More hotels are going green and not just to save water or money

Originally published November 20, 2014 at 7:36 PM | Page modified November 20, 2014 at 10:16 PM

LOS ANGELES In the hotel industry, being green sometimes means ripping out the greenery.

The Intercontinental Los Angeles Century City Hotel is removing draping ivy plants from the balconies of all 361 rooms, replacing them with drought-tolerant succulents.

The Courtyard by Marriott in nearby Torrance tore out 900 square feet of turf and flower beds, swapping them for native California grass to help cut water use by 15 percent.

Some hotels have gone beyond simply installing low-flow shower heads and urging guests to reuse towels. The goal is not just to save water or money. Its about creating an eco-friendly image to appeal to environmentally minded guests.

Its not a huge savings, Steve Choe, general manager of the Intercontinental, said about dumping the ivy planters. I think its about sending the right message.

Nearly 60 percent of travelers say they plan to make eco-friendly choices when booking hotels, with half saying they would pay extra to stay at an environmentally friendly hotel, according to a 2012 survey by the travel website TripAdvisor.

An Earth-friendly image is also important because many corporate travel managers insist that their workers stay at hotels that do their part to improve the environment.

The percentage of companies with travel booking policies that either require or recommend that a hotel adopt sustainability measures has jumped to 19 percent in the U.S., up from 11 percent in 2011, according to a new study by the Global Business Travel Association, the trade group for the worlds business-travel managers.

The best thing hotels can do is say, Look at what we are doing to help the environment, said Patricia Griffin, founder of the Green Hotels Association, a Houston-based group that promotes green policies for hotels.

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More hotels are going green and not just to save water or money