The Greening of the Habitat Suites
The greening of the Habitat Suites hotel in Austin started with a simple decision in 1991: The hotel stopped using pesticides on the property.
“We’re not pulling out machine guns to kill a roach,” says general manager Natalie Marquis. “It’s enlightened self-interest.”
Since then, the hotel (www.habitatsuites.com) has become more environmentally friendly. Some measures were easy, such as replacing standard light bulbs with compact fluorescents and using soap dispensers instead of bars of soap. Other adaptations were more expensive and challenging, such as installing systems to collect solar energy and turn off air conditioners in rooms when guests weren’t present. Read more