everGREEN Tips

Best Western Blue Ridge EcoRoom Accommodation Program

One of the goals of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce everGREEN Committee is to increase awareness of and interest in the steps local businesses are taking to become more environmentally caring, or green. The following press release from Shannon Wooten describing the Best Western Blue Ridge launch of the EcoRoom Accommodation Program is an example. Each month during the everGREEN Committee meetings similar stories of initiatives by local businesses are shared. The everGREEN Committee invites any local or regional business with green environment-caring initiatives or programs to share with us what you are doing so we, in turn can share your stories with the community. Send stories to nancy@reigelridge.com.

On May 1, the Best Western Blue Ridge launched the EcoRoom Accommodation Program, converting each of their 73 guestrooms into healthier, more environmental EcoRooms. They are the first property in the area to do so. The guestrooms feature more than a dozen different environmental products including compact fluorescent light bulbs; water efficient showerheads and sink faucets; recycling bins in every guestroom; non-toxic cleaning chemicals; a linen reuse program; and Natura brand liquid soaps and shampoo products offered in shower dispensers. Each dispenser states that use of it may “eliminate over 1,000 amenity packages a year from entering our landfills,” adding that the liquid products are biodegradable, hypoallergenic and not animal tested.

The EcoRoom Accommodation Program crowns another in a series of environmental initiatives the Best Western Blue Ridge Plaza has implemented. To conserve energy, the staff have turned the power off and cut the hot water heaters down to entire sections of the hotel during times of low occupancy. They also collect water in a rain barrel for garden irrigation. The hotel staff is considering incentives for employees to carpool and host monthly environmental meetings to discuss different ways the hotel can be more environmentally friendly.

Shannon Wooten, general manager for the Best Western Blue Ridge Plaza, has a passion for the environment and is committed to preserving it. When asked why she felt the need to become more green, she said, “It’s just the smart thing to do.”