Environmental Leader

Marriott says it plans to learn from its “green” hotel prototypes and expand the program by a measure of tenfold over the next five years.

A central part of the hotel’s efforts is a hotel design that will be “pre-certified” to LEED standards, according to a press release. The design is tailored to Marriott’s Courtyard brand, which has more than 160 hotels in development worldwide.

Marriott plans to increase its green hotel portfolio without driving construction costs through the roof.

The hotel says it will shave about $100,000 in construction expenses and six months in design time, and cut energy and water consumption by a quarter, when compared to national averages. Combined with local and regional incentives for green building, Marriott estimates that the expense in achieving LEED certification could be recouped within two years.

The U.S. Green Building Council, which conducts LEED certifications, calls Marriott’s new design a “volume-build” certification, because of the ability to pre-certify structures.

Eventually the strategy will be extended to other Marriott brands, including Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites. Those hotels have a total of 290 locations under development.

Marriott’s new hotel design for the Courtyard division will be available in April 2010. The Courtyard Settler’s Ridge in Pittsburgh, Penn., which will open next summer, will be the first hotel designed and constructed to these standards.

This latest effort marks a ramping-up of Marriott’s environmental design efforts. In May, the hotel chain had about 30 hotels under development being built to LEED standards.