At first glance, the measures involved in running a hotel can be almost unnoticeable. Guests may notice the option to skip daily room cleaning, waste sorting, or toiletries with less single-use plastic. Behind these seemingly small details, however, lies a system of specific rules and procedures, from monitoring water and energy consumption, through waste management and purchasing, to staff training and communication with guests.
And that is exactly what Green Key focuses on.
What does Green Key actually mean?
Green Key is an international certification focused on more sustainable operation of hotels and other tourism establishments. It doesn't assess just one area. Instead, it looks at how a hotel approaches, for example, water and energy consumption, waste, cleaning, purchasing, staff involvement, or communication with guests.
An important part of the certification is verifying that the set criteria are met. Green Key is therefore not just a label a hotel can simply add to its website. Behind the green key are specific requirements, and they are checked.
The goal is not to create a hotel where guests have to give up comfort. It is about finding ways to combine a quality hotel experience with a more responsible approach to the environment.
Five CPI Hotels with a Green Key
Five CPI Hotels properties in Prague, Budapest and Rome are officially certified under the international Green Key programme. You can find the list of certified hotels here: Green Key — Green Key sites around the world
Comfort Hotel Prague City East
Mamaison Residence Downtown Prague
Courtyard by Marriott Prague City
Courtyard by Marriott Budapest City Center
Holiday Inn Rome Eur Parco Dei Medici
Each hotel operates in a slightly different setting and under a different brand. What they share is an effort to find concrete ways to make day-to-day operations more environmentally friendly.
How does Green Key translate into day-to-day operations?
In our Green Key certified hotels, water and energy consumption is monitored and rules are set for sorting and further handling of waste. Attention is also paid to the choice of cleaning products and to reducing single-use materials. Staff training and information for guests are part of it too.
Guests will notice some measures directly during their stay. Others remain behind the scenes of daily hotel operations.
Guests have a choice
One example is room cleaning. Guests can choose whether they want daily cleaning. If they decide not to use it, the hotel will not clean the room that day.
This is not about reducing comfort. It is about being able to tailor the service to the guest's needs and preferences.
Specific measures also apply to other parts of the stay, such as toiletries, single-use materials, and waste sorting.
Less waste starts with sorting it properly
Hotel operations generate a large amount of waste every day. That's why it's important to sort the different types correctly and collect them separately.
Paper, plastic and other sorted materials can then be kept apart from mixed waste and passed on for further handling according to their type.
This everyday procedure is also one of the areas covered by the Green Key certification.
Waste sorting also shows clearly that Green Key is not only about technology and investment. Everyday operating procedures and staff habits play an important role too.
Behind every measure are people
The daily operation of a hotel relies on the work of its staff.
Individual measures work above all when they are properly set up and staff apply them in everyday practice. This is true for waste sorting, cleaning procedures, monitoring energy consumption, and communicating with guests alike.
That is why Green Key's requirements also include staff training and familiarising employees with the procedures for each area of the certification. Even a well-designed system only delivers results once it becomes a normal part of the hotel's daily operations.
Getting certified isn't enough. It takes ongoing work.
Green Key is not a one-off matter.
A hotel must meet the set criteria, and compliance is verified as part of the certification process. The certification is time-limited, and keeping it requires meeting the programme's requirements on an ongoing basis.
It's continuous work.
This also includes regularly monitoring each area of operation and looking for ways to improve specific procedures further, for example in energy and water consumption, waste management or operational processes. All of this is done while maintaining comfort and quality of service for guests.
So what does the green key mean for guests?
Above all, it tells them that the hotel meets the criteria of the Green Key programme and that compliance is verified as part of the certification process.
Guests don't need to fundamentally change their habits during their stay. They can, for example, choose to use a towel for longer, skip room cleaning on a day they don't need it, sort their waste correctly, or take advantage of one of the options the hotel offers as part of its operational measures.
Guests will notice some of these measures directly. Others take place behind the scenes of hotel operations.
Together, they form part of the everyday procedures the hotel applies in line with Green Key requirements.
