How to Book a Green Honeymoon

Step inside a guestroom in Boston’s Lenox Hotel and the two of you might notice the Aveda amenities that await in the marble bathroom. Your eye may be drawn to the gleaming brass chandelier illuminating the plush bed topped with the down duvet.

But you won’t notice that the room was cleaned with non-toxic products, painted with no VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) paints, and kept comfortable by a thermostat that detects whether the room is occupied or not and adjusts accordingly. These are just a few of the many aspects that make the Lenox Hotel one of the growing number of green hotels that await romantic travelers.

One of the pioneers in the green hotel movement, The Lenox Hotel began its environmental stewardship in 1989, a time when “people didn’t even know there was a problem,” explains Tedd Saunders, Executive Vice President of the Saunders Hotel Group and President of EcoLogical Solutions, a consulting firm that specializes in the greening of tourism businesses worldwide. “We have made huge progress in terms of recognizing the problem and finding a solution. The market has responded with products, and consumer attitudes are changing quite dramatically. It’s similar to the time when non-smoking rooms were first offered. People didn’t know to ask for them.”

What Should You Ask

Now that people are asking, just what should you ask to determine the hotel with the best eco-friendly features? Since many of the environmentally-friendly qualities of green hotels are back of the house features, it isn’t always easy to determine the true greenness of a hotel.

To help travel planners, Ceres, a national group of investors and environmentalists working towards sustainable tourism, offers the downloadable Best Practice Survey designed for travel planners to send to hotels for information on their environmental practices. “It’s a powerful but elegant solution,” says Tedd Saunders, who helped develop the survey. Saunders points out that the survey, downloadable at ceres.org, is useful for individual travelers as well, with questions such as:

• Are programmable thermostats with motion detectors used to control HVAC in guestrooms?

• Are refillable amenity dispensers used rather than individual bottles for bathroom amenities?

• Does your property offer a linen reused option to multiple night guests?

• Is energy efficient lighting in place in your property?

Identifying Green

But how do you define a green hotel? That’s a tough question because there’s not a single national or international standard to rank green hotels.

However, romantic travelers will find several specialized certification programs that identify hotels that have met environmental standards in particular areas:

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s awards ENERGY STAR® to facilities with superior energy performance.
  
• Green Seal certifies hotels that meet the Green Seal environmental standard for use of environmentally responsible products.
  
• Audubon International’s educational division, Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary System (ACSS), recognizes selected resorts and other businesses as Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries if they demonstrate that they are maintaining a high degree of environmental quality in five areas: environmental planning, wildlife habitat management, resource conservation, waste management, and outreach and education.

Another easy option? Check the hotel’s website and see if it has an environmental policy.
Some hotels detail specific eco-friendly features on their company website. Kimpton Hotels, another pioneer in the field, provides specific features of its EarthCare program, from recycling bins in the guest rooms to implementation and auditing of low flow systems for faucets, toilets, and showers to honor bars that stock organic snacks and beverages.

No time to do the research? Several tools make the job easier. Magazine lists such as the annual Condé Nast Traveler’s Green List and website resources simplify the research. One of the latest additions to the field is eco.orbitz.com, the eco-travel microsite from Orbitz, which selects green hotels and even offers suggestions for eco-volunteer efforts in the area if you have some spare time.

Dining Green

That romantic meal the two of you enjoy is another way you can make sure you’re doing your part. The average restaurant meal travels 1500 miles before it reaches the plate—a statistic eco-friendly hotels are working to change. “An important aspect is sustainable cuisine, sourcing our local or regional cuisine. The Fairmont prides itself on offering an authentically local experience and that includes local cuisine,” says Michelle White, Director of Environmental Affairs for Fairmont Hotels. Several Fairmont hotels even have their own on-site herb gardens.

For some, the dining goes a step further. Island Outpost, the Jamaica-based chain, has its own organic farm. The company also purchases most of its meats and seafood from local vendors. After a day of business in Kingston, travelers return to the chain’s Strawberry Hill to a cup of local Blue Mountain coffee, mangoes from the hotel orchard, entrees flavored with herbs from the garden, and side dishes featuring fruits and vegetables from local farmers.

Whether measured in terms of a sense of doing something to help the environment or making a healthy choice for oneself, choosing a green hotel is becoming an increasingly important option for many travelers. As Saunders notes, “We are all travelers on the same road, and we have to take care of it.”