The "Ick Factor"

One of the hottest amenities in travel is hypoallergenic rooms. We've been offering them for years to guests with sensitivities, but also to people who don't want to be exposed to whatever bacteria and bugs came with the guy who slept there the night before.

In addition to being super-clean and free of dirt-holding carpeting and upholstered furniture, our self-catering holiday homes and vacation rentals are purified by steam-cleaning the floors and tile at 120 degrees, changing the anti-microbial HEPA air filters, no use of aerosol spray cleaners or fresheners, disinfecting with hydrogen peroxide, sun light and fresh air, and fragrance free cleaning. Mattresses and pillows have dust-mite covers and no VOC paints and finishes keep toxins out of the air. These methods also cut down on dust, pollen and other irritants.

As Practical Traveler, Michelle Higgens wrote in the NY Times, "This much cleanliness is a bit neurotic. But its not enough for hotels seeking health-conscious consumers to just offer organic food..." She also notes that most hotels offering these amenities charge a 5 to 10 percent premium.

Resources for pure vacationing:

Smoke-Free Hotels

Asthma and Allergy Foundation

Indoor Air Quality Association

Canadian Centre for Occupational and Health Safety

Special Offers at Smoke Free Hotels

The Wheels Go ‘Round & ‘Round As The Footprint Goes Down, Down, Down

Guest blogger Terre Short has 24 years of hospitality management experience that includes the daily operations of five-star properties. Her current assignment is creating a new standard of eco-luxury at the sweeping Montana ranch, the Resort at Paws Up. The resort is on Andrew Harper's Top 20 List of US Hideaways and is in the registry of Preferred Boutique Hotels. Here's how the folks at Paws Up are working to green the resort.

This past summer, we began looking closely at our carbon “evil ways”at Paws Up Resort and we began to make adjustments. Perhaps the one that carried the biggest and unexpected punch was the purchase of a school bus.


We paid $5,000 for a bus in excellent shape and hired the most colorful and fun driver in all of Montana to transport employees and guests. From the very first day “Dale” made the bus fun, he had all 12 employees singing out the window as they pulled away from the Resort.

His ridership quickly grew to an average of 30 employees a day, though I suspect the singing waned and more iPods joined the commute. Dale picks up his riders in Missoula and drives them 35 miles to the Resort in Greenough–located in the heart of the Blackfoot Valley, Montana.

Not only do all of the riders save on gas, but we only pay $50 a day in diesel, plus Dale’s time and the collective footprint of the resort is reduced greatly. This is just one of many efforts the Resort is making to contribute to the “Greening of
Greenough.”

If you'd like to share a story of how you're greening your travel, lodging, or home, write to me--you can be a guest blogger on this site which gets as many as 1,000 readers a day.

Spread the Love: Easy Tip For Greening Your Travel

Encourage vacation rental and hotel owners to go green by sending them this link or printing the suggestions on this form and leaving them when you check out.