News for the Hospitality Executive |
Corporate Director, Rooms at Starwood Hotels
& Resorts Reveals ''Eco-Etiquette'' Secrets
Tips for Traveling Green without Making it a Chore WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - August 22, 2007 - Rock stars notoriously trash their hotel rooms, but you don�t have to be Sid Vicious to leave your room in disarray. In fact, it�s your everyday traveler�s etiquette that one would find most surprising -- and more specifically, their lack of �eco-etiquette,� according to Randal Savage, responsible for housekeeping at ELEMENT Hotels as Corporate Director, Rooms at Starwood Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:HOT). The average hotel guest might not invite 30 of his closet friends over for a 4 AM fiesta, but from leaving lights on all day to air-conditioning the outdoors, hotel guests often leave their �eco-etiquette� at home. Over the years, Savage has heard it all. Room attendants have entered empty suites to find the lights on, TV blaring and even the shower running. �I don�t think anyone is intentionally wasteful on the road, but it can be hard to stay on the straight and narrow when your routine is disrupted by travel. We know our guests want to be eco-conscious; it is our job to make it easy for them,� said Savage. The challenge was confirmed in a recent survey commissioned by ELEMENT Hotels, an upcoming extended-stay brand from Starwood. The results show that despite their best intentions, nearly 60% of frequent travelers admit to dropping their �green routines� on the road. While 70% agree that they try to conserve water �as much as possible� at home, only 18% do the same in a hotel. And 63% percent admit to being more likely to leave a light on when they leave a hotel room than home. The survey was conducted by the research firm STUDYLOGIC. In response, the ELEMENT design team is building in smart touches that make being eco-friendly on the road intuitive and easy for guests. That means everything from using eco-friendly materials wherever possible�even the art will be mounted on a base made from recycled tires�to making smart choices like shampoo dispensers in the showers that eliminate landfill-clogging mini-bottles. But savvy travelers don�t have to wait for ELEMENT to open its doors in 2008 to start reducing their environmental impact on the road. Savage�s background in hotel housekeeping led him to identify several smart choices travelers can make to improve their �Eco-Etiquette�:
About Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Worldwide Inc. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.® is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 850 properties in more than 95 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood® Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, Sheraton®, Westin®, Four Points® by Sheraton, W®, Le Méridien® and the recently announced AloftSM and ElementSM Hotels. Starwood Hotels also own Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com. (Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities regulations. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and involve risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks and uncertainties are presented in detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained or that results and events will not materially differ. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.) |
Contact:
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
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Also See: | Starwood Names New Extended-stay Chain ELEMENT Hotels; The First ELEMENT a Company-built Hotel in Lexington, Massachusetts / September 2006 |
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