Conservation Tourism

The “What’s Different?” Series: Good Hotel, San Francisco

/ Martin Smith / Leave a comment

Good Hotel in San Francisco is a proper city hotel quite deserving of its name. Located in a charmingly seedy area of town, it is linked with the hotel across the street where you can make use of the pool or gym, or dine in its burger restaurant. SoMa, as the neighborhood is called for its location South of Market Street, can be a rough side of town, complete with vagrants and other unique individuals that make people-watching there a veritable adventure. The Good Hotel embraces this inner-city vibe, and is designed with attention to enriching the environment and local community.

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The “What’s Different?” Series: Mark Spencer Hotel, Portland

/ Martin Smith / Leave a comment

Meeting with the Sales Director at the Mark Spencer Hotel in Portland, Oregon was an eye opener, yet again, to Portland’s general commendability as a city. During our discussion he obliged my interest in the green aspects of the hotel, which are excellent, but he also conveyed a sense that “this is just how things are done here.” Portland’s strong culture of sustainable thinking and environmental awareness are reflected in the mores of the community and business climate. This was an interesting take-away from my visit with the Mark Spencer Hotel: since the hotel’s commitments to operating sustainably are practically the norm in such a progressive city as Portland, they didn’t seem so different. Furthermore, the city, with its wealth of expertise, familiarity and expectations with regards to ‘green living,’ lends itself to a highly integrated approach to sustainable business, proving to be quite comprehensive and genuine in the example of the Mark Spencer Hotel.

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