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The term “ecotourism” often conjures up images of exotic resorts in remote destinations. However, as more and more mainstream hotels adopt eco-friendly practices, they are bringing many aspects of ecotourism into urban environments. In the process, these hotels are also helping dispel at least three of the most common myths about what it means to be a “green” hotel.

Myth #1: Eco-friendly measures are expensive

The steps that the city of Vancouver, Wash., took to minimize its energy consumption when it developed its municipally owned hotel and conference center, which opened in 2005, only added $125,000 to a $48 million work order. Similar measures at the Orchard Garden Hotel in San Francisco added $100,000 to the project’s overall $25 million cost. Both are among the first hotels in the nation to have qualified for LEED certification. The LEED standards, an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, were developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council and have emerged as the building industry’s standard for eco-friendly design.

Myth #2: Hotel guests don’t care about the environment

More than half of all U.S. adults say they would be more likely to select an airline, rental car or hotel that uses environmentally friendly products and processes, according to a national survey led by the Travel Industry Association. Surveys by Kimpton Hotels, which operates 42 properties across North America, including three in Seattle, show that 16 percent of the company’s guests seek sustainable stays and choose Kimpton properties specifically because the hotel has adopted a slate of eco-friendly practices. The company’s hotels place recycling bins in all guest rooms and print corporate communications on recycled paper with soy-based inks. The properties are also equipped with energy-efficient heating, cooling and lighting systems, and many of the hotels’ restaurants compost food waste.

Myth #3: Eco-friendliness requires guests to sacrifice comfort

Guests at the Orchard Garden, set among the luxury boutiques of San Francisco’s Union Square, are treated to many of the same type of amenities that one would expect to find in any typical modern boutique hotel. In this setting, guests may not become immediately aware that the furniture in their rooms is made from woods obtained in a sustainable maple forest. They probably don’t realize that the drapes and upholstery are made from recycled polyesters selected because these machine-washable fabrics eliminate the need to use harsh dry-cleaning chemicals.

“The myth out there still is that, if you’re green, it’s granola, Birkenstocks and hemp,” says General Manager Stefan Mühle. “We have a lot of people who walk into the hotel and look at us and go, ‘Hmm, what exactly is so green about this hotel?’ But if you look up the definition of ecotourism, it has changed dramatically. It’s about minimizing your carbon footprint. You can participate in ecotourism even in an urban environment.”

Green travel resources:

The Green Building Council, an organization called Green Seal and another called Sustainable Travel International provide environmental certification programs for lodging properties.

The LEED standards (www.usgbc.org) assess five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and environmental quality. Qualifying projects are certified, in ascending order, as bronze, silver, gold or platinum.

Green Seal (www.greenseal.org) encourages lodging properties to use energy-efficient and environmentally friendly products and offer guest recycling programs.