TAMPA - Travelers know what it means for a hotel to be rated with "three stars," or maybe "four diamonds."

Now they are increasingly likely to find a "one palm" hotel in Florida, signifying a qualified participant in the state's Green Lodging environmental quality program.

The tiny palm tree logo acknowledges hotels and motels that meet myriad standards for environmental-awareness practices. These range from communicating environmental goals to staff and guests to water conservation through low-flow showerheads, faucets and toilets to recycling paper and cans. There's plenty more - several dozen pages of checklists through self-assessments and an on-site assessment by a Green Lodging representative.

Participation in the Green Lodging program has become a key dynamic in the state's green movement, with hoteliers realizing conservation can become a marketing tool as well as a cost-savings effort.

About 10 hotels and motels joined a fledgling Florida Department of Environmental Protection program that began with the agency's division of waste management in 2004. Today, more than 100 hotels and motels have attained a Green Lodging designation, including seven in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. Another 275 have applied for the designations statewide.

"Like everything else in the world, you see something else going green these days," said Penny Heudorf, director of sales and marketing for the Quorum Hotel-Tampa, an early participant in making environmental measures a business priority.

Paring Dirty Laundry

The nationwide hospitality industry's green movement began more than a decade ago with water conservation programs. Hoteliers posted information cards in rooms asking guests to reuse linens and towels rather than change them each night to conserve on water and electricity used for laundering.

Hotels could save more than $6.50 a day per room on detergent, water and energy costs through guests who agreed to follow recommendations for conservation, the Green Hotels Association found. The private, Texas-based organization provides environmental information and services to the hospitality industry.

The quest to save energy initiated new practices ranging from replacing conventional light bulbs in hotel rooms with energy-saving fluorescent lighting to monitoring the use of leaf blowers.

In 2002, the Southwest Florida Water Management District launched a program to encourage hotels and motels to conserve water. That program has saved area hotels on average 20 percent to 30 percent on laundry costs and about 1 billion gallons of water overall since 2002.

Two years later, the state launched the Green Lodging program to encourage conservation of the state's natural resources.

The Quorum Hotel-Tampa , a 272-room property in the West Shore Business District, parlayed $3.5 million in capital investments for recent renovations into helping advance its green movement, Heudorf said.

The hotel, which operated under the Crowne Plaza flag up to three years ago, began participating in Swiftmud's water conservation program in 2002. In August, the Quorum began the process of becoming a certified Florida Green Lodging hotel, and it won approval in December.

The Quorum undertook 30 separate initiatives to promote the hotel as a Florida Green Lodge. The plans included the modification of the hotel's lighting system by replacing incandescent lighting with fluorescent, researching supplies to purchase "green" cleaners and recycling paper products and toner cartridges. The hotel places recycling bins at the bell captain's stand, uses low-flow toilets and has highly rated air filters in its cooling systems.

The payoff comes both in cost savings - the hotel won't release how much - and a marketing initiative to business and leisure clients who are increasingly attentive to green-movement compliance.

"These days, when we go through a process with business clients to negotiate rates, the clients are asking what we are doing in terms of environmental initiatives," Heudorf said.

Program's Roots Planted

In addition, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist advanced the green movement last July by signing an executive order that required state agencies and departments to hold meetings and conferences at Green Lodging participants whenever possible as of Jan. 1.

"The Governor's executive order really accelerated participation in the Green Lodging program," said Deas Bohn, a spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Protection.

The "one palm" designation requires a minimum set of management practices in communication, water conservation, energy efficiency, waste reduction and clean air.

The "two palm" status requires at least 12 consecutive months as a "one palm" property and performance improvements.

The "three palm" designation will require Green Lodging improvement for three consecutive years.

Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, California and Virginia have implemented similar programs.

Like Florida, Wisconsin's voluntary conservation program works with the increasing ecotourism movement among leisure visitors eager to plan trips around natural attractions.

Locally, that includes efforts by visitors bureaus in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties to capitalize on their visitors' environmental ethic by touting places such as Hillsborough River State Park and Weedon Island Preserve.

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at (813) 259-7817 and tjackovics@tampatrib.com.