Don’t believe the hype, friends: it’s easy being green. Kermit the Frog may have sang a sad song about his green-skinned fate, but here at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, we’ve found our new green, environmentally friendly skin rather fetching. And, I guess we get what we deserve: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has bestowed its prestigious Energy Star Label on our humble hotel, honoring us for major improvements in energy and water efficiency. Yep, it feels good to be green.

We’re all figuring out the little things can make a huge difference for the environment. Some of what we’ve done can be done by just about anyone. The energy efficient fluorescent light bulbs we’ve installed use up to 75% less energy than traditional bulbs (you can screw in a light bulb, right?) and our new Energy Star-compliant appliances run far more efficient than standard models, using up to 50% less energy and water. We’ve also put into effect a couple of hotel-specific enhancements: a computerized Energy Management System and daily tips for saving energy for our guests and staff.

All this means we’ve improved energy efficiency for the hotel by over 10%. The Energy Star Label means a lot to us, actually, and to Marriott, our parent company. We’re one of 250 hotels in the Marriott line that have earned the label.

And here’s the kicker: by being environmentally friendly, the hotel is saving a lot of money. We pay lower bills because of lower energy costs. Now, once people see they can save money by going green (like we have), I think we’ll see a huge change in this country.

What we’ve done at the Renaissance Hotels is just a small step. Time to go do some stepping yourselves.

Signing out,

Bruce