AH&LA and IEHA team up to green America's hotels

WESTERVILLE, OH — The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) and the International Executive Housekeepers Association (IEHA) have joined forces to advance the greening of more than 48,000 U.S. hotels, according to a press release.


IEHA members are encouraged to adopt AH&LA’s 11 Minimum Environmental Guidelines in hotel housekeeping departments which are part of more than 60 overall guidelines that encourage hotels to measure performance in energy, water and waste reduction, the release stated.


Beth Risinger, CEO of IEHA, said: "The housekeeping department affects the hotel property, environment, employees, and guests in profound ways: From the levels of dust in the indoor air, to the VOC impact of cleaning products and fragrances used in guestrooms, to the protection of guest health and safety when proper sanitation techniques are used, to reduction of energy used in facilities when room attendants monitor and control room thermostats. By proactively integrating green housekeeping practices with the overarching goals of the Minimum Environmental Guidelines, we are encouraging hotels associated with IEHA to help transform the way things are done to affect the triple bottom line — people, planet and profits — in a huge way."


The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute recently updated Managing Housekeeping Operations, 3rd Revised Edition, with information on environmental and energy management, the release noted.


Joseph A. McInerney, president and CEO of AH&LA, said: "The green initiatives AH&LA is creating with a variety of partner organizations such as the IEHA will be a resource for hotels committed to becoming more eco-friendly.


These will provide hotel owners and employees with a variety of options in which to create an environmentally-sustainable hotel that also protects employee and guest health."