Eco hotel is a term used to describe a hotel or accommodation that has made important environmental improvements to its structure in order to minimize its impact on the environment. Traditionally these hotels were mostly presented as Eco Lodges because of their location, often in jungles, and their design inspired by the use of traditional building methods applied by skilled local craftsmen in areas such as Costa Rica and Indonesia.

Today the term has developed to include properties in less “natural” locations that have invested in improving their “green” credentials.

An eco hotel should meet the following criteria[1]:

• Dependence on the natural environment
• Ecological sustainability
• Proven contribution to conservation
• Provision of environmental training programs
• Incorporation of cultural considerations
• Provision of an economic return to the local community

The term is being used on a more regular basis as new websites devoted to the subject become more prominent and hotel owners are more interested in protecting the areas their guests have come to visit.

New properties are being built from sustainable resources – tropical hardwoods, local stone – and designed to better blend in with their environment. In addition they are also being run on eco-friendly principles, such as serving organic or locally grown food or using natural cooling as opposed to air conditioning, all of which is doing far more good than just asking guests to reuse their towels.

There are many ways of establishing the “green” credentials of your hotel and as there are more than 100 certification programs worldwide [2] there is a certain amount of confusion on the subject. It is up to guests to check whether the hotel is being run on environmental principles and the best way of doing this is to research your hotel before booking.

Ecolabelling of hotels in Europe

The EU Ecolabel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-label is an official sign of the environmental quality of services and goods in the European Union (EU) that is both certified by an independent organisation and valid throughout the many member States of the European Union.

Any tourism accommodation operator in the EU - from a large hotel chain to a small farmhouse has been able to apply for the European Eco-label since 2003. The operators must meet strict minimum standards with regard to environmental performance and health standards. These should include the use of renewable energy sources, an overall reduction in energy and water consumption, measures to reduce waste, environmental policy setting and the provision of non-smoking areas.

The first eco-labelled hotel in the European Union was the Sunwing Resort Kallithea, Rhodes Greece in 2003. The first eco-labelled hotel on the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) was the Hotel Jardim Atlântico on the Portuguese island of Madeira. This hotel was built with major ecological concern and it was integrated with the landscape in order to minimize the impact of the infrastructure on the natural environment. For example, it has a biological wastewater treatment station. To build the hotel and meet the standards for eco-labelling certification was more than a challenge as the hotel is located on clifftops 480m above the Atlantic Ocean and surrounded by mountains in The Laurissilva forest which is UNESCO World Natural Heritage.