Earlier this summer, The Jenks House Bed & Breakfast owners installed a rainwater capture system, so now they don’t have to look to the city’s water supply when the ground gets dry.

The B&B, a two-guestroom accommodation, is owned by Tom and Ila Rae Merten.  The system guides water from the garage apartment roof into four 275 gallon storage tanks.  193 gallons of captured water result when they receive one inch of rainfall, and with Jacksonville averaging 52 inches per year, they expect that the system will collect 10,000 gallons or more of rainwater per year, which will be used for the B&B’s lawn and organic garden.

The owners installed the rainwater capture system themselves, which reportedly cost about $650.  Although it will likely take about three or more years to recoup the investment they made, Tom says that if they had hired someone to install it the payback time would have been longer.  He estimates that this project will effectively save them about 2,000 gallons of water per month.

The Mertens have taken several other steps to make the B&B more environmentally friendly, including changing most of the interior lighting to compact fluorescents, and drying linens on a clothesline instead of using a clothes dryer.  They use environmentally safe cleaners, and purchase goods in bulk when possible.  They also grow their own vegetables and fruits, and compost all scraps.

The Jenks House Bed & Breakfast is only the second B&B in the state to receive the honor of being designated as a Florida Green Lodging property.

To engage the traveling public and its members, the American Hotel & Lodging Association recently began several initiatives to get people involved in the efforts to make the hospitality industry more environmentally friendly.  These initiatives include the Green Partner Program, Green Tips for Travelers and GreenQuest tracking system.

Green Partners sponsor American Hotel and Lodging Association events by donating $1 per attendee.  In turn, that number of trees are planted.  When the programs launched last month more than 800 trees were planted in Chicago following the AH&LA Summer Summit.

GreenQuest is an energy and water usage tracking system that helps hotel owners and management lower utility expenses. This is a free web-based service that can assist properties in improving their rating and also help them track progress throughout the Green Guidelines Challenge.  This challenge is open for submissions until October 1, 2009.

Green Tips for Travelers is designed to help hospitality properties encourage their guests to make their stay eco-friendly by implementing 8 tips that can be found at the AH&LA site at www.ahla.com/green.aspx.  The entire project is designed to make both the hospitality industry property owners and travelers become more environmentally aware, and to make improvements toward that end.

According to a recent survey conducted by PhoCusWright, environmental issues continue to be a driving force with consumers in the U.S.  A full 44% of these surveyed consider environmental impact an important factor when traveling.  However, there does seem to be some skepticism mixed in.

A small handful, only 8% of the respondents felt that is  easy to locate green travel options.  A large majority are skeptical about what they are being told by travel-related companies about green practices.  It is an indicator that communication is going to need to be more transparent to erase some of the doubts that consumers have.

The economic climate has caused most consumers to become very frugal with their spending.  They want to know that their travel choices are implementing practices like renewable energy, zero waste and carbon management practices.  It is becoming increasingly evident that green practices are becoming a normal part of consumer and corporate culture, and that American travelers have come to expect eco-friendly practices when planning for travel.

Wiser World Travel, a travel company started in 2007 by Peggy Lichter, received an offer from a company that promoted “green travel”.  They offered to promote her company on their website for $100.  The catch?  They did not ask Lichter to provide any evidence that her business did in fact implement eco-friendly practices.  This certainly caught her attention!

Wiser World Travel is a company that matches people who desire to travel in an eco-friendly way to hotels that truly are what they claim to be.  She researches the green practices of these businesses in order to decide if they are upfront about their claims.

Lichter learns some very interesting facts in this business.  While attending an industry-related conference sponsored by a hotel that promoted itself as environmentally conscious, she found that the air conditioning was set at such a cold temperature, people had to wear sweaters inside to stay warm.

The term “greenwashing” means marketing or promoting a product or business as being environmentally friendly when it is not.  It is simply a ploy to sell a product, not an attempt to save the Earth.

Green American helps people differentiate between those businesses that are genuinely green, and those that put on a front in order to sell products and services.  They are a non-profit organization that requires its members to pass a screening process in order to qualify for a Green Business Seal of Approval.  They provide information both good and bad pertaining to eco-friendly practices of hundreds of businesses on their website, www.greenamerica.org.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts is expanding it’s environmentally friendly program “Make a Green Choice” nationwide across its Sheraton and Westin brands, according to Sheraton Seattle.  The program, formerly called “You Tidy, We Treat” was a huge success at the pilot hotel, Sheraton Seattle.

According to General Manager Matthieu Van Der Peet, many guests stay at the Sheraton Seattle because of the green efforts that are in place, and many guests are concerned about the environment.  Expanding the practices to other Starwood locations will enable guests the choice to continue their green practices while lodging.

Guests of the Starwood Hotels & Resorts have choices when it comes to services.  With the “Make a Green Choice” program, they are allowed to opt out of having linens and towels replaced every day, and can also choose not to have daily housekeeping done.  For guests that participate, they are rewarded with a US $5 gift card to any of the hotel’s restaurants or 500 Starpoints.  This is awarded to guests who choose to opt out of housekeeping and linen replacement from one night to three nights during their stay.

A USA Travel Association survey done recently showed that 54 million adults look for companies that are concerned with protecting the local environment, and are more likely to book travel arrangements with these companies.  Over 3000 guests participated in the “Make a Green Choice” pilot during the first two months of the program, saving approximately 126,000 gallons of water.  Sheraton Seattle has reduced their energy consumption by more than 20% during the past year, partly due to the new program, and other eco-friendly initiatives put in place.

Soon, North America will see the “Make a Green Choice” program available at all Sheraton and Westin’s locations.

Entertainer Justin Timberlake’s Mirimichi public golf course, formerly known as Big Creek, has become the first golf course to earn the Audobon Classic Sanctuary certification from Audobon International.

Timberlake and his family undertook the $16 million project with the idea of reconstructing the golf course to be more environmentally friendly.  The course has a re-circulating stream system that helps support water quality and wildlife, along with irrigation and drainage systems to re-use rainwater.  Mirimichi also has a natural resource management center for biodegradable treatment of rinse water.

Audobon International is an environmental education organization.  As part of the program, the course restored natural habitats and took steps to minimize water, energy and maintenance costs.  Mirimichi is scheduled to open July 25, and once completed will have a clubhouse that is LEED-certified, as well as a fleet of golf carts that run on solar power.

With more celebrities supporting green issues, Timberlake showed his concern by purchasing the golf course and reconstructing it to standards that are set by Audobon International and the U.S. Green Building Council.

Although it is not clear if golfers have noticed, golf courses in Oregon are going “green”.  The Pacific Northwest is adopting environmentally sustainable practices, especially in the Portland area.  Due to planting low maintenance grasses that can thrive with much less care, they are saving a tremendous amount of water, fertilizer and weed-killer.

Some of the reasons for the changes taking place include anxiety about becoming lawsuit targets or coming under government regulation.  Saving money is also another reason for the changes taking place.  As of recently, nineteen of Oregon’s golf courses are certified by Audubon International as sanctuaries.  To become certified, the courses are examined for water conservation and chemical use, quality practices and wildlife management and habitat, among other test that are performed.

Golf superintendents are now leaving dead trees for habitat.  With many courses having numerous creeks and wetlands, they have taken on new roles by receiving, storing and controlling storm water.  In past years, some courses used blue dye in the lakes and ponds surrounding golf courses to make them look more azure.  They also poured on fertilizer and week-killer in order to create the lush weed-free foliage and grass along the course.

Cost is a huge factor in the change taking place.  Water, pesticides and fertilizer are a huge expense and require extra labor, and reducing these things saves a substantial amount of money.  Golf courses have come to understand that in order for the game to remain successful, they must take action in making the greens more environmentally friendly, and create resources that are sustainable.  Well, looks like the “greens” are getting greener!

Ewald Biemans, owner of Bucuti Beach Resort offers
a few insights as to what to look for in a green resort.

Guest Participation.  Are guests given the opportunity to
purchase carbon credits?  Are they informed about
environmental activities and invited to participate?
Guests at Bucuti participate in many environmentally
related contests and clean ups.

Staff Training:  Are all associates involved in
implementing green practices?  At Bucuti, quality
control is an area that every employee participates in.
They learn these practices from day one.

Has the resort been recognized for its policies and
standards?  These rewards may be from hotel
associations or leading travel publications, and
may commend the resort for exceptional environmental
practices.

Does the resort have renewable resources in place?
Many resorts now harness wind, solar and/or hydro
power.  In certain areas, many natural resources can
be used.

Measuring water, electricity and other resources is
becoming the norm in many resorts that are improving
their “green” factor.  Putting bulk dispensers throughout
the resort and using reusable utensils and glassware,
as opposed to plastic throwaway materials is being
noticed more and more.  Also, many resorts are
switching over to natural and biodegradable cleaning
products to further their efforts.

Travelers are becoming more savvy, and can
differentiate between “eco-friendly” resorts and the
ones that are truly dedicated to making important
changes to protect the environment.

Golf courses are known for their use of pesticides, fertilizers and water, which is why they have a rocky relationship with environmentalists.  Pressure from the public has led some of the country’s major golf and associations to design programs and perform research to learn of natural ways they can maintain their beautiful greens.

Golf & The Environment Institute has resulted from the talk of environmental experts and major golf group representatives that took place fourteen years ago.  This institute has worked diligently since to persuade golf course clubs toward green-thinking environmental issues.  Since an estimated 20,000 golf courses exist in this country, this means much land is at stake.

Despite the efforts of major environmental groups, most golf courses still use chemicals to keep their courses in top condition.  Why?  The biggest reason is that the golfers themselves expect perfectly manicured greens.  Organizations are struggling to let golfers know that it is OK if a course has a few brown spots.

The only complete organic golf course in America is Vineyard Golf Club on Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.  Amazingly, this course looks as good as any of the top golf courses in the country, but that is due to hard work according to Jeff Carlson, golf course superintendent at Vineyard Golf Club.  He says keeping these greens in top shape requires many extra steps, like whisking away morning dew.

In summarization, it sounds as though if organizations can convince golfers that the greens do not have to be immaculate for play, golf courses may become green sooner!

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts announced the extension of its brandwide Green Cuisine program to include sustainable seafood choices.  The company will remove threatened fish species from their restaurant menus, such as Chilean Sea Bass and Bluefin Tuna.

Fairmont’s purchase of seafood will be made with the guidance and consultation of reputable seafood watch organizations and with the input of local suppliers.  This commitment means working together with reputable suppliers who buy fish that are resilient to fishing pressure and harvested using methods that limit damage to marine habitats.

Chilean Sea Bass is a long-life fish which does not reproduce quickly.  This is a popular menu item worldwide, and numbers have been decreasing dramatically due to illegal and aggressive fishing practices.  Bluefin Tuna, the other dish eliminated from Fairmont’s menu, is heavily over-fished in international waters.  This species is in such serious danger that the World Conservation Union lists it in its group of most threatened wildlife.  In fact, Bluefin Tuna has declined by 97% over the last forty years.

The final result of this action will mean healthier practices flowing down to suppliers, who will then have better choices to offer restaurants.  This helps Fairmont demonstrate to guests who care about the future of the world that they are participating in sustainable alternatives.