Let’s face it, as much as we love camping, hostels, and eco-lodges sometimes a hotel is the most reasonable option.

Luckily, even when staying at the least environmentally-friendly hotel you have a lot of control over your environmental impact. Here are 11 of our favorite tips and tricks for being a little friendlier to Mother Earth during your next hotel stay:

Unplug, unplug, unplug. The first thing you should do when you walk into a hotel room is unplug. 5 lamps? Unplug 4. Mini-fridge? Unless you’ve brought a turkey and mayo sandwich, unplug. Coffee maker? Unplug. Hair dryer? Unplug. Appliances drain energy even when they’re not on. If you just spend 2 minutes unplugging items you will already have made a difference.

Hotel guests and clients are driving the greening of the hotel industry, they are encouraging and supporting greening programs at hotels throughout the world. 

They are participating in hotel linen programs by reusing towels and not having sheets changed every day. 

They are turning off lights and TV as well as closing drapes when they’re out of their hotel rooms to reduce energy usage.  They are using less water while at hotels.  They are participating in hotel recycling programs.  They are choosing to help protect the fabulous destinations we all love to visit.

Along with the rest of the economy, the lodging and hospitality industry has reason to be concerned with the current financial crisis. When times are tough, one of the first things that gets cut from personal and business budgets is travel expenses.

Some hotels are already feeling a pinch from the tight economy. And as a sign that things might get worse before they get better, an analyst from Goldman-Sachs recently lowered expectations on the entire hotel sector for 2009 and through 2010, based on the growing supply of hotel rooms and weakening business travel trends — estimating that revenue per available room will drop 4% in the U.S. during 2009 and dip another 1% in 2010.

At this morning’s controversial and exciting BITAC panel session, industry experts explored how the lack of understanding of what “green” means precludes the ability to develop meaningful hotel industry-specific standards.

With all the talk being bandied about when it comes to going “green,” it’s easy to think the hotel industry has got this all worked out. Truth is, figuring out what “green” even means is such an onerous task, even the brightest industry leaders are stymied with this one.

It’s a challenge affecting all sectors of the hotel industry, from hotel executives to the suppliers that fill up hotels with their products. Just last week, the American Hotel & Lodging Association washed their hands of this complicated problem. The association has decided to leave it up to some as-of-yet unnamed organization to attempt to tackle the issue and will instead issue some basic guidelines.  

When Executive Chef Laurent Poulain ascends to the roof of the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston, he doesn’t care that there isn’t much of a view.

What matters is that there is a vision – and plenty of sun.

The sunshine is, in fact, just what’s needed for the ten varieties of herbs being grown in the pesticide-free, all-natural, not-quite-sky-high hotel garden created with 12 raised-bed boxes and some 200 to 300 pounds of dirt.

“It is,” Poulain said, “just perfect.”

Everything that we do leaves a carbon footprint on this earth, whether taking a flight to a beachside resort, washing your clothes, lighting your home, or enjoying a Sunday drive. As reports of the growing climate issue worldwide increase, the necessity to react to preserve our planet earth becomes ever more essential. The question becomes, can we offset our carbon footprint? The answer is yes, but our daily decisions and counteractions need to be part of the process to preserve a global environment which allows us to continue to thrive.

ReduceMyFootprint.travel was created late in 2007 as a carbon reduction program set up by ABTA, The Travel Association, with the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO). Reduce My Footprint, a U.K. based non-for-profit organization, aims to deliver carbon reduction for individuals and companies through its informational website and seminars on how to reduce carbon emissions. Additionally, on ReduceMyFootprint.travel users have the opportunity to offset their carbon emissions by purchasing CO2 reductions. With the monies received through such purchases, Reduce My Footprint funds projects around the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in places such as India, South Africa, Brazil, Cyprus, Kenya, The Gambia, Tobago, Sri Lanka, Yucatan, and others.

The creation of a Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council (STSC) moves a step closer to becoming a reality as a coalition of international organizations agree to establish a body that increases credibility around sustainable tourism certification programs, and ultimately helps protect the environment, rights and livelihoods of local communities. The United Nations Environment Program, the United Nations World Tourism Organization and the United Nations Foundation are amongst the supporters of this initiative. As part of this joint scheme, they will work with the Rainforest Alliance, an international environment organization, and other NGOs and industry groups, to raise funds, recruit stakeholders and launch the STSC in early 2009.

“With tourism as the world’s largest industry, and nature-related tourism the fastest growing market segment of the industry, certification programs have become more relevant than ever to help conservation and community development through sustainable tourism operations,” said Tensie Whelan, Executive Director of the Rainforest Alliance, who was listed last year by Ethisphere magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in business ethics. “We are delighted that various UN agencies, NGOs and industry leaders are committed to getting the STSC off the ground.”

Increasingly, conventions and meetings are looking to incorporate environmentally conscious elements into their events, and THETRADESHOW is no exception. From using recycled paper and environmentally friendly inks on printed pieces to recycling badge holders, THETRADESHOW is going green.

"As the travel industry becomes increasingly aware of the importance of being environmentally responsible on all fronts, it is incumbent upon us as industry leaders to take it to the next level. That means incorporating green initiatives every step of the way, from internal business practices to implementing broad-scale programs at major industry events such as THETRADESHOW," said Bill Maloney, CTC, ASTA executive vice president and COO. "We can't ask others to do what we are not willing to do ourselves."

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With tourism destinations around the world going green and striving to land travelers, those with outdoor activities, such as cycling, are continually gaining popularity. In fact, according to the Travel Industry Association (TIA), more than 27 million travelers took biking vacations in the past five years, and the sport is ranked as the third most popular outdoor vacation activity in America (following camping and hiking). In the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, cycling and cycling safety have become a focus of one of the region’s premier destinations—Dancing Bear Lodge, which provides all-inclusive vacations for guests seeking a rustic vacation basecamp for their Smoky Mountain experience, but who don’t want to leave finer amenities behind.

Located in the small East Tennessee community of Townsend, a gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Dancing Bear Lodge has seen cycling become a tourist draw, serving as a means of transportation and recreation.

“More than 30 million adults in the U.S. have taken an educational trip to learn or improve a skill, sport or hobby in the past three years,” said Matt Alexander, an avid cyclist and managing partner of Dancing Bear Lodge in Townsend, Tenn. “We’ve seen that trend at Dancing Bear, as well as in our community, as the popularity of cycling has attracted an increasing number of visitors to Townsend.”

Defining what is a 'green' amenity is getting easier but fuzzy definitions of 'pure,' 'organic,' 'natural,' and 'biodegradable' can make the purchasing process for conscientious hoteliers and innkeepers a confusing one. The terms can apply to not only what is in the amenity bottle but also the bottle itself. An increasing number of amenity companies are offering greener amenity options. While that is good for the lodging industry and good for the environment, weeding through the terminology and what one amenity vendor described as 'marketing hype' can be challenging.

Washington, D.C.-based Green Seal should help clarify the green amenity confusion later this year when it finalizes its Environmental Standard for Soaps and Shower Products GS-44. The products proposed to be included in this standard are liquid soap, solid soap, shampoo, conditioner, bubble bath, and related bath and shower products that are rinsed off the body. Green Seal's new environmental label program is expected to address such important impacts as packaging, aquatic concerns, and toxic ingredients. Until Green Seal releases its voluntary new program and it is adopted by industry vendors, consumers will have to do their homework to fully understand what they are buying.

Yes, Meeting/Convention Planners, you can, for you have the economic clout. If trends are any indicator, the State of Hospitality, having undergone a recent boom, now approaches a trough. Standards, whether in quality or performance, are low, the product has significant highs, a modest middle ground, and a disappointing base. Service delivery is spotty, the attitude is careless, and the reception is disinterested. And, now we layer another Consumer expectation - Green. Enter the Meeting/Convention Planner, who must navigate the unsure landscape, further exacerbated by the down economy.

A key question remains: do the added start-up costs of going 'green' translate into higher property taxes for hotels? The answer is they can and here's how you can prevent it. Eco-friendly operations and design have moved into the mainstream of real estate and changed the way the market approaches renovation and new development. Hotel owners and operators are now fully engaged in the 'green' movement, as they have witnessed the positive market response to these initiatives in other areas of real estate. Most experts suggest that the hard costs to go 'green' have come down significantly in the past couple of years, but in hotels, 'green' start-up costs (operational training and certification process) still present a financial challenge. A key question remains: do the added start-up costs of going 'green' translate into higher property taxes for hotels? The answer is they can and here's how you can prevent it.

Hotels are currently jumping on the bandwagon of the green movement. The most basic practice that most hotels worldwide have is a towel and linens reuse program. According to a survey on hotel green practices released by the American Hotels Lodging Assn, 88 percent of hotels that responded have a linen reuse program for guests who stay multiple nights, and just more than 83 percent have a towel reuse program.

While some hotels are savvy enough to promote their environmental practices, most are not doing enough to satisfy business travelers who are increasingly demanding green accommodations.

More than a third "seek out hotels that are environmentally friendly," according to a new survey of 1,155 business travelers commissioned by Big Four firm Deloitte. The survey says 38 percent have researched green lodging facilities, while 28 percent say they're willing to pay 10 percent more for green accommodations.