Going green may be more expensive up front. It may be complex for those seeking certification. It may be hard to rationalize as a specific demand generator. But, it is not going away. “In this social environment, it is less and less likely any hotel company or independent hotel will fail to have some kind of sustainability programs. No one can opt out,” says Chris Cahill, president and COO, Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI), Toronto.

The impetus behind broader adoption of green building and design principles is, of course, the fear of losing a competitive edge. Don't expect green initiatives to drive significant rate premiums just yet. Forty-seven percent of Gen-Yers may have told a September 2007 Maritz Research Retail Group survey they would pay more for environmentally friendly services, products or brands, but they are not putting that extra into hotel coffers this year. “I would not encourage any developer to go green to get a rate premium. Going green is more of a market premium,” says Ray Burger, president, Pineapple Hospitality, St. Louis, Missouri. “The risk is that if you don't do it, you could lose business.”

How much business is still open to debate. A 2007 survey conducted by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives and online marketing/expense management specialist KDS revealed only one-third of corporate travel policies promote sustainable tourism policies. Michelle White, FRHI's director of environmental affairs, says reality is different from the averages. “Many organizations have an environmental mandate. There is a growing movement toward green meetings and green weddings. We're working with our global sales team to prepare presentations with green information,” she says.

The challenge for hoteliers is that while many travelers say they would like to stay green, price, location and other factors win out when they make their booking. Wen-I Chang, founder and head of Atman Hospitality Group, San Francisco, and the visionary behind GAIA Napa Valley, the U.S.'s first Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified hotel, says business directly attributable to the green travel market may hover in single digits—even low single digits—if managers don't integrate “green” throughout their operations, marketing and public relations. “If you don't execute, you're going to throw away a lot of customers,” he says.

Smaller, market savvy green hotels might hope to hit the 20% mark. “About 15% to 20% of our guests choose the Orchard and Orchard Garden (both in San Francisco) simply because they're green,” says Stefan Muhle, general manager. “If everything else is equal, green can tip the scales in your favor. Being the first or only LEED-certified hotel in a city carries weight. But right now, it may not be worth it for a hotel to make dramatic changes in its operations.”

That is likely to change as global governments fall in line behind much of Europe and Australia and begin to require environmental standards compliance and as green travelers from the Americas and Asia take a cue from Euro/Australian counterparts and take their ethics on the road. “Green is the way of the world and its politics,” says Laurence Geller, CEO, president, director, Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Chicago. “More meeting planners will insist on hotels being environmentally sensitive to satisfy their corporate or internal policies. If hotels don't adopt green best practices, they do so at their own peril.”

It doesn't take a long-term view to justify the changeover, Geller adds. “With oil at US$80 to US$100 a barrel, only a fool would ignore energy conservation programs. If operators just keep their energy bills even over a year, they've already won.”

There are those hotels still mulling over linen reuse cards and a shift to compact fluorescent as being too much work. But most major chains are looking for ways to integrate green programs throughout their design and operations.

Water and energy conservation will be at the heart of their efforts. The “next big focus” will be reduction of hotels' CO2 footprint. Marriott International has set a goal of lowering its greenhouse gas emissions by 2.2 million lbs. (1 million kg.) by 2010, says Ed Fuller, president and managing director, Marriott International and chair of the International Business Leaders Forum's International Tourism Partnership. “We will be seeing very clear programs around energy reduction in all areas of the world,” Fuller says. “We're also making strides with sustainable design guidelines. How far will it go? Well, we won't be relying on solar power for projects in Norway or Finland. But, in the desert, if the technology exists, why wouldn't we use it?”

Wolfgang Neumann, Hilton Hotels Corp.'s area president for Europe, sees near-term moves toward high-efficiency air conditioning equipment, solar heating, heat recovery systems to extract waste water from one system and use it for another, and variable air and water flow systems. “Projects such as biomass boilers, fuel cells, photovoltaic panels and wind energy are still more cutting edge,” he adds.

They won't stay cutting edge for long. Jiminy Peak, a ski resort in Hancock, Massachusetts, became the first mountain resort in North America to make its own power with a new 1.5 megawatt wind turbine. A biomass boiler helps the Boxwood Hotel & Spa, Wiltshire, UK, avoid a US$278,000 annual gas bill, which should pay back the capital investment in under two years, says Jeremy Blake, principal, London-based Purcell Miller Tritton architects, designers and historic building consultants and the firm behind the launch of Shh! Sustainable Heritage Hotels.

In line with ITC Welcomgroup's goal of zero pollution in its kitchen operations, the Maurya Sheraton, New Delhi, set up its own waste water treatment plant which not only keeps food waste out of municipal drains but also recovers clean, disinfected water for the gardens, reduces the need for food waste storage by 75% and generates fertilizer every day.

New brands will push the envelope—from Starwood Capital's “1” to Auberge Resorts' Solage Hotels & Resorts, The Ambrose Group and GAIA in California—as will new green third-party management companies such as Investors HospitalityManagement in California.

“The ultimate challenge for us is to change the behavioral patterns of people,” says Jan Peter Bergkvist, vice president, sustainable business, Scandic Hotels, Stockholm. “It's about being part of the solution. Companies that do that first will become more successful and profitable whilst the rest will lag.”