Before this question was submitted, we’d only heard the phrase "green room" in conjunction with television shoots and the lounge areas where the "talent" relaxes with a cheese platter and fruit basket (or sometimes something more decadent, depending on the talent in question) in between shooting periods. Intrigued by this unfamiliar new concept, we did some research, with assistance from the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority and the Clark County Division of Environmental Health, which yielded some interesting findings. Most interesting? There are currently no green rooms in Las Vegas hotels, despite the ever-increasing number of allergy sufferers in this city.
This last fact might come as a surprise, but as Las Vegas’ residential areas have mushroomed, vast numbers of non-indigenous plants have been introduced, including Russian olive, pine, ash, cedar, ragweed, Texas privet, and –- probably the worst offender of all –- the dreaded mulberry, new plantings of which are now banned as a result of its pollen's pronounced effects on allergy and asthma sufferers. When combined with the increasingly wet winters of late, which mean bonanza time for mold in this perennially mild-to-hot climate, plus the constant issues of construction dust and traffic pollution, it means that this particular desert location has ceased to be any kind of oasis for allergy sufferers.
And it turns out that while stepping outside here can cause real problems for the 70 million Americans who are sensitive to various pollens, pollutants, and other allergens, staying indoors is not necessarily a healthier option. Only recently has the hospitality industry begun to recognize that hotel rooms, with their potential array of dust mites, mold, animal dander, cigarette smoke, perfumes, chemical sprays, detergents, and deodorizers can literally be like walking into an invisible war zone for some guests. Even so, it turns out not even the highest-end accommodations in Las Vegas have made the leap to providing hypoallergenic guest rooms.
As far as we know, www.bestgreenhotels.com is the only online database that’s gathering information about the greenest hotels in the world, i.e., those that implement policies like recycling, energy conservation, and the use of local produce and labor, and includes those that cater for people with allergies. This means not only no-smoking and no-pet policies, but also covers everything from hardwood flooring to the use of hypoallergenic cleaning products, special air-cleaning systems in the rooms, the avoidance of perfumed toiletries, the provision of protective mattress and pillow covers to trap dust, the removal of any nut products from in-room snack trays, and even the use of specialized wallpaper adhesives that do not emit allergens.
To date, of the 1,503 hotels worldwide in the database that implement at least one environmentally friendly policy, only 73 are actively working to provide allergy-friendly accommodation, of which 45 are located in the U.S. (To find them, select the "Advanced Search" option, then check the "Allergies" button.) Many of these are B&B-type properties where it’s easier to implement measures like washing all the bed linen in baking soda and vinegar, but some big properties are also taking these issues seriously.
The Fairmont brand, for example, has long been active in implementing green policies and the Fairmont Vancouver Airport (FVA) is the first hotel in North America to offer an entire floor of hypoallergenic guestrooms. The Hilton, Wyndham, and Starwood chains are also adopting some environmentally friendly practices: The Hilton at Chicago O’Hare airport, for example, is one of the pioneers of the green-room concept, having recently given an extreme makeover to several of its guest rooms. This didn’t stop at the bedding and amenities, but also included completely stripping the existing rooms and refurnishing, redecorating, and even replumbing them in the attempt to banish all harmful allergens from what are now designated the "Enviro Rooms."
As far as Las Vegas is concerned, the LVCVA has received other inquiries, aside from ours, wondering if any properties here have green rooms and they've now added the query to the newsletter that they regularly send out to all the accommodations in town. So if any property does decide, eventually, to take steps toward catering to allergy sufferers, we'll be sure to pass on the good news.
