Hotel in Gaithersburg, MD Honored for Commitment to Environment

GAITHERSBURG, Md., June 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Holiday Inn Gaithersburg, MD hotel was presented with the prestigious "Gaithersburg Environmental Award" by the Honorable Mayor Sidney Katz and Gaithersburg City Council for their outstanding efforts to improve the city's environment.  Awarded each year, the City of Gaithersburg seeks to show appreciation and recognize members of the community for giving back to the environment, while encouraging others to get involved in making the city a greener place live, work and play.  

The Holiday Inn in Gaithersburg completed an extensive environmentally-friendly landscaping renovation in October of 2009 converting the property into a thoroughly green hotel.  Over 90% of the surrounding property was modified using native plants and landscaping techniques that reduce the need for additional irrigation.  They dryscaped the majority of parking lot islands, front beds and areas along the building facade, removed and replaced all diseased trees (with a net increase of 40 trees on the property now), and used native vegetation such as Crepe Myrtle, Oak and Elm trees.  These efforts will save thousands of gallons of water during the summer season, and river rocks added along the front of the building will reduce erosion and limit mulching in areas with substantial draining.

Accepting the award on behalf of this hotel in Gaithersburg, MD was Mr. Melvin Nichols, General Manager, David Makarsky, and Will Everett representing Washington DC Area hotels owned by B. F. Saul Company Hotel Division. The hotel participates in a company-wide sustainability program known as "Our Big Green." Nichols stated, "we completed this revitalization with a commitment to preserve our community," adding, "the renovation was guided by our award-winning environmental improvement plan which focuses on three core principles: Conserve, Recycle and Act Now." The team embraces green practices, which are motivated by the fun and passionate approach of "OBG," who also appears at local schools, community and civic events.

"We replaced each of our windows and frames to improve energy efficiency; to reduce our electricity usage we installed compact fluorescents bulbs; and we improved the water flow through the addition of 1.0 gallon low-flow toilets in every guest room," stated Nichols, adding, "we also recycled old carpeting and metal waste as part of the demolition."  Ensuring the hotel continues to remain committed to the environment, Nichols and his team celebrated their own "Earth Week" in the days leading up to the awards ceremony (April 20-24) by installing drought resistant trees & plants.  The hotel also is actively promoting "Green Meeting Packages" to their clients that reduce paper consumption, utilize recycled products, use of filtered water to eliminate plastic bottles and purchasing local produce (when available).

About the Holiday Inn Gaithersburg

The Holiday Inn Gaithersburg hotel serves both business and leisure guests seeking first class hotel accommodations, meeting facilities and banquet venues near Washington, DC. This Gaithersburg hotel is one of 14 featured hotels of WashDChotels.com, a new DC destination and tourism resource for DC area travel and events. Part of a collection of hotels, the facility is owned and managed by the B. F. Saul Company Hotel Division based in Bethesda, MD.  To learn more of the organization's commitment to the environment visit their Big Green Pledge.

www.washdchotels.com

SOURCE Holiday Inn Gaithersburg