BOSTON- Fifty-nine hotels in New England have adapted programs intended to save money and preserve the environment by encouraging guests to reuse linens and towels provided by the hotel. According to Project Planet, a Georgia-based provider of environmental products, Bass Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn, and Choice are a few of the companies participating in linen programs.
Some hotels are placing cards on doors and bedside tables urging guests to reuse bath towels. These cards tell guests to leave towels on the floor if they want new ones or to hang them back up if they want to use them again. The Boston Park Plaza Hotel provides a card for customers to place on their pillow if they dont want their sheets changed.
An average-sized hotel with 150 rooms and 66% guest participation can save about $32,000 by implementing a guest linen and towel program. Project Planet estimates that 72 million gallons of water would be saved if 11,000 hotels out of the 45,000 hotels in the U.S. had a linen program. (8/24/00)
SOURCE: The Boston Globe
