Hotels can do more to help the environment
By Darren Cronian on Friday, April 25th, 2008

On Thursday night I stayed in the Shaftesbury Kensington Hotel, and on inspection in the bathroom I noticed a sticker asking me to think about the environment. Every single light that could be switched on, was on, the TV was set to stand-by, mini bar was switched on, yet there was nothing in it.

Hotels can do more to help the environment

The lights on the landing were on all day and night – okay there needs to be lights for when drunken guests stagger home from award ceremonies but what about lighting that switches on when someone enters the floor. That seems a sensible idea to me.

Don’t get me wrong, the hotel was fantastic but it made me realise that hotels can do a lot more to help the environment.


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6 responses to “Hotels can do more to help the environment”

Peter Daams | 29 April, 2008 at 12:10 pm

You know, you’re right Darren. Hotels do need to do lots more. The token signs to please leave your towels in the bath are just ludicrous compared to the myriad of things they could be doing. Mini-bars are probably one of the worst – high energy usage, low benefit.

There needs to be consumer demand though to push this change. At the moment, it seems the public still prefers air-conditioned, down-lighted, electric-blanketed, wasteful rooms with fresh towels every day and a bottle of wine available at their fingertips. I don’t know. I’d personally prefer staying somewhere where they took the environment seriously.

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Darren Cronian | 29 April, 2008 at 7:43 pm

@ Peter,

Great points. Yes, I agree, it would be nice to see more environmentally friendly hotels. Don’t you think though that the hotels that classify themselves as environmentally friendly are expensive to stay in?

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Peter Daams | 29 April, 2008 at 11:48 pm

@ Darren,

They seem to fall into two categories. Those that are catering to an upper-class that are demanding luxury, but with a conscience. These are naturally hideously expensive – all the same features, just using more expensive power generation, etc.

And then there are those that are catering to the adventurers, willing to tough it out a little to help the planet. Drop toilets, cande-light, etc.. These can actually be cheaper, but consumers need to be up for it.

And then there are hostels like the Grampians YHA ecohostel, that provide their own solar electricity, free range eggs, etc .. who maybe cost more than other hostels, but nonetheless are excellent value!

A lot more needs to happen in any case.

Btw, all those wasteful, uneaten “all-you-can-eat free breakfasts” are another pet peeve of mine.

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Darren Cronian | 30 April, 2008 at 7:10 am

@ Peter

Thanks

Interesting to learn more about the ecohostel etc. I’ll have to write more about this in the future I think. Very few comments left on this post so either people don’t agree, or can’t be bothered ;)

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Rohan | 1 May, 2008 at 12:49 am

We are staying in an eco tourism resort in Sri Lanka, helping build a school for the locals during our holiday in September.

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Darren Cronian | 1 May, 2008 at 12:57 am

@ Rohan

That sounds great fun. How did you find out about the project?

Have you booked with a specific company?

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