What and how do we recycle?

• We recycle paper, cardboard, tin, aluminum, and glass.
• There are recycling bins throughout the Lodge interior and exterior, including all housekeeping stations.
• We bale cardboard on site and then transport it to the County Transfer site.
• Tin and aluminum are both sorted on site and then transported to the County Transfer site.
• Glass is crushed on site and then transported to the County Transfer Site.

“Recycling has been part of our DNA since we opened in 1993. We recycle everything from paper, cardboard, aluminum, glass, and even toner in all our printers and copiers. We also recycle laundry water using specialized filters and an advanced UV system that cleans and disinfects up to two-thirds of our laundry washing machine water. Ultimately, recycling is an extremely important part of how we operate and helps us save energy, prevent pollution, create jobs, and save money in our community.” - Ken Daugherty, General Manager

• The Gorge Room structure and flooring were built with recycled timber.
• Many of the vertical supports throughout the lodge were repurposed from the Bumble Bee Tuna factory in Astoria Oregon.
• The wood floors in the Gorge Room, River Rock Lounge and the Cascade Dining are well over 100 years old and were sourced from a tobacco warehouse in Georgia.

Green Housekeeping 

• We have implemented stayover cleaning upon request only.  This saves on chemical use and limites water waste. 
• Our Housekeeping team uses H2Orange*, a peroxide-based solution that is used in two dilutions, one as a disinfectant and one as a glass cleaner. Its dual-purpose helps us minimize the number of chemicals used. 
• All guestroom air fresheners are all-natural and work through the AC vent or vacuum cleaner.
• We donate old sheets, towels, and blankets to shelters and families in need, as well as to the fairgrounds for quilters. We also cut up towels to reuse as cleaning towels for Night Cleaners.

Golf Course Maintenance

• in 2021 Skamania converted to a short course with synthetic tees and greens cutting down on the number of chemicals used and reducing water usage. 
• In 2015 Skamania updated our irrigation system to include 350 part circle heads to prevent overspray in native areas. In addition, we implemented a new computer system and satellites to increase our individual control in reducing overall water use.

 “Our irrigation renovation has reduced our water use and made our course firmer and faster for our guests.” - Golf Course Superintendent, Scott Coogan

• Skamania is a part of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf, an award-winning education and certification program that helps golf courses protect our environment and preserve the natural heritage of the game. Being a part of the program helps to enhance and protect the valuable natural areas and wildlife habitats that golf courses provide, improve efficiency, and minimize potentially harmful impacts of golf course operations. 

Heating & Cooling

• Instead of using a natural gas pool heater, we use the discharged heat from our dehumidifier (that would normally exhaust the excess heat outdoors) to heat our pool vastly reducing our demand for natural gas for heating our pool. 
• We have adopted a new HVAC building automation system. This system allows us to better control our HVAC systems by monitoring occupancy and will shut units down when rooms are not in use.

Paper Reduction

• Guests no longer write on a paper registration card. All policies can now be signed electronically which creates less paper waste.
• Guests receive an emailed invoice overnight rather than a paper invoice under their door. This helps to reduce the amount of paper we use to print off guest bills and final invoices. 
• In room collateral has been significantly reduced as we utilize a QR code for hotel information.

Key Waste

• Skamania uses reusable keys in guest rooms as well as specific meeting rooms. These keys can be programmed for single use as well as joint use. For example, instead of providing a guest three separate keys to access their room, its adjoining room, and their meeting room. Skamania creates one universal key with access to unlock all three rooms. 
• Guests are encouraged to drop their keys in an express checkout box for future key reuse.

Green Certifications

• Skamania is a recognized TripAdvisor Green Leader
• Skamania's eligibility certification is in progress for the Green Restaurant Association and Audubon International. 

• 63% of our properties have a sustainability coordinator or green champion
• 80% of our properties have meeting rooms with digital thermostats
• 98% of our properties have a preventative maintenance plan that checks building energy and water equipment at least quarterly
• 61% of our properties have a water efficiency program
• 94% of our properties have faucets with low-flow aerators to conserve water
• 48% of our properties have eliminated single-use plastics (or reduced to an absolute minimum) from the property
• 74% of our properties have eliminated plastic straws
• 65% of our properties have implemented a food waste prevention strategy
• Nearly $19 million invested on environmental initiatives

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (“Pebblebrook”) strongly supports AHLA’s 5-Star Promise.  Our pledge to AHLA complements the practices and policies in-place by our company and our hotel operating partners which are designed to ensure that the hotel employees at our more than 50 owned hotels across the United States abide by the law, respect individual’s rights, and do not tolerate sexual harassment of any type at our properties. We have dedicated a significant amount of resources to assist our hotel operators with sexual harassment awareness training and avoidance programs, in addition to training and resources to prevent human trafficking. We will continue to engage with our hotel operators to provide the resources to further assist them in ensuring the safety of our hotel employees and our guests. Pebblebrook is committed to funding the purchase of hotel employee safety devices for use at all of our owned hotels by the end of 2020, as well as to provide funding for additional training and education programs on sexual harassment and human trafficking at our corporate level and our hotel properties. Through our pledge to the 5-Star Promise, Pebblebrook intends to contribute to positive, industry-wide improvements to continue to make hotels a safe place for all our employees and guests.