Five Things Hotels Can and Should Do to Go Green

If you haven't noticed, green hotels are springing up all over the place and even mainstream chains are refining their practices. Here's what they're doing and what to look for in a responsible stay.

1. Redecorating or building with more sustainable materials: Bamboo flooring, straw bale walls, and solar panel roofing? We like.

2. Making partnerships with green programs: Hotels can partner with green tourism companies like Save Your World to become greener with guidance.

3. Using high-tech thermostats: You’re on vacation; do you really want to sit in the hotel room the entire time? While travelers are out and about, some hotels use climate control sensors to lower usage of A/C or heating.

4. Partaking in the Global Soap Project: Hotels replace every bar of soap in every room, every day, no matter if it’s even been touched. Some hotels (about 40) aren’t throwing theirs away, but donating them to non-profit group The Global Soap Project. Bars of soap are collected, sterilized, reshaped, and redistributed to Ugandan refugee camps.

5. Stocking organic wines: Pesticide-free anything is on the right track to more sustainable consumption. Keep the luxury, lose the chemicals.

For more information about green hotels, visit RTM's Earth Tones section.

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