UPLAND, CALIF.� November 11, 2004 � Welcome to the party � the �Going, Growing Green� hospitality party that is!

Lodging�s leading provider of profitable solutions with environmental benefits, Green Suites® International is pleased to see so many of its clients reaping awards and widespread recognition for their efforts. Of course, this is all gravy atop the significant monetary benefits that stem naturally from the company�s complete line-up of money- and time-saving �green� hotel products and programs. 

Cases in point: San Francisco�s trendy Hotel Triton, and Palo Alto, California�s The Stanford Terrace Inn � two longtime clients of Green Suites International providing EcoRoom accommodations and embracing other profitable �green� programs property wide � recently were recognized as two of just four properties in Northern California qualifying for the Leadership Level of the state�s new Green Lodging Program, launched in late September. Identified as a poster-child for Green Lodging, these two hotels are receiving preferential treatment with state government transient travelers and group business, and are netting �great ink� in key travel publications circulated across the United States.

�We are thrilled that the Hotel Triton has been selected as a model for conservation by the State of California,� said Michael Pace, Kimpton Hotels� City Manager and Eco Program Director. �The Hotel Triton, now a completely �green� and eco-friendly hotel, was the first Kimpton Hotel to introduce EcoRooms.�

Developed by Upland, California-based Green Suites International, EcoRooms (also known as �Green Suites�) typically provide a complete payback in 12 months or less and include several of the following profitable hospitality eco-solutions:

• Energy-efficient lighting solutions such as GE fluorescent lamps bulbs, and the Watt Saver WN-100 sensor nightlight.
• Bathroom amenity dispensers using biodegradable, hypoallergenic soaps, body wash, lotion, shampoo and conditioner
• Recyclable plastic bottles filled with all-natural bathroom amenities and hand soap packaged in recycled paper
• Programmable digital thermostats to control guestroom energy consumption without compromising guest satisfaction
• Patented low-flow/high-pressure showerheads and sink aerators, early-closer toilet flappers and tank diverter valves
• The Nature�s Mist deodorization system/Guaranteed Non-Smoking Rooms Program, and in-room air filters
• A linen and towel reuse program in partnership with Project Planet which encourages guests to reuse their guestroom linens, and have towels washed every two to three days to conserve water and electricity 
• Non-toxic, non-allergenic, all-natural cleaning products
• Facial and Bathroom Tissues which are from 100% recycled materials with at least 30% Post-consumer waste paper.
• Recycling receptacles for guestrooms, lobbies, meeting rooms, restaurants, kitchens and offices.

If imitation truly is the greatest form of flattery, then the Hotel Triton, The Stanford Terrace Inn, and thousands of other Green Suites International clients should be grinning from ear to ear.

�We�ve been working with Green Suites International on a number of environmental initiatives, including EcoRooms, for a decade, so it�s great to see the State of California officially recognize our efforts and encourage us and other hotels to embrace �green� programs that save time and money,� said Brian Fenwick, GM of the 140-room Hotel Triton.

The Hotel Triton has new eco-fashioned rooms designed by Woody Harrelson, Andy Dick and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, with 10 percent of related room charges donated to a �green� charity of the celebrity�s choice. The property also has an entire Eco Floor on the 7th story that comprises 25 EcoRooms/Green Suites equipped with an array of Green Suites International�s water- and energy-saving solutions, including: low-flow sink aerators and purifying filters in all sinks and tubs; air filtration systems/purifiers; organically grown cotton linens and towels; and compact fluorescent lighting throughout that cuts related energy consumption up to 75 percent. 

Property-wide, the hotel uses Green Suites International�s bathroom amenity dispensers to reduce related packaging waste by 90 percent. The Hotel Triton also offers all Green Suites� towel and linen reuse program that Fenwick said reduces laundry detergent and related water and electricity use by 25 percent. More than two-thirds of waste property wide is recycled thanks largely to Green Suites receptacles in guestrooms and public and work spaces, and �a complete buy-in� from top management to line-level employees to guests, according to Fenwick. Paperless purchasing through Green Suites International and other digital-age efforts are helping save our planet�s trees, and Green Suites� non-allergenic, biodegradable, all-natural cleaning products are used throughout the hotel as well.

�Thanks to Green Suites� solutions, and the wholehearted adoption of so many �green� products and programs by our property�s owners, management, staff and guests, today we serve as a blueprint for Green Lodging in California and elsewhere,� Fenwick said. �Properties owe it to themselves to check out these solutions today so they can start saving monies and precious natural resources, and begin better attracting the tens of millions of environmentally aware business and leisure travelers, agents and meeting planners.� 

Guests, staff and owners alike really appreciate EcoRooms, said Barbara Pressman, GM of The Stanford Terrace Inn, which is the only hotel in Palo Alto awarded the �Green Business� designation by the county. Recycling paper, glass, cans and newspaper is commonplace property-wide. More than 90 percent of the chemicals used are nontoxic, and all shampoos and soaps are organic. Fluorescent lights, low-flow tub, sink and shower fixtures and special air and water filters add to the eco-friendly, profit-friendly product mix. 

�We have 10 Green Suites/EcoRooms, and more and more people are requesting them after visiting our web site, seeing some Green Suites International material at our front desk, or receiving referrals from family, friends or co-workers. They�re popular with our guests, owners and staff members for good reason � they�re designed and proven to enhance the guest experience, increase operators� margins and conserve natural resources. Who wouldn�t want in on something like that?�

Bridget O�Brien, Director of Operations for the 80-room property, said that while educating the public on these particular �green� products and programs will make competitors more operationally competitive as well as more attractive to guests and meeting planners, we�re all in this together for our kids and future generations to follow.

�We�re doing our part, with quite a bit of help from the good people at Green Suites International, but we can all do more,� O�Brien said. �Everyone in this industry can do more � and we should begin today, not tomorrow. Start with EcoRooms and do a little more in other guestrooms and property-wide year after year � because it makes good business sense and it�s clearly the right thing to do. 

�More and more groups are staying with us because of our EcoRooms, and our Green Lodging and Green Business designations,� she said. �But even without this new business and new �buzz,� the fact is that Green Suites International�s environmentally friendly systems pay for themselves in a matter of months. Over the years, we�ve tried other so-called �green� products from time to time, but we�re sticking with the Green Suites line-up. They were the first to service this market, and they offer the most as far as people, products and service is concerned. If you�re a hotel and you want to go green, call Green Suites International.�

Carpe Diem

�Put simply: Seize the day, and you�ll seize the green. Take advantage of environmental opportunities today and you will become a hero for greening your bottom line and helping preserve the planet,� said Dan Bornholdt, President & Founder of Green Suites International.

Celebrating its 11th year catering exclusively to lodging operators, Green Suites International�s partners collectively have:

• Replaced nearly 250,000 lights with energy-efficient bulbs � saving more than 80 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity, and avoiding 7.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year from coal fired power plants
• Deployed water-efficient guestroom solutions such as sink aerators and low-flow showerheads, saving an estimated 280 million gallons of water per year
• Installed more than 10,000 Guestat programmable digital thermostats, saving 10 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity and avoiding 5 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year
• Added 15,000 bathroom amenity dispensers, annually diverting more than 10 million plastic bottles from landfills
• Adopted a linen-and-towel reuse program, conserving 100 million gallons of water per year.

Ceil Scandone, Senior Planner for the Association of Bay Area Governments � the independent government organization designating The Stanford Terrace Inn as a �Green Business� � said there�s no time like the present to invest in tomorrow, and there�s few �green� partners as connected with people and proven product in lodging as is Green Suites International.

�Green Suites International has been at this for a long time � long before it was so fashionable and profitable,� Scandone said. �They have a lot of good ideas and great products. We�ve certified more than 400 enterprises as Green Businesses since launching the program in 1996, but less than a dozen of these are hotels. That�s changing, though. We�re beginning to see a real push for �green� programs in hospitality � driven by both operators� needs and travelers� and groups� wants � and we expect this to really snowball as word of the inherent bottom-line savings and benefits spreads throughout the hospitality community.� 

Based in Upland, Calif., Green Suites®  International is lodging�s leading provider of profitable solutions with environmental benefits. For more information on Green Suites International, contact Ray Burger, vice president of sales & marketing, at 888-590-2285, e-mail [email protected], and visit www.greensuites.com.

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