Marriott, Hotel Industry Continue ‘Green’ Push

April 27, 2009

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The hotel and hospitality industry continues to make gains in adding energy efficiency — both on the back end and the front end — and in finding ways to market its properties as green.

Marriott was recently named to Computerworld magazine’s “Top 12 Green IT Companies,” according to a press release.

Marriott developed an underground data center to take advantage of a naturally cool environment to reduce power consumption in the IT arena. The company also uses server virtualization and desktop power management policies. Additionally, so far Marriott has recycled more than 28,761 IT assets, diverting 629,408 pounds of ewaste from landfills, according to the release.

Aside from its IT progress, Marriott has ceased automatic newspaper drops for guests, instead asking them to specify which newspaper, if any, that they want to receive. The company has aggressive recycling initiatives in various locations. And the chain offers guests the option to “green their stay” for $1 a day extra.

Marriott is not alone in its sustainable improvements.

Kaba Ilco Inc., which makes hotel key cards, has introduced two environmentally friendly keycards. The cards are made either from 100-percent recycled polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic or from polylactide acid (PLA) plastic, the latter of which is derived from a corn byproduct and is both recyclable and biodegradable, according to a press release.

Other firms also are offering so-called “green key cards.” Both usfi | GreenWorks and Pineapple Hospitality offer three varieties of Green Earth Key Cards.

Now that hotel groups are offering more choices in green hotels, there is a resource for consumers and businesses to locate the options. The Green Hotels Directory is a new Web site that is the result of a survey of more than 47,000 hotels, according to a press release. The site is a a partnership between Environment News Service and ARES Travel Network.

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