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The ECOTEL® inspection is based on five
separate inspections each with a three-tiered Numerical Scoring System.
The five inspections correspond with the five globe awards:
Within each globe inspection there are three levels of criteria and scoring: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary scores. All hotels applying for certification must satisfy all of the primary criteria before an inspection will be scheduled. The hotel must prepare an application including descriptions of how the primary criteria are achieved, and include descriptions of other environmental efforts and programs that are at the hotel. Once it is evident that all of the primary criteria have been satisfied, inspections are scheduled to ascertain the lodging facility's score according to the secondary criteria. Inspections -- both guided by hotel staff and unguided -- are completed throughout the lodging facility to determine if the environmental programs that the hotel reports are actually part of the day-to-day operations. Each department or function area of the hotel (i.e., main restaurant kitchen, banquet kitchen, room service kitchen, front desk and office area, executive office areas, etc.) is inspected and scored individually. A percentage score is calculated for each department inspection, and each department must score above a set level to be awarded the certification. If any department scores below that level, but above a minimum threshold, the tertiary criteria (described herein) can boost that department's score in order that the hotel may achieve the award. The tertiary criteria are most easily described as a bonus system. The hotel receives bonus points for environmental programs discovered in operation that are not part of the primary criteria, and are considered to be above ordinary levels of environmental responsibility. An example of a program that would earn tertiary points in the solid waste management category comes from a hotel in Latin America that collects cigarette butts and soaks them in solution to draw out chemicals, which are then used as pest-repellent for the fruits and vegetables grown on-site before the butts are disposed of. Based on the hotel's NRS score in each category, the lodging facility will receive from zero to five ECOTEL® Globes, corresponding to each of the five cornerstones. Hotels that achieve the globes qualify as ECOTEL®-certified hotels for a period of two years, but must agree to re-inspections (announced or unguided) at any time during that period. If the hotel falls short of achieving certified status, the HVS International inspection team will prepare an action plan to help management make the changes necessary and prepare for re-inspection. |
