The Doubletree Hotel & Executive Meeting Center – Lloyd Center has become the largest full-service hotel to achieve a Green Seal GS-33 Lodging Sustainability Certification. Earning this comprehensive standard is the Doubletree's latest step in building sustainability into its entire operation: from how to handle food waste, to which cleaning products to use, to where its eggs come from. The Doubletree is considered a "green leader” in the Portland market and hosted the national conference of the Green Meeting Industry Council in February 2007.
In March 2007, the hotel joined forces with The Climate Trust to launch a guest-driven carbon calculator. The calculator – the first ever designed specifically for a hotel – can be found at www.doubletreeportlandgreen.com, a website that describes and highlights the Doubletree’s many eco-friendly initiatives and programs. One of those, the carbon calculator, allows individual guests and meeting groups to determine the global warming impact of their stays. Guests can then make a contribution to The Climate Trust to offset their visit’s carbon footprint. Donations made by guests and meeting groups support several Portland-based projects that The Climate Trust is helping to fund. These projects reduce carbon dioxide emissions through improved transportation and increased energy efficiency in both commercial and residential buildings.
The hotel’s green achievements include:
Encouraging green meetings
The hotel was the first in Oregon to receive Green Seal certification. Since 1996 the hotel has reduced overall waste disposal 65 percent. The hotel composes an average 14 tons of kitchen waste per month. The hotel has reduced overall energy consumption 32 percent. The hotel, which is located on the MAX light rail line, provides mass-transit subsidies to employees and encourages guests to use MAX to travel to the hotel from the airport. The property purchases 35,000 kilowatt hours of electricity form wind power each year.
A 331-room Luxury Collection Hotel (Starwood Hotels & Resorts) opened in downtown Portland in the fall of 2008. Known as “the Nines,” the hotel occupies the top nine floors of the historic Meier & Frank Building; a renovated Macy’s department store now fills the building’s lower five levels. A key component of the $133 million project was converting the top floors of the former department from a solid box to a hollow square. The creation of this atrium gives all of the hotel rooms – even those on the interior – access to a view and natural light. The interior rooms overlook the glass-roofed lobby area, while the exterior rooms enjoy city views.
Sage has worked closely with the Portland Development Commission to implement many environmental and conservation policies big and small at the hotel, including the purchase of 100 percent of the hotel’s electricity through renewable energy sources and use of eco-conscious “Green Seal” certified housekeeping products. The hotel is anticipating LEED Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in May 2009. The developer has honored its engagement to hire 73 percent of its total staff force in Portland (33 percent are minorities.)
The Nines anticipated LEED Silver Certification would reward several innovative efforts. For instance:
Ninety percent of the 24 million pounds of material removed during the building’s renovation was recycled and diverted from landfills. The Nines will draw from 100 percent renewable energy – including wind-power and carbon offsets. During construction and installation of final finishes, the hotel used only low-emitting adhesives, sealants, paints and carpets in order to secure optimum air quality. Guest bathrooms have dual-flush toilets and low-flow faucets for an anticipated savings of approximately 500,000 gallons of water each year. The hotel’s setting in the Meier & Frank building counts toward certification, earning credit for reuse and for maintaining at least 75 percent of the building’s shell. Limited outdoor lighting will reduce light pollution in the surrounding area. In an effort to encourage guests and employees to choose alternative transportation, bike storage and easy access to public transportation will be available.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) was developed by the USGBC as a recognized rating system for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. The Nines will be the third existing hotel building in the world to receive the U.S. Green Building Council's prestigious Silver rating (and the 11th hotel worldwide to have achieved any level of LEED certification at all).
Hotel Monaco (Kimpton Hotel)
Kimpton’s 5th Avenue Suites Hotel became a Kimpton Hotel Monaco in March 2007. The hotel’s transformation included a $4 million upgrade of the existing 5th Avenue Suites property.
The Hotel Monaco offers a “Car-less Vacation” package for travelers who want to visit without using a car. The vacation package takes full advantage of the hotel’s downtown location and close proximity to the city’s mass transit options, including MAX light rail trains, the Portland Streetcar and myriad bicycle paths and bus lines. Upon arrival at the hotel, guests who book the “Car-less Vacation” package will find bicycle and walking maps in their room. The hotel will provide complimentary all-day bicycle rentals for two guests and a seasonal picnic lunch for two prepared by Chef Tom Dunklin of Red Star Tavern and Roast House, the hotel’s adjoining restaurant. The package also includes one-night accommodations for two and reimbursement for guests who use the MAX light rail train to get from Portland International Airport to the hotel. “Car-less” package rates begin at $249 and are subject to availability.
Like its Portland sister property (Hotel Vintage Plaza), the Monaco adheres to Kimpton’s EarthCare program. The hotel has also earned the City of Portland’s RecycleWorks Award for its recycling efforts.