posted by Catherine on Sep 10
Here I continue with some other areas where I found it difficult to remain green while on vacation…..
On The Buses:
The buses ran very frequently and we didn’t want to hire a car so we stuck with public transport - however - there was a slight problem.
All the buses were churning out black fumes as they trundled along the badly laid streets over-filled with us tourists. Some said ‘12 standing’ but we were hanging out the door alongside another 20 or more people holding on for dear life.
There was no chance at all of us walking anywhere due to the excessive heat, but we were not going to be the only ones waiting for a newer bus to come along to satisfy our eco-needs!
The Hotel Itself.
Now this should have been a safe bet as we had searched it’s details before booking - but they don’t write everything down!
The towels were needlessly replaced everyday even though we followed the instructions to ’save water’ and hung them on the rails, and there were other little things that were not in the description.
For example the giant plasma TV screen in the reception lounge and dozens of little ones dotted around with hotel advertising on them. Then the total reception ‘re-furb’ where they replaced all the furniture overnight!
The main hotel had 3 separate lifts even though it wasn’t that big, and also had 2 separate buildings - each with their own lift too! But when you had got back from a day out and were sweaty and exhausted and with bags of shopping - did walking up to the 5th floor seem a sensible option! I can see why they put them in - or why people don’t like it when they aren’t there.
They also didn’t supply some of the basics needed for a kitchenette, so we had to go and buy all the missing things. So rather than the hotel buying bulk washing-up liquid for example and decanting it into the rooms when you arrived - they didn’t offer this - therefore forcing everyone who came here to go and buy their own.
Now, there were 41 self-catering rooms in our building and some people stayed for a few days, a week or 2 weeks. So it is possible that in the 2 weeks we were there over 100 visitors have had to go and buy washing-up liquid and scourers, etc…… And of course - the containers are too big for such a short time, so did people throw them away when they left!
So, Finally:
It’s alright to say that we should mention these things to our hotel or the stores involved, but many of it falls on deaf ears as I found out! Many hotels cannot afford to make the changes and many see no need as we readily accept what is there.
Over the years people have learnt to expect certain things and accept certain things, and so for a few decades yet, things won’t change. Unless you specifically book into a newly built eco lodge, energy-saving and environmentally advantageous things won’t be as standard. (And why visit a new-build when there were plenty of existing hotels about in the first place?)
Some things won’t change due to accessibility laws: for example, the lifts will have to remain for those with prams or wheelchairs; and the air conditioning for those who are old or young or otherwise unable to tolerate high temperatures.
We need to make some things ‘dirty’ like dropping litter and smoking in restaurants have been to make more people a bit more thoughtful when it comes to using the resources in hotels.
The National History Museum in London has put signs on their lifts suggesting, in a very polite way, that healthy people should really be using the stairs instead. A great start.
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