Hotel Tips

  1. Do your part to conserve energy.

    • Request to reuse your towels and sheets for the duration of your stay -- our experience is you may unfortunately have to ask twice.
    • Turn off lights and cooling/heating when not necessary or doors are open.

  2. Look for a Green Hotel!

    Search Environmentally Friendly Hotels to find hotels where you are going.

  3. Speak up

    Ceres has a Green Hotel Initiative and for a very easy step, use their printable guide to leave with hotels you visit. If green options aren't offered at your hotel, let staff know they would be appreciated. Make sure to thank hotel staff for everything they do right!

  4. Avoid the mini bar and free toiletries.

    Instead, bring your own or buy in bulk to cut down on wasteful packaging.

  5. Alternatives to Hotels

    Airbed and Breakfast is an online marketplace for booking rooms (or mere couches and airbeds) with locals as an alternative to hotels, or look for a hostel.

    Many communities provide non-commercial lodging. These are not merely cheap alternatives to hotels and shouldn't be treated as such: often they are real communities, asking less of your money and more of you -- hopefully including your reciprocation -- and providing more than a room. Often they are focused on cultural exchanges and friendships. Explore:
    couchsurfing.org -- the most famous of the web 2.0 couch surfing sites, bewelcome.org, belodged.com, hospitalityclub.org, globalfreeloaders.com, place2stay.net, or Servas international cultural exchange.

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