Hotels' Environmental Hypocrisy

In surveys about the nights spent in hotels in a year I tick the 'more than 50 nights a year' box, or whatever is highest. I was recently in a travelodge hotel (which are pretty good value for money) in beautiful Epping Forest on the on the edge of London, and saw a sign in the bathroom. I have seen the sign a hundred times before, in different hotels all over the world, but it has finally spurred me into becoming a blogger. The sign says something along the lines of “We care about the environment; washing towels needlessly wastes electricity and pollutes the environment. Help us to help the environment - if your towels don’t need to be washed leave them on the rack - if they need to be washed place them in the bath.”

What bugs me about this is the hypocrisy of it. I will tell you the truth: Travelodge (and all the other hotels that do this) do not care one jot about the environment. What they care about is their profits. These hotels have external contractors who collect the towels and charge them for each towel washed. Every time they don’t wash a towel they hear not a pristine bubbling brook but the sound of the cash register. They are playing on their guests’ sensibilities as surely as putting a sign saying “This towel contains no cholesterol” or “ No children or animals were exploited in the washing of this towel.” If they were truly sincere about the environment they would say “We care about the environment. Washing towels is not only damaging the environment but also costs us money. If you do not need your towels to be washed put them on the rack and we will discount £1 from your bill. Help us to help the environment together."

I am going to send a copy of this blog to each of the hotel groups I see with this sign. How much do you want to bet that they all reply saying they are committed to the environment and then come up with a good reason why it they cannot share the saving with their customers? If they wanted to do it they can do it. I will keep you posted.