Jun 27 2008
Business Travelers Want Green Hotels
More than a third “seek out hotels that are environmentally friendly,” according to a new survey of 1,155 business travelers commissioned by Big Four firm Deloitte.
The survey says 38 percent have researched green lodging facilities, while 28 percent say they’re willing to pay 10 percent more for green accommodations.
Surprising to some, today’s business travelers are concerned with their accomodations green practices on multiple levels.
Business travelers expect hotels to recycle (77 percent), and use energy-efficient lighting and windows (74 percent and 59 percent, respectively). To a lesser extent, they expect hotels to give guests the option of not having sheets and towels changed every day (52 percent). Using environmentally safe cleaning products is expected by 49 percent of those surveyed.
eHotelier
Many hotels have begun pushing their green marketing and practices for good reason.
Those who have been quiet on the subject or unwilling to make changes might do best to consider implementing recommendations and highlighting their ‘green spirit’ in their marketing campaigns.
Read the article here.
It’s great to see that business travelers are becoming more concerned about the effect of their travel on the environment and are willing to do something about it . . . even if it costs them more.
An excellent site that can assist them in finding “Green” lodging worldwide is iStayGreen.org. It has around 3,000 properties that have been Green Eco-Leaf Rated. It’s also a social networking site similar to Facebook - TripAdvisor - and Expedia but all wrapped up into one website for the eco-friendly traveler. Members write reviews on the properties they stay at based on their “Green” initiatives, so basically the public is creating an accountability system that forces the property owners to be truthful in their claims and do something about becoming more environmentally friendly.
Business travelers making “Green” lodging choices will put increasing pressure on the hoteliers to take environmental initiatives seriously; especially if they’re authoring reviews at http://www.istaygreen.org about the eco-initiatives of the properties they stay at. Properties that are making a difference will be rewarded through good reviews and the hotels that aren’t will see their business decline.
[...] Business Travelers Want Green Hotels Business travelers expect hotels to recycle (77 percent), and use energy-efficient lighting and windows (74 percent and 59 percent, respectively). To a lesser extent, they expect hotels to give guests the option of not having sheets and … [...]