Destination Earth

PRESERVING OUR ENVIRONMENT, ONE DESTINATION AT A TIME

Destination Earth is...

In recognition of the need to preserve the world in which we operate and serve our guests, Destination Hotels & Resorts is dedicated to practices and programs that pay respect to, and lessen our footprint on, our changing environment.

As the fourth largest independent hospitality management company in the country, we are committed to creating a new benchmark for our hotels and resorts through a series of environmental initiatives, both on the corporate level and at each of our individual properties.

HOW ARE WE MAKING A DIFFERENCE?

Corporate Practices

We are proud to have a "Destination Earth" taskforce, comprised of leaders throughout the organization and representing hotel and resort operations, to ensure that all departments and associates of Destination Hotels & Resorts are personally involved and committed to the program. Each of our properties has a designated "green team" onsite and has made a commitment to pursuing:

Sourcing environmentally responsible services and products locally, and purchasing organic, environmentally friendly- and recycled supplies, whenever possible.
Purchasing fresh and sustainable foods locally grown, whenever possible.
Creating partnerships with other organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to preserving the environment.
Leading our associates to apply eco-friendly practices in their daily operations.
Utilizing environmentally responsible building materials and strategies for new properties and renovations to reduce environmental impact.
Retrofitting existing properties with energy efficient lighting, heating and cooling systems, as well as water-saving devices.
Implementing tools that allow us to continually measure the progress of our individual properties and support their commitment to preserving the environment through the Destination Earth program.

Destination Hotels & Resorts recognizes that our customers, owners and associates all benefit from and desire a healthy, sustainable environment. As we continue on the journey of environmental stewardship, we are committed to maintaining the superior guest experience that our customers expect, while reducing our impact on the earth's natural resources. Throughout our portfolio, our hotels and resorts have received numerous awards, recognitions, certifications, and honors for implementing eco-friendly practices. The following is a sample of sustainable initiatives taking place at our properties:

Property Initiatives

Tarrytown House Estate has received a Silver Tier Green Star certification from the International Association of Conference Centers for adherence to the IACC Code of Sustainability.

The rigorous IACC Code of Sustainability includes 59 tenets in the following areas:

Education, Awareness and Public Declaration
Waste Management
Recycling
Reuse
Water Conservation
Purchasing
Energy Management
Air Quality
Food & Beverage

Printed Materials

In an effort to reduce printed materials, our sales kits are now predominantly sent electronically (via PDF) At times, printed copies are still requested, so these are now being printed a high quality variable digital process, thus only printing as many as we need, rather than the thousands that are printed via traditional off set methods.

Tarrytown House has committed to printing any sales kits, or folders needed on New Leaf Paper© Reincarnation Matte (100% Recycled, 50% Post-Consumer Waste, processed chlorine-free, manufactured with electricity that is offset with Green-e® certified renewable energy certificates, and is "Ancient Forest Friendly").

Landscaping

We dug a well on property, allowing us to water our 26 lush acres without draining the reservoirs saving thousands of gallons of reservoir water every summer.

Energy

We've installed energy efficient thermostats in most of our guest rooms, central in this project is a motion sensitive unit that automatically resets the room to use less energy (heating or cooling) when the guest is out of the room in their meetings all day, and quickly returns the room to the guests' desired temperature upon their return thus saving energy.

We've replaced over 5,000 light bulbs with long life energy efficient compact fluorescents. Every compact florescent saves approximately 450 pounds of CO2 emissions from a power plant over its lifetime. They also live up to 10x longer than old fashioned bulbs, so that's a whole lot less burnt out light bulbs in the garbage!

Recycling

Our meeting rooms create a lot of empty water bottles. So we separate them out for recycling. We've added water coolers outside most of our meeting rooms to give the choice of refilling your water bottle rather than taking bottled water.

We shred and recycle all waste paper left behind from meetings.

We found that people weren't using all of the pages in the pads in the meeting room so we have reduced the number of sheets per pad. More pads are always available in the room.

Culinary

Tarrytown House proudly serves guests the blends of Allegro Coffee, a company that partners with coffee growers who share the values for environmentally friendly practices. These farmers use traditional and sustainable growing, harvesting and processing practices, including the use of shade trees, manual weeding, water conservation and organic farming methods.

The culinary team at Tarrytown House is working at constantly getting more and more of its food from throughout the Hudson Valley to reduce the carbon footprint of bringing in food from around the world. The Hudson Valley is quickly becoming a regional leader in natural and organic produce, as well as high quality artisan meats, poultry, breads and cheeses.

During the spring and summer months, local gets no closer than our own herb garden. Executive Chef Brian Wieler heads to his herb garden each day to add the perfect touch to each days dishes.

Tarrytown House works with a local co-op which converts our waste cooking oil to bio-diesel for community use.

Audio/Visual

Guests of the estate generally use only two-thirds of the paper provided, and to ensure our quality of service standards batteries are replaced at one-third their original power level (leaving hours of use still available). In an effort to conserve our natural resources the Audio Visuals department donates unused flipchart paper and batteries to local non-profit organizations, community organizations and employees.

Transportation

Tarrytown's preferred limo and ground transportation company (MTC) shares our commitment to making a difference. MTC Limousine is offsetting 100% of vehicle emissions from its business operations and is an EPA Climate Leader Partner.

Property Initiatives

Suncadia Resort
Cle Elum, WA

LEED® Certification

The Glade Spring Spa at received LEED® Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in June 2009.

Awards

Suncadia was awarded the Environmental Achievement Award by the Pacific Northwest Section of the Air and Waste Management Association In November 2009

Suncadia is a 3 Star Built Green Community and it’s next phase of development in Nelson Preserve is committed to build only 3 Star Build Green certified or better.

Sunriver Resort
Sunriver, OR

LEED® Certification

The Sunriver Resort Marina and Sunriver Stables Trail Ride Registration Facility received LEED® Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in January 2010. These buildings made history for both the resort and the Sunriver community as these are the first two facilities in Sunriver to accomplish this.

Embassy Suites at the Chevy Chase Pavilion
Washington, D.C.

Awards

The Embassy Suites at Chevy Chase Pavilion in Washington, D.C. was a runner-up in the American Hotel & Lodging Association's Green Guidelines Challenge. The Challenge urged hoteliers across the country to track and improve their green business operations by taking the AH&LA Green Guidelines Challenge. Hotels used a tracking tool to air their measurement of occupancy statistics, monetary and energy expenditures and return on investment from specific green practices.

The Embassy Suites at Chevy Chase Pavilion has also been recognized as an Energy Start Partner and recently was awarded the 4-Key Award from Green Key which certifies the hotel as a leader in hotel sustainability programs.

InterContinental Tampa
Tampa, FL

Green Certifications

InterContinental Tampa is recognized by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as a "One Palm" member of The Florida Green Lodging Program. The Florida Green Lodging Program is a voluntary initiative of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that designates and recognizes lodging facilities that make a commitment to conserve and protect Florida's natural resources.

Stowe Mountain Lodge
Stowe, VT

Green Certifications

Certified as a "Green Hotel in the Green Mountain State".

Received The Audubon Green Leaf certification, with a score of 4 of 5 Green Leaves.

Stowe Mountain Club: The golf course received Signature Sanctuary Certification from Audubon International.

Tempe Mission Palms Hotel and Conference Center
Tempe, AZ

Transportation

Participates in Maricopa County's Trip Reduction Program by offering benefits to its employees who commute. The hotel has been noted as one of the Best Workplaces for Commuters for exceeding the national standard of excellence designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Terranea Resort
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

Preservation

Terranea was meticulously built on the Palos Verdes Peninsula with more than 631,800 square feet of native habitat areas. One example of habitat preservation is that approximately 45 mature trees dating over 50 years were boxed prior to construction and then replanted throughout the site as a tribute to the history of this location. Additional environmental mitigation efforts include, but aren't limited to, protecting and enhancing local water quality. To do this Terranea is implementing a series of environmental best management practices that include wet ponds, bioswales and storm filters. Bioswales are vegetated channels, essentially created wetlands, which enhance water quality and provide a habitat for many avian species.

The Carolina Inn
Chapel Hill, NC

Water Conservation

All public area restrooms are equipped with sensor toilets, minimizing water flow. In addition, water efficient shower heads have been installed in all guest rooms. A towel and bed linen reuse program is in place and the housekeeping department uses a patented aqua-fusion laundry system that customizes the amount of ozone delivered to each washer. The system reduces hot water usage and overall water use by 30%, decreases energy expenses, shortens wash cycles and reduces linen replacement costs.

The Driskill Hotel
Austin, TX

Recognitions

The Driskill Hotel was recognized by the City of Austin as a "Green Partner" and a Waste Smart business for their efforts to create less waste by recycling and buying recycled products. They were also recognized as a "Partner" with the Clean Air Partners Program in Central Texas. Clean Air Partners assists employers in reducing emissions with a variety of options, while promoting their clean air successes to the community.