Plan a Trip

Green Concierge Travel makes travel arrangements for business and leisure travelers. Our difference is that we ask you up front if you want to use the train instead of flying or whether you want to use the local transit system at your destination. In addition, we will provide, whenever possible, an option that meets your travel needs in the greenest way possible.

Biking around an area you're visiting is one of the best ways to really see a place. With a bike you might find that you don't even need to rent a car. Photo courtesy of the California Board of Tourism.

Green business travel in Wisconsin

Original article written for Madison Originals, Fall 2009 issue

Time to leave the office but have you figured out how to get to the airport or train station? Do you have a place to stay while visiting Monroe? Do you need to clean some outfits before the next leg of your business trip? Or do you need a way to unwind and get some exercise? If your company has set its sights on being greener and reducing its carbon footprint, green business travel may be exactly the place to start.

Accommodations:

Look for certification programs like Travel Green Wisconsin to help narrow choices at a particular destination. Independently owned inns, hotels, bed and breakfasts and travel service companies often have a leg up on making environmental improvements and on integrating being green as part of their mission and brand.

For example, The Speckled Hen Inn takes advantage of Madison’s location with 50 acres surrounding the Inn. The Inn lies .2 miles off a major bus route serving downtown Madison’s west side enhancing its accessibility. The Inn participates in Travel Green Wisconsin and supports the local food movement serving food items from the property and from local farmers and purveyors.

Are larger hotel groups getting on the green wagon? On a recent roundtable call organized by Travel Agent Magazine, Green Concierge Travel heard about some of the changes big hotel groups are making.

Wyndham Green launched by Wyndham Worldwide encapsulates the company’s vision of sustainability. Rolling out over the next several years, the program will include: reducing energy consumption and water usage; improving air quality; recycling and reusing materials and water; purchasing green products; and participating in local community environmental activities.

Using their existing properties, Wyndham will try out new ways to green existing operations. When something works, the idea will be passed on to other properties. Innovations include tank-less water heating systems and material for company uniforms material made from recycled fibers. If all goes well this could be used across their properties.

Efforts also include their budget brands. The Super 8 in Monroe WI installed 600 square feet of solar panels to reduce monthly water heating costs by about 40%. They also have installed recycled content carpeting and energy efficient lighting. Taking it a step further, motion sensors have been placed in guest rooms reducing the energy bill an additional 10%. For their efforts, the Super 8 was awarded 92 points by Travel Green Wisconsin.

Transportation:

Getting There Greener, a 2009 study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, put to rest the question of what’s the best choice. For the solo traveler, your best choices to reduce your travel footprint are:

• 100 miles i) Bus/motor coach ii) train iii) fly economy
• 500 miles i) Bus/motor coach ii) train iii) fly economy
• 1000+ miles i) Bus/motor coach ii) fly economy iii) train

While these options may not always be available, you may find a few ideas below to help you make that next trip greener.

Regional bus services could be your best choice with newcomer Mega Bus adding low cost options for traveling between major cities. Other services include Coach USA and Badger Bus which runs regularly between Madison, Milwaukee and the Milwaukee airport. The service connects to the Amtrak stations in the city and at the Milwaukee airport making it possible to link to the national rail system via the Hiawatha service between Milwaukee and Chicago.

As a first choice at a destination, green business travelers use public transit. One useful web site, Public Transportation Takes Us There, allows you to search a destination within a state for public transit access. Planning a business meeting or a conference? Check this site for transit information to provide to meeting attendees.

Travelers requiring point to point rides may now have a green option. Green point to point ride services are becoming popular. Look for shared ride cabs (zone fare system) and, or vehicles run on natural gas or other green fuel systems. In Madison, Badger Cabs is the only zone fare cab and since 1980 has been using propane for fuel.

Membership in a car share company may be the answer for shorter business trips. Your business can join a car share company like Community Car in Madison which includes hybrids and a few utility vehicles (van, pick up truck) for those special occasions. Other car share programs around the country and abroad can be found through CarSharing.Net

Concierge Services:

To round out any trip, you need good restaurants, green cleaners, fair trade coffee shops and florists to patronize while traveling. In the Dane Co. area, the Dane Buy Local directory has over 400 locally owned businesses. “Green” and “fair trade” directories provide great starting points for business travelers seeking basic services for their trips. Plan ahead or store information to refer to at your destination:

• Fair trade products run the gamut from coffee to tea and chocolate to personal gift items; all useful on a business trip. For a third-party guarantee TransFair USA, a nonprofit organization, is one of twenty members of Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO), and the only third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States.
• Green America’s National Green Pages offers an online searchable directory of all of its business members including financial services. All listed businesses have been screened and approved.
• For local food, try Chef’s Collaborative for a list of committed restaurants at your destination. Or for other restaurants serving local foods or for a visit to the source, the local farmers’ market, use Local Harvest’s web based directory.
• Green clothes cleaners can now be found from coast to coast. Look for professional wet cleaning or liquid CO2 cleaning. Madison’s Best Cleaners uses a silicone based technique pioneered by GreenEarth cleaning.
• Many people extend their personal fitness programs to their travel. In a lot of cases, travelers seek out the in-house exercise room. But here are some other ideas:
• Try a drop in yoga or exercise class. Many downtowns now sport local gyms and exercise studios. Drop in fees vary but expect to pay between $10 and $20.
• Rent a bike and explore the local scenery or commute to your business meeting. Some bike shops deliver bikes or have a relationship with hotels, inns and Bed and Breakfasts.
• And don’t forget the local parks and walking trails. Take advantage of the neighborhood you’re staying in.

So next time you have a business trip, think again about your choices. Where are you going to stay? How are you going to get there and get around once you arrive? And wouldn’t it be great to take your business associate to that restaurant downtown that uses local produce? Whatever you choose to do, don’t leave your values behind!

Check out our sample business itineraries for Boston and Chicago. For more information, contact Green Concierge Travel at 1.877.200.2844 or info@greenconciergetravel.com. Let us help you plan your next business trip!