“Green Rooms” Part of Rockresorts New Enviromental Pledge

RockResorts, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vail Resorts, is redefining the term “Green Room.” The resort has made a pledge to honor a program that will enhance every guest room in every resort with 10 environmentally friendly improvements. The key points of the plan include:

1. A program for reusing towels and linens
2. A recycling initiative to make it more convenient for guests to recycle
3. Improved energy efficiency on electronic devices and lighting
4. New fixtures to help conserve water
5. Custom amenities based on 100% natural essential oils
6. Use of cleaning products that are safer for the environment – certified by the EPA and Green Seal
7. Changing to finishes and paints with little-to-no VOC
8. Reusable newspaper bags made of jute
9. A complete ban on smoking
10. Guests can now opt to donate to the National Forest Foundation or another charity

This initiative is designed to improve conservation efforts on all properties and to get guests more involved in environmental protection. These new design elements are intended to be low profile and enhance the overall style of the rooms without taking anything away from the guests’ enjoyment. RockResorts has been striving to uphold the environmentally-conscious ideals of its founder, Laurance Rockerfeller, who launched the company in 1956 and always intended that the properties would exist in harmony with their natural surroundings. These new “Green Rooms” are yet another in a long line of such programs, including the volunteer vacation plan “Give and Getaway” and the sustainable meals program, known as “Appetite for Life”

Starting now, every RockResorts property will add “Waste Not” bins that allow guests to recycle newspapers, cans and bottles in the comfort of their rooms. If guests opt to receive daily papers, they are delivered in jute bags that are reusable, thus taking another step to reduce waste without depriving guests of options.

In the new “Green Rooms,” guests will find customized amenities including shampoo, conditioner, gel soap, lotions, and facial bars, which are based on 100% natural essential oils. These amenities are without preservatives and other synthetics that are unhealthy for the environment. These bottled amenities are completely recyclable, right down to their aluminum caps. The company is also launching a new plan to facilitate the donation of partially used toiletries to charities that support those less fortunate.

The housekeeping staff also aids in the greening by utilizing environmentally-friendly Sustainable Earth cleaning products, which are created from less toxic and bio-based ingredients. Also, there is a new focus on the effort to reuse towels and linens – this plan states that unless a guest puts a special card on their pillow, linens will be changed every three nights.

A big push is being made to replace the electronics and lighting in guest rooms with more energy efficient solutions. In an effort to conserve energy used on heating and cooling, staff are instructed to set room temperatures back to normal when guests aren’t in their rooms. Many RockResorts properties have also added programmable thermostats that perform this task automatically. To help conserve water, low-flow fixtures are being installed in many bathrooms. Also, the company has formed an alliance with Valspar paints, with a goal of converting the walls to paints with little-to-no volatile organic compounds, or VOC. Finally, every part of every RockResorts property is completely smoke-free.

“Our ‘Green Room’ plans represent the bare minimum of our commitment to the enviroment,” said environmental affairs director for RockResorts, Julie Klein. “In the future, we’d like to expand this program and continue to show our dedication to preserving the natural environments on which our resorts are located. Vail Resorts continues to work toward improving energy efficiency company-wide by taking steps such as adding new fixtures. We hope to reduce our energy use by a full 10% by the end of next year.”

Guests are provided with the option of donating money to help support the environmentalist cause. Donations can go to the National Forest Foundation of Colorado or another charity group out-of-state. The NFF matches every dollar donated with an additional $0.50. This program has, in just three years, generated over $1 million that will be used on further conservation efforts in the forests around RockResorts properties. More information on these contributions is available at: www.vailresorts.com/CORP/info/protecting-our-forests.aspx.

To discover more about RockResorts or its many locations, visit WWW.ROCKRESORTS.COM or dial 1-888-FOR-ROCK (888-367-7625). B-roll is available upon request.

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