The GreenHotels Directory, the first online reservation system designed for travelers seeking environmentally-friendly hotel accommodations, was launched last week by a partnership between Environment News Service and ARES Travel Network. Now, for the first time, business and vacation travelers are able to instantly locate and make online reservations at hotels offering responsible conservation features.

Thousands of hotels have participated in the launch of the GreenHotels Directory initiative and more are being added every day. ARES has documented the environmental contributions of hotels and attractions so that travelers are offered a way to identify green lodging when booking their vacations.

Industry-wide surveys of more than 47,000 hotels have pinpointed quantifiable green features offered by the participating hotel members. Sustainable practices provide comforts away from home to travelers and to the environment. The GreenHotels Directory online reservation system promotes hotels engaged in green practices, from non-caustic cleaners to recycling to renewable energy.

The GreenHotels Directory has captured the contributions of suppliers and highlighted them in the online booking engine. Visitors can recognize environmentally-friendly hotels by the ‘Travel Green’ icon. Clicking the icon opens a summary of that hotel’s sustainable activities in the GreenHotels Directory.

In evaluating members of the GreenHotels Directory, all efforts by each hotel were considered as a whole in building each property’s green identity, rather than using a narrow rating system, which provides relatively few in-depth details about a hotel’s practices.

Visit www.greenhotels-directory.com to view participating hotels across the United States.

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Author: Tracey de Morsella (323 Articles)

Tracey de Morsella started her career working as an editor for US Technology Magazine. She used that experience to launch Delaware Valley Network, a publication for professionals in the Greater Philadelphia area. Years later, she used the contacts and resources she acquired to work in executive search specializing in technical and diversity recruitment. She has conducted recruitment training seminars for Wachovia Bank, the Department of Interior and the US Postal Service. During this time, she also created a diversity portal called The Multicultural Advantage and published the Diversity Recruitment Advertising Toolkit, a directory of recruiting resources for human resources professionals. Her career and recruitment articles have appeared in numerous publications and web portals including Woman Engineer Magazine, Monster.com, About.com Job Search Channel, Workplace Diversity Magazine, Society for Human Resource Management web site, NSBE Engineering Magazine, HR.com, and Human Resource Consultants Association Newsletter. Her work with technology professionals drew her to pursuing training and work in web development, which led to a stint at Merrill Lynch as an Intranet Manager. In March, she decided to combine her technical and career management expertise with her passion for the environment, and with her husband, launched The Green Economy Post, a blog providing green career information and covering the impact of the environment, sustainable building, cleantech and renewable energy on the US economy. Her sustainability articles have appeared on Industrial Maintenance & Plant Operation, Chem.Info,FastCompany and CleanTechies.