Great Hotels Organisation to launch the Eco Collection

This year sees the launch of Great Hotels’ new Eco Collection. This collection will complement the existing portfolio by offering alternative accommodation to all segments of the travel industry, from leisure and business travellers to meeting and incentive planners.

The Eco Collection has been in the planning process for over a year. Unlike some marketing efforts, which are simply jumping on the bandwagon of green tourism, the GHO Eco Collection has been thoroughly considered and will include strict criteria for membership. In addition to the basic requirement of member-hotels operating and auditing a comprehensive energy-management system, these will include:

• protection of the surrounding area’s ecosystems
• providing jobs to and sharing socio-economic benefits with local communities
• minimising the environmental impact of tourism
• showcasing local culture, flora and fauna
• increasing environmental and cultural knowledge among staff and guests

Membership will be divided into three tiers:

Tier 1 will include properties that have achieved the highest level of environmental and social accreditation in the prestigious Green Globe benchmarking and certification programme, as well as others of a similar standard, such as ISO 14001.

Tier 2 will comprise hotels that have demonstrated above industry average against a range of environmental performance indicators relevant to their sector and region.

Tier 3 will feature hotels in destinations not necessarily known for sustainable tourism – such as city centres – where the hotel has made significant efforts to improve their ecological footprint.

Geneviève Materne, GHO’s Director of Global Sales, says: “We feel that by creating this three-tiered collection we are not only offering a selection of top-ranked eco resorts worldwide to the leisure traveller and agent, but we are also helping companies deliver on the promise of reducing carbon emission – not just on a company level but also on a global level. With the Eco Collection we are giving companies the ability to book their corporate accommodation at hotels who are striving to achieve higher standards of eco-friendliness.”

Hotels interested in joining this collection should contact Jo Boyle on jboyle@ghorg.com

For other enquiries, please contact Geneviève Materne on gmaterne@ghorg.com