Doubletree sets local bar for Missouri hotels' new green standard

Missouri hotels now have a bona fide way to certify strides in sustainability and market their greenness, and one Springfield property is already racking up points with a new recycling effort designed to shore up multiple waste streams.

Launched earlier this year, the Missouri Hotel & Lodging Association's green certification program distinguishes member properties that employ a range of pre-approved energy-efficient and waste-reduction measures. Those upgrades are assigned point values, and hotels that score a minimum of 100 points are certified and may display a "certified green" decal. Participants must be recertified every two years.

So far, nine of the nearly 550 hotels and resorts that belong to the MHLA have obtained the certification. The Falls Village Resort in Branson and three Comfort Inns there are the only green-certified lodging facilities in southwest Missouri, but Greg Walker, owner of Springfield-based Walker Hospitality Group, is confident that will change.

"I think hotels will get the picture and do it, because it's good for the world and it's also good for the pocketbook," he said. "I bet you we get a half a dozen hotels in a heartbeat."

Walker, who sits on both the MHLA and Springfield Hotel & Motel Association board of directors, serves on the committee that developed the certification program. He said some late-breaking revisions have kept him from promoting the program locally, although he expects to unveil the modified program in 60 to 90 days.

One Springfield hotel isn't waiting. The Doubletree Hotel at 2431 N. Glenstone Ave. - owned and operated by O'Reilly Hospitality LLC - recently rolled out a recycling program designed to keep cardboard, paper, aluminum, steel and even organic food waste from the adjoining Houlihan's restaurant out of the landfill. General Manager Brian Sims said both the hotel and the environment stand to benefit from the move.

"It's great to be able to market that and, hopefully, have that help drive some business to you, but we're doing this much more altruistically than probably a lot of people," he said. "It's the right thing to do."

Programs take root

Programs designed to encourage - or, in some cases, force - hotels to go green are becoming more common, and states such as California and Florida have set the bar, said Scott Parisi, president of New Jersey-based consulting firm EcoGreenHotel.

Established in 2004 by the state's Department of Environmental Protection, Florida's Green Lodging Program recognizes facilities that complete an environmental assessment, undergo an on-site review and set goals to improve energy efficiency, water conservation and waste reduction. As of June 1, some 500 hotels, resorts and guesthouses had participated in the program.

Parisi said Florida took the initiative one step further in 2007, when Gov. Charlie Crist signed an executive order mandating that all state meetings and conventions be held in designated green lodging facilities whenever possible. The Sunshine State is experiencing increased interest in ecotourism, and green lodging facilities receive free advertising on the state's Web site, where links connect customers directly to each facility's home page.

"It's becoming a marketing tool," Parisi said. "Now it's getting to a point where you're going to lose business if you're not doing these things."

Both Walker and Sims know this to be true.

Walker has added recycling containers in vending areas at his three hotels - the LaQuinta Inn on South Campbell Avenue, the Baymont Inn near the airport and the Days Inn on West Sunshine Street - and housekeepers have been instructed to remove recyclables from waste baskets in guest rooms during cleanings. He's also hired a consultant to assess water usage at the properties, specifically the sprinkler systems, and arranged for regular pick up of office paper tabbed for recycling.

Sims said the Doubletree's program relies on recycling services available through three companies - Black Oak Organics, Midwest Fiber and Waste Corporation of America, which recently began offering commingled recycling to commercial customers. Midwest Fiber carts off containers full of cardboard, and Black Oak collects compostable bags filled with food waste. The organic waste is hauled to a seven-acre site near Verona, and Black Oak sells the resulting compost to clients at wholesale prices, said co-owner Alan Chappell.

"Solid waste costs are escalating in the Midwest anywhere from 4.5 (percent) up to about 7 percent annually," he said. "Composting costs, generally, are somewhat stabilized. ... The economics of it certainly works. That time is here."

Marketing Missouri

Hotels participating in the MHLA certification program may soon receive a boost from the Missouri Division of Tourism, which is interested in actively promoting the properties, said Bob Smith, the division's interim director.

Smith said he expects the Missouri Tourism Commission to formally endorse the program this summer, and he commended lodging facilities that have invested in new products, programs and technologies to qualify for the certification.

"It's a real badge of improvement," Smith said. "These people are really stepping out big-time."

While most sustainable measures offer long-term savings, more expensive upgrades are almost certainly keeping some hotels from spending lots of green on going green. Retrofitting older hotels with newer technology can be particularly costly. Larger chains with more resources to pour into properties are at an advantage, and Starwood and Wyndham are two examples of companies that have done so, Parisi said.

But Sims at Doubletree said the hotel's weekly disposal bills only jumped by about $150 after implementing the recycling program. He hopes to close that gap further by eventually replacing the hotel's trash compactor with a Dumpster.

Smaller hotel chains with limited budgets do have a few options for defraying costs, though. Parisi pointed to rebate programs like City Utilities' EnergyWise that put money back in a business owner's pocket. CU offers rebates to commercial customers for high-efficiency lighting, irrigation rain sensors and low-flow toilets.

Parisi also noted that Travelocity.com - with the assistance of Energy Star, Green Key and the Rainforest Alliance - has launched a directory of green hotels aimed at eco-friendly travelers.

Travelocity also is part of the Partnership for Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, a 32-organization coalition working to establish an agreed-upon set of sustainability standards for hotels.[[In-content Ad]]