Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants has announced that all 65 of its hotels are now a part of the TripAdvisor GreenLeaders™ program, making it the first major hotel brand to have 100 percent portfolio-wide participation in the program. Developed in partnership with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program, the U.S. Green Building Council, and the United Nations Environment Programme, TripAdvisor GreenLeaders recognizes hotels’ leadership in environmental practices and helps travelers find and plan stays with eco-friendly hotels.
Since the 1980s when Kimpton began implementing environmentally responsible practices, Kimpton has implemented more than 100 programs and amenities to make its hotels and restaurants more environmentally conscious. All of its properties use non-toxic cleaning supplies, extensively recycle, consciously minimize water consumption and serve organic coffee and sustainable or local wines during their nightly hosted Wine Hour. Kimpton also offers booking codes that donate a portion of the daily room rate to The Nature Conservancy or The Trust for Public Land organizations, all while offering guests a discounted rate as well.
“Ever since we opened our first hotels in the early ‘80s, when ‘going green’ certainly wasn’t the norm, we’ve been keenly aware of how our daily practices improve both the guest experience and minimize our environmental impact,” said Kimpton Chief Executive Officer Mike DeFrino. “Given there are more than 8,000 hotels in TripAdvisor’s GreenLeaders program, we’re honored to be the first hotel group to have 100 percent brand compliance.”
The TripAdvisor GreenLeaders program considers a property’s holistic approach to green practices and ranks them based on five levels of participation – GreenPartner, Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum – which are shown prominently on the property’s listing on the TripAdvisor site. Twenty-seven Kimpton hotels have the highest ratings with Gold or Platinum rankings. For travelers looking for “green” hotels on TripAdvisor, they are able to tailor their search for hotels participating in the TripAdvisor GreenLeaders program, and can also view a detailed list of environmentally friendly practices that they can expect at each hotel.
“We applaud Kimpton’s commitment to sustainable hospitality and their drive to add all of their hotels to the TripAdvisor GreenLeaders program,” said Ryan Dillon, manager of responsible travel, TripAdvisor. “Now that Kimpton’s hotels are part of the TripAdvisor GreenLeaders program, travelers are able to see each hotel’s green practices as they use TripAdvisor to plan and book their trip.”
In addition to the TripAdvisor GreenLeaders program recognition, Kimpton was also the first hotel brand to become 100 percent portfolio-wide certified by the Green Key Eco-Rating Program and the brand has won multiple awards touting it environmental leadership, such as the Condé Nast World Savers Award and the National Geo Tourism Award, presented by National Geographic and the Travel Industry Association of America.
Amongst its environmental friendly properties, the Hotel Palomar Philadelphia, The Hotel Wilshire and the Hotel Monaco Philadelphia are LEED Gold and Silver certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, acknowledging the hotels’ implementation of a rigorous set of standards set forth by the council.
