April 22nd, 2008 · No Comments

By John DeFore

W Hotels, the boutique lodging brand of the Starwood Hotels empire, is getting in the Earth Day mood with a few promotions offering their more environmentally conscious guests some small ways to shrink the carbon footprint of their travel plans. Most straightforward is a promotional team-up with Puma, in which most locations will have bikes and helmets available for guests to borrow free. “There will be two bikes available at select properties,” says a public relations rep, who notes that the few locations that won’t have bikes on hand are in cities with two W properties; would-be cyclists can arrange to have a bike brought over.

This program, Guy promises, “will continue at least through the end of 2008,” and in fact some locations, like New York’s Union Square, say they’ve had free loaners for some time. “We work with Puma on a lot of other things,” she says, alluding to the chain’s habit of hatching promotions that incorporate other companies’ brands.

In another promotion, guests who are accustomed to having the W’s concierge staff making their car-service arrangements can now opt for “Green Wheels,” which for the same price (rates vary by city) will pick guests up in a hybrid or ethanol-powered vehicle (here too, different sorts of cars will be available in different locations). The program complements a gimmicky sounding “Spring Fling” package that bundles a room with specialty cocktails, an “oxygen shot,” and a donation to Trees for the Future’s “Plant-a-Tree” program. W reports that the 2007 Spring Fling promotion resulted in the planting of nearly 75,000 trees.

Of course, boutique hotels aren’t cheap, and enterprising travelers could easily stay in humbler lodgings, rent bikes or hybrids, and come out ahead. Still, free and convenient bike usage is the kind of intelligent perk that could win the hearts of trendy travelers — and certainly does more good than a free chocolate treat placed on your pillow at turn-down time.

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