Seaport Hotel Swimming in Energy Savings

Seaport Hotel Swimming in Energy Savings
By Glenn Hasek
10/13/2006

BOSTON — The 426-room Seaport Hotel, 100 percent nonsmoking since it opened in 1998, is marching toward Energy Star certification with a basket full of resource-saving programs. The initiatives include everything from guestroom energy management systems to public transportation incentives for employees. All of the Seaport Hotel’s environmental efforts are considered part of Seaport Saves.

Matt Moore, director of rooms at the property, said the Seaport got a wake-up call in 2005 when the Northeast Sustainable Energy Assn., an organization that planned to meet at the hotel, expressed disappointment in the Seaport’s green offerings.

“They suggested we do something about it or they would look for another venue,” Moore says.

In partnership with Capital Paper, the Seaport Hotel recycles white paper, newspaper, plastic, glass, aluminum and cardboard. A recycling container is included in each guestroom to encourage guest participation and to further make evident the hotel’s concern for the environment. Housekeepers sort the recyclables in their carts before emptying them in other containers that are taken to the loading dock. According to the hotel, it has a recycle rate of 42 percent and is the only hotel in Boston with an in-room recycling program.