Eco Green Travel

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Tiamo Eco Resort: an exclusive slice of paradise

June 18, 2011 · Filed under eco friendly resorts, enviromental hotels, green hotel options, Green Hotels, green travel, Green Travel Hints · Tagged eco green travel, environmentally responsible travel, Green Hotels, green travel, lush vegetation, luxury

Tiamo Eco Resprt is an exclusive slice of paradise in the heart of the Caribbean. Situated on South Andros Island in the Out Islands of the Bahamas, a visit to Tiamo is unlike most other experiences. Accessible only by boat or seaplane, and with a private beach and only 10 cottages in this resort, taking a vacation here really does enable you get away from it all. Indulge yourself in tropical surroundings: pristine white-sand beaches, lush green palm groves, and the clearest turquoise waters. Sail, snorkel, or simply relax in private on one of the Caribbean’s best beaches; this luxury eco-resort is an idyllic place for a truly amazing escape.

Green Travel Definitions

January 26, 2011 · Filed under eco friendly resorts, enviro facts, enviromental hotels, environmental facts, geotourism, Green Hotels, Green Resorts, GreenTravel Definitions, travel news · Tagged environmentally responsible travel, green travel, green travel definitions

Defining ‘responsible tourism’

Community-based tourism: Where businesses are owned and operated by local residents.
Ecotourism: Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people.
Pro-poor tourism: Tourism that results in increased net benefit for poor people.
Responsible tourism: Tourism that maximizes benefits to local communities, minimizes negative social or environmental impact and helps local people conserve fragile cultures, habitats or species.
Sustainable tourism: Tourism that meets the needs of tourist and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future.
Volunteer (also known as voluntourism) and educational tourism: Holidays that incorporate unpaid volunteer and not-for-credit learning activities in the host community as part of the vacation experience.
Adventure tourism: A form of nature-based tourism that incorporates an element of risk, higher levels of physical exertion and often the need for specialized skill.
Nature-based tourism: Any form of tourism that relies primarily on the natural environment for its attractions or settings.

Millennium Hotels and Resorts are committed green hotels working towards preserving the environment

August 22, 2010 · Filed under Green Hotel Programs, Green Hotels, Green Resorts, green travel, eco friendly resorts · Tagged Green Hotels, green hotel initiatives, Millennium Hotels & Resorts, Green committee

Millennium Hotels and Resorts is committed to preserving the environment with eco-friendly initiatives not only across all their 15 U.S. hotels but also as well at the corporate level. This is a great initiative at Millennium sees as s a first step of the company’s long-term focus on being “green.”

Their plan consists of the following initiatives:

• Raising awareness of sustainable development issues across all of the Millennium U.S. properties.
• Promoting environmental purchasing and supply process and procedures across their properties.
• Monitor progress of implementation measures arising from hotel assessments.
• The establishment of a “Green Committee” at every property, headed by an Executive Committee member.

• The selection of eco-friendly suppliers from the Avendra procurement program

Some of the initiatives that are under way are:

ü New, low-energy lighting is now being used within hotels

ü All equipment now being purchased by the properties is EnergyStar® compliant

ü New programmable thermostats in guestrooms eliminate unnecessary energy usage

ü Introduced recycling programs for glass and bottles wherever possible

ü Instituted a program to recycle paper at all corporate and hotel offices and reception desks

Millennium Hotels have also changed their cleaning processes with the end result being the elimination of the use of aerosols in the properties and introduction of eco-friendly cleaning chemicals. They have also now eliminated the use of non-biodegradable Styrofoam cups at all hotels ( a great green initiative).

Guest Participation
Guests can also contribute and do their part by opting to have their linens changed on the second night of their stay, in order to reduce the amount of water used in the cleaning process. They can also participate in the terry re-use program, in which they can hang their towels back on the rack and reuse or simply place the towels on the floor or in the bathtub to be replaced by clean, fresh ones. To assist in saving water each room has been equipped with showerheads, toilets and faucets that conserve water.

Millennium Hotels and Resorts sees this as an evolution and are dedicated to life-long environmental responsibility with their mantra to embrace the addition of new eco-friendly policies as they develop.

Travelers want to go green when booking a hotel

August 20, 2010 · Filed under eco friendly resorts, enviromental hotels, environmental facts, Green Hotels, green travel, Tourism Sustainability Council, Travelocity, Travelocity’s Travel for Good · Tagged Green Hotel, green travel, Tourism Sustainability Council., Travelocity’s Travel for Good

Online travel destination site, Travelocity announced its findings that green hotels are scoring higher points with travelers than their less-than green counterparts – suggesting that not only are eco-friendly hotels better for the planet, but that travellers are now more inclined to stay at a green hotel versus non green hotels.

“This data confirms something we’ve long suspected,” says Alison Presley, manager of Travelocity’s Travel for Good® program. “Our eco-friendly hotels care deeply about the entire experience they provide and that attention to detail translates into an awesome stay overall.” When the company studied the reviews for green hotels, a great green trend emerged. Consumers gave 83 percent of non-green hotels three smiley faces or more–but they gave a whopping 94 percent of green hotels three smiley faces or more.

Travelocity currently lists in excess of 2,000 hotels in its Green Hotel Directory.

Travelocity doesn’t just promote eco-friendly products they actually “walk-the-talk and works hard to reduce its own footprint and to promote sustainability within the travel industry and has achieved LEED-certified Silver at its headquarters. Also Travelocity and its customers have helped The Conservation Fund plant more than 24,000 trees across five national wildlife refuges that will trap an estimated 25,400 metric tons of CO2 over the life of those forests and is a founding member of the Tourism Sustainability Council.

I welcome your comments

Stephen Duggan

www.ecogreentravel.wordpress.com

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Hotels Need to be totally green not just half green

August 12, 2010 · Filed under eco friendly resorts, enviromental hotels, Executive House Keepers, geotourism, Green Resorts, green travel, Green Travel Hints, Uncategorized · Tagged eco green travel, Green Hotel, Green Hotels, green travel

Travelers are becoming more aware of the need to be more environmentally friendly when they travel. Hotels need to tap into this growing trend by ‘walking the talk’ just having cards about using your towel or bedding for a few more days is not enough. It’s important for properties to be completely involved in green initiatives be it through water conservation efforts, recycling programs and energy saving initiatives

A recent study by Carlson Hotels found that 76% of travelers said that a hotel’s degree of environmental friendliness influenced their decision of where to stay. More importantly it found that some guests are willing to pay a premium to those with a high CSR involvement.

According to the survey by Cone and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business (2008)

· 85% of Americans say they have a more positive image of a product or company when it supports a cause they care about

· 84% of women and 75% of men say they consider a company’s commitment to social issues when deciding what to buy or where to shop

· 85% feel it is acceptable for companies to involve a cause in their marketing

A recent poll by CondeNast Traveler echoed similar findings. This survey found that:

· 73% of readers would be willing to pay more to stay in a hotel that helps support the local community through health and education initiatives

· 20% would spend between 1-5% more, 29% would spend between 6-10% more, and 24% would spend 10% more.

Some great examples of Hotels that have a commitment to the environment and to social responsibility is, Kimpton Hotels & Resorts’ with their long-running Kimpton CARES initiatives. KimptonCARES program builds awareness and raises funds for three non-profit organizations through a series of annual events: Dress for Success, The Trust For Public Land, and the Red Ribbon Campaign.

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Park Inn Muscat, Oman recieves first Middle East Green Globe Certification

August 9, 2010 · Filed under Green Hotel Programs, Green Hotels, enviromental hotels, eco friendly resorts, Green Globe · Tagged green travel, Green Hotels, Green Globe Certification, eco green travel

The Park Inn Muscat is a Rezidor Hotel Group establishment, and the first Rezidor hotel to receive the Green Globe standard certification. It is located on Al Khuwain on Sultan Qaboos Street, and has 175 furnished rooms and seven suites, designed for business travelers.

Green Globe was established in 1993 and is a member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Also partly owned by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), its sustainability standard is internationally recognized.

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Green hotels gaining popularity in Thailand

August 9, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized, Green Hotel Programs, Green Hotels, Green Resorts, enviromental hotels, eco friendly resorts · Tagged green travel, thialand hotels, green hotel programs, green hotel popularity, eco green travel

More Thailand properties move towards green environmentally friendly as guests demand a more greener footprint. The leading foundation in Thailand is the Green Leaf Foundation. The foundation has three categories of green-hotel certification — Green Leaf, Health Promotion and Smoke Free.

An example of a resort that has made a great green contribution is the Dusit Resort Pattaya, which has received a Five Green Leaf Certificate (the highest level) from the foundation, has saved about 100,000 baht a month in electricity and water costs since making a serious effort to go green.

Unfortunately a lot of hoteliers believe being environmentally friendly means having to spend huge sums of money to become green, this is not necessarily the case. In fact by asking guests to change their habits and attitudes. Hotels need to encourage guests to keep their towels and sheets for a few days instead of changing them on a daily basis. This save water, reduces power bills as well as the use of detergents.

A saving can also be achieved by hotels by just switching from chlorine to salt in their swimming pools. The result of this simple activity could reduce that cost by about 60%. There are now 250 Green Leaf Hotels, up from 130 last year, with the number expected to grow further over the next several months. The foundation also sees a positive trend in the lower Health Promotion and Smoke Free categories. Leading Bangkok hotels Grand Hyatt Erawan and the beautiful Banyan Tree carry the Green Leaf.

Stephen Duggan

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Marriott Offers New Voluntourism Package

August 8, 2010 · Filed under Green Hotel Programs, Hotel General Manager, eco friendly resorts, geotourism · Tagged eco green travel, voluntourism, marriott hotel

Five years since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans remains a city that needs rebuilding with added challenges from the recent oil spill in the Gulf. Looking to lend a hand while in New Orleans?

Marriott has announced a new voluntourism program called “Spirit To Serve New Orleans“ that makes helping out easy for both business and leisure travelers. Beginning August 3rd, guests who book the voluntourism package can partner with New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity or Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans, through the end of the year, to help rebuild homes hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina and provide food to families impacted by the Gulf oil spill.

The “Spirit To Serve New Orleans” voluntourism package is available at the nine hotels in downtown New Orleans, La. and includes:

1. A dedicated concierge to coordinate volunteer efforts;
2. Deluxe accommodations;
3. Box lunch for two (2);
3. Transportation to and from the volunteer site; and
4. two commemorative t-shirts.

The participating hotels include New Orleans Marriott; JW Marriott New Orleans; New Orleans Marriott at the Convention Center; Renaissance New Orleans Pere Marquette Hotel; Renaissance New Orleans Arts; Courtyard New Orleans Downtown near the French Quarter; Courtyard New Orleans Convention Center; SpringHill Suites New Orleans Convention Center; and Residence Inn New Orleans Convention Center. Rates start at $99.

To book the Spirit to Serve New Orleans package, visit www.spirittoserveneworleans.com or call 1-888-236-2427. Enter V5S in the box entitled “corporate/promotional code” for online bookings.