Guests are increasingly concerned about how “green” hotels are. Additionally, many green practices save resources and cut expenses. If the hotel is committed to environmental sustainability, hotels and other green businesses can become certified for their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The increasing emphasis on environmentally friendly practices has led to concerns that businesses are “greenwashing." Greenwashing means that a business is misleading guests about how green-friendly the business is.
Guests can have the option to recycle and minimize waste. All rooms can include bins for recycled plastics, paper, and other materials. If the hotel room includes the glasses and other dishes, these dishes can be washable and reusable. Styrofoam or plastic dishes are particularly wasteful.
All the lights in the room can be outfitted with energy-saving CFL bulbs (compact fluorescent light). In bathrooms, individual containers of shampoo and soap can be replaced by mass dispensers, saving the waste of plastic. Hotel pools can be treated by saline solution, which is more environmentally friendly than chlorine.
Hotels can also install customized plumbing to conserve resources. According to Stephen Jermanok's article "How hotels are going green for guests," Starwood Hotels vice president Brian McGuiness estimated that “it’s a 2 to 3 percent premium above the total cost of the building to go the LEED-certified route." Dual-flush toilets and “low-flow” showers both conserve water waste. Additionally, the hotel can install reflective roof materials that will lower air conditioning costs during hot months. Both cozy boutique hotels and large commercial-size hotels can even go to the extent of installing solar panels, wind energy conversion systems, or other green energy tools.
