EcoRooms.com rebrands itself for the New Year

EcoRooms & EcoSuites, a major certification and marketing resource for green hotels in the U.S. and abroad, has unveiled a newly-redesigned logo and Web site, highlighting the growing role of sustainability in the hospitality industry while also offering travelers a more user-friendly online experience.

“We expect 2009 to be a huge year for EcoRooms & EcoSuites, and in the growth of consumer awareness regarding green lodging options,’” says Ray Burger, president of Pineapple Hospitality and founder of EcoRooms & EcoSuites. “As consumers continue to become more knowledgeable about green travel, we’ve changed the look and feel of our logo and Web site. We’ve added new properties to our directory, streamlined our rigorous ‘Significant 7′ criteria to becoming a member, and we recently added a new member to our Board of Advisors. “

EcoRooms & EcoSuites’ Board of Advisors is a panel of some of the greenest minds the hospitality industry has to offer. With decades of combined experience, the Advisors have helped shape the Web site’s criteria for membership and assist both members and the public on best green practices.

While EcoRooms & EcoSuites’ Significant 7 criteria for membership are among the most stringent and most credible of any certification program in the world, these newest members – The Proximity Hotel (Greensboro, N.C.), Seaport Hotel (Boston) and Inn by the Sea (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) – not only meet the rigorous standards, they are raising the bar. And for their efforts to offer guests a luxurious, yet eco-conscious place to stay, these three hotels have won numerous environmental and design recognitions.

“We are excited to have the Proximity Hotel, Seaport Hotel and Inn by the Sea join our ranks,” says Ray Burger, president of Pineapple Hospitality and founder of EcoRooms & EcoSuites. “These three facilities have incorporated some of the most-forward thinking eco-friendly designs and programs that the industry has seen. They are most deserving of all the recognition they’ve been receiving and we’re proud to have them aboard.”

These three new properties join EcoRooms & EcoSuites at a time when travelers are finally beginning to exhibit an increased environmental awareness while on the road. Previously, most travelers – even those who recycled and conserved resources at home – would ‘splurge’ while out of town and not worry about the footprints they were leaving behind.

“I believe the Seaport plays a role in identifying and sharing best practices in an effort to make our industry’s carbon footprint a little smaller,” says Matthew Moore, Seaport director of rooms and environmental programs. “Our green philosophy here is a holistic approach that looks at every aspect of our organization and operation and tries to find a way to make it more sustainable and environmentally friendly. No initiative is too small or too large to take on.”

“We believe green is the ethical approach to running a business, as we live in this world with limited natural resources,” says Moore. “It is paramount that we continue to improve the safety of the work place in which our employees work, and it is also important to provide access to an environment in which guests can leverage their environmentally friendly philosophy.”

EcoRooms Criteria
EcoRooms & EcoSuites Web site approves and certifies the greenest hotels that have implemented our ‘Significant 7′ criteria:

1. Green Seal certified or equivalent cleaning products are used in guestrooms.
2. Green Seal certified or equivalent paper products (facial and bathroom tissue) are used in guestrooms.
3. Bathrooms feature amenity dispensers or small, practical amenity sizes with guests encouraged to take the remainder of their bathroom amenities home or donate them to homeless shelters.
4. The hotel has implemented a Linen and Towel Reuse Program
5. Guests are provided separate and easily identified receptacles and/or bags in which to deposit recyclables.
6. Energy-efficient lighting is in place in every applicable area.
7. High efficiency plumbing – 1.6 or less gallons-per-flush for toilets and 1.5 gallons per minute or less for sinks with water-efficient aerators.

“If you look at what guests are looking for, in each case what they want will actually save you money by greening and streamlining your operations,” says Ray Burger. “While our criteria may look rigorous now, as more hotels catch on to the benefits of implementing a green program, these will be the minimum of what hotels will be doing in the future. Our current and new partners have already shown how you can go above and beyond.”

A recent study from Deloitte finds that ‘U.S. business travelers are increasingly making daily choices to reduce their environmental impact, and they have specific expectations about the green practices hotels should be adopting today.’

The study finds nearly seven of 10 business travelers (69 percent) say they always turn off the lights and one out of three (31 percent) always adjusts the heat/air conditioner when leaving the room.

More importantly, 34 percent of respondents say they ‘seek out hotels that are environmentally friendly,’ just as 38 percent have researched green lodging facilities either online or by asking friends and relatives. Similarly, 28 percent say they would be willing to pay 10 percent more to stay in a green lodging facility.

For more info, check out www.ecorooms.com.