Joie de Vivre Introduces Joie de Vivre Green Dreams

Consumers Can Chart Hotels' Green Certification Progress and Access Green Travel Tips and Environmental Resources Online

San Francisco, Nov. 18, 2008 - Joie de Vivre, California's largest boutique hotel collection, has launched "Joie De Vivre Green Dreams," a dedicated portal on its website that allows consumers to track the company's ongoing efforts to preserve the environment. Joie de Vivre Green Dreams, also the name of the company's environmental program*, features the company's green policies and practices; a green certification "scorecard" for hotels; green travel tips; and links to environmental resources.

"Joie de Vivre has made a long-term commitment to incorporating sustainability into its business operations through the Green Dreams program. We want to be transparent and share the exciting progress we've made and the efforts that continue as we strive to have all our hotels green certified in the near term," said Joie de Vivre's senior vice president of operations, Karlene Holloman, who chairs the company's Green Committee.  "In essence, our guests can be ‘green' cheerleaders, watching from the sidelines as more of our hotels reach their goals."

Online at Joie de Vivre Green Dreams, consumers can track the hotels' progress and achievements on the "Property Scorecard," which provides an up-to-date snapshot of where each Joie de Vivre hotel is in the green certification process.  The four main checklists on the scorecard are recycling and waste reduction; energy conservation; water conservation; and pollution prevention.

The first Joie de Vivre property to be green certified was the Hotel Carlton in San Francisco. Certified a Green Business in February 2007 by the City of San Francisco, the Hotel Carlton was also the first hotel in the city to install solar panels.  To date, eight Joie de Vivre hotels have been fully green certified - including all five in Silicon Valley. Three more of the 29 Joie de Vivre hotels are expected to receive green certification by the end of the year and the remaining are in the process. Each hotel is green certified by the city or county in which it is located.

"Joie de Vivre is genuinely committed to the environmental and ecological well being of the communities we operate in and to making a difference with our Green Dreams program," said Holloman.  "We hope Joie de Vivre Green Dreams will become a useful tool and resource for our guests and any consumer evaluating green travel programs."
  For more information on Joie de Vivre Green Dreams, please visit www.jdvhotels.com/greendreams.
 

About Joie de Vivre

Based in San Francisco, Joie de Vivre (http://www.jdvhotels.com) is a creative collection of lifestyle businesses. As California's largest independent boutique hotel collection, Joie de Vivre encompasses other hospitality businesses such as restaurants and spas. Celebrating 21 years of creating joy, Joie de Vivre is expanding its California presence in Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Sunnyvale, Huntington Beach and beyond.                                          

*Note to Editors: Please see the Joie de Vivre Green Dreams overview for additional information.
 
Lori Lincoln, Director of Public Relations
415.773.1067
llincoln@jdvhospitality.com

Alexis Evans, Public Relations Manager
415.248.5951
aevans@jdvhospitality.com