Travelers are probably familiar with signs in many hotel bathrooms requesting that towels be re-used for the benefit of the environment, but less aware of the many steps some hotel chains are taking to improve their green credentials. Re-using towels can have a big impact because it cuts energy needed to power washers and dryers and reduces the quantity of detergents needed.
Marriot International, which has 3,200 hotels worldwide, calculates that its linen re-use program saves 11-17 percent on its water and water treatment costs. Marriot said its laundry savings at European hotels has reduced phosphate discharge into the waste water system by 100,000 kilograms. Intercontinental Hotels estimates its towel re-use program saves 199 million liters of water a year in the US. Hotels can make a big contribution to reducing environmental damage. More than 900 million international tourists travelled in 2007. The United Nations World Tourism Organization projects that 1.6 billion tourists will travel by 2020.
