upfront, knowing that their return on their investment may be many years away. In fact, that seems to be one of the factors that separates green hotel and resort entrepreneurs from the typical developer who often has his or her eyes set on turning over the investment in just a few years. Green developers are patient.

I was struck by this when writing an article about the Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort and the recent one-year anniversary of their $4.2 million investment in a 1.5-megawatt wind turbine. It took a lot of guts to make such a groundbreaking investment, knowing that it could take seven or eight years for the system to pay for itself. It is obvious that the resort owners believed it was very important to make a strong commitment to renewable energy.

For Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, the investment has been well worth it so far. The turbine, which stands taller than the Statue of Liberty, has become a symbol of the resort's commitment to sustainability. Our industry could use a lot more Jiminy Peaks.

Magnolia Hotels Eliminates Smoking Indoors

Another hotel company—Magnolia Hotels—has joined the elite group of companies that forbid smoking indoors. The company announced that each of its hotels—in Dallas, Denver, Houston and Omaha—has eliminated smoking.

“We recognize the importance of offering our guests a healthy lifestyle while they are staying at a Magnolia hotel, and that includes a smoke-free environment,” said Leigh Hitz, president of Magnolia Hotels. “It’s definitely a growing industry trend to eliminate smoking rooms, and we are pleased to have adopted a smoke-free policy.”

Over the past year, requests for smoking rooms at Magnolia hotels have declined significantly, reflective of the overall health movement, and helping to spur Magnolia Hotels’ decision to eliminate smoking. Guests can still smoke outdoors on property grounds, but smoking indoors is prohibited. Guests who violate the smoke-free policy will be charged a cleaning fee of $200 per guestroom, per night.

Kudos to Magnolia Hotels for recognizing how much sense it makes—from both a health and operations standpoint—to eliminate smoking.

Fort Lauderdale CVB Gets Busy Planting Trees

Increasingly, hotel companies and other organizations are formalizing efforts to link their businesses with good causes. Green Lodging News just learned that the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, in partnership with Broward County, Fla., has started a new program for meeting planners to help offset the carbon footprint of their meetings in the area. According to the program, dubbed Plan.It.Green, the CVB and the county will plant a tree anytime a planner visits the CVB’s booth at any trade show. The CVB and county will also arrange a “volunteer planting day” for groups, or donate to the parks division when a planner submits an RFP to the bureau. What a great idea. Green Lodging News has had its own tree planting initiative since December of last year. Check it out.