Casa Laguna Inn & Spa of Laguna Beach, CA An Early Adopter of “Green” Practices Continues Their Progress
			Laguna Beach, CA (July, 2008) - The Casa Laguna Inn & Spa has just completed replacing all of its bedding and spa linens with those made from 100% bamboo. This change, which represents a substantial investment on the part of this Laguna Beach boutique hotel and spa, is just the latest in a series of steps the hotel ownership has taken to become a more eco-friendly business. “Recognizing the sustainable nature of the bamboo product and understanding that the natural bamboo plants require much less water and virtually no pesticides to grow healthy and strong, it was an easy choice for us to make. These bed linens are better for the environment and better for our planet than those made of traditional fibers and they feel great!” says Innkeeper/Owner Paul Blank. Actively engaged in making the hotel a more eco-friendly experience for guests since the first day of ownership in February, 2000, Blank and his team have made impressive progress toward becoming the “most earth-caring hotel in California” a goal embraced by both staff and guests. In addition to the new linens for room bedding and spa tables, Casa Laguna is currently transitioning to a line of all organic spa products. “The Certified Organic Massage Oil and Vegan Massage Lotion we’ve begun using during our spa treatments have been received well by the guests making use of these services. They consume less natural resources to produce and have virtually no negative impact on the planet,” according to Blank. Through a program called “Rise Above Plastics” published by the Surfrider Foundation, the ownership and staff have also committed to eliminating the use of plastics in their food and beverage operations. Blank relates that, “We no longer use polystyrene in any of our food service operations or anywhere else on the property for that matter. In addition to these current activities, the Casa Laguna has worked long and hard to lessen the negative impact of hotel operations. The hotel was the first in Southern California to introduce a Staber, water-saving washing machine into their laundry processing. Water conservation, especially in Southern California, is a large and important component of eco-friendliness. The hotel encourages guests to reduce their consumption of water in various ways during their stay and when they return home. “We were the first hotel in Laguna Beach (and maybe Orange County) to introduce ‘on demand’ water heating systems for our rooms” says Blank. With two small exceptions, Casa Laguna now exclusively uses on-demand water heating systems. Those "on demand" systems are particularly well used in employee hand washing, laundry and service wear sanitation, the largest consumers of hot water in hotel operations. The hotel has also made a concerted effort to reduce and eliminate the use of non-biodegradable detergents in laundry, room cleaning and food & beverage sanitation. Other ways the hotel has reduced its water as well as energy consumption are evident in their new, state-of-the-art dishwashing facility or “scullery”. To create a pleasant working environment using as much natural light and cooling properties as possible, Blank and his business partner Francois Leclair designed and built the new facility by excavating the crawl space underneath a historic building. The engineering that went into the project was substantial and would not alone have justified the costs for such a project, but because of the opportunity to work more efficiently, save water and save energy, Blank and Leclair green-lighted the project. Further, Casa Laguna was the first hotel in Laguna Beach to comprehensively replace old lighting technology with compact fluorescent bulbs in 2003. The Casa Laguna was also an early adopter of technology that contributes to a healthier and more sustainable planet. The hotel was one of the first of their size in California to offer guests the option of an e-mail confirmation in lieu of a paper based one. There was an immediate conversion to more than 75% paperless confirmations when they introduced them in July 2003. Since then, steady progress has gotten Casa Laguna to more than 98% paperless confirmations for the past six months. Blank further states, “Our association with the Slow Foods Movement has been a long and beneficial one for our guests, our staff and our earth. I learned of the Slow Foods Movement while at a seminar with fellow innkeepers at the Herb Farm outside Seattle in 2002. Cale Falk, our Chef, embraces all the tenants of the movement and he fit nicely into our organization when he joined us more than a year ago.” The Slow Foods movement is dedicated to the utilization of fresh, local (requiring less transportation), organic (requiring less water and pesticides), ingredients. Many of the vegetables and herbs used in the breakfast prepared at Casa Laguna are grown on property. A majority of the remaining ingredients used come from around Laguna Beach. Chef Falk remarks, “I impose the ‘100 mile rule’ for almost all the ingredients I use. Take advantage of the abundance of what is grown, caught or harvested within 100 miles of your location to ensure the best flavors and food experience.” Currently, the Inn is actively engaged in an Energy Efficiency Program reviewing all aspects of their operations, from how they clean the pool, to how they make reservations, to how they store food & beverage supplies. The program will identify ways they can further improve efficiency and reduce energy consumption. “We are even looking into ways we can coordinate and cooperate with our suppliers more effectively to reduce the amount of energy they consume while delivering products to us” says Blank. Looking forward, their efforts are far from over. “This year we are considering using an online source to send our traditional holiday greeting cards and gift certificate coupons to guests who have stayed with us in the past 12 months” says Blank. He expects to have at least as good a response and redemption rate from the E-mail greetings as the paper based ones from years past.
			Backgrounder
			About Casa Laguna Inn & Spa The Casa Laguna Inn & Spa is a full service 20 room luxury boutique hotel in Laguna Beach, CA. The historic structure sits on nearly an acre of lushly landscaped gardens overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The hotel has served as an artists' colony and hideaway for Hollywood film stars. It is known for charming and unique rooms with incredibly comfortable bedding and very high quality amenities as well as the welcoming, friendly and professional staff. An award winning, full gourmet breakfast is served each morning and a casual wine and cheese reception takes place each evening. Casa Laguna is currently ranked #1 of all hotels in Laguna Beach on tripadvisor.com, a widely used online source of traveler reviews and opinions of hotels. For further details on Casa Laguna Inn & Spa, please visit www.CasaLaguna.com.		Paul Blank Innkeeper Casa Laguna Inn & Spa (949) 494-2996 paul@casalaguna.com www.CasaLaguna.com
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