The Great Debate on Hybrid Parking

A recent Treehugger post, The Perverse Hybrid Incentive, got me thinking. In it, Adam Lowry promotes the idea of low-carbon commuting incentives over the more popular overnight hybrid vehicle parking discounts we see at eco-minded hotels like the W Hotel in San Francisco. To make his point, he explains that his mother-in-law, who drives a 22-mpg Toyota Highlander Hybrid, is privy to the "hybrid parking" perk, while he in his 40-mpg VW Jetta Diesel pays full price. The monstrosity(!), right? As most of us know, "hybrid" does not always equate to the most environmentally friendly option.

Some hoteliers, however, aren't jilting the true treehuggers. Take, for instance, The Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Mass., which recently implemented initiatives like the Hotel Bike program, which gives guests free use of an Electra Amsterdam Classic bicycle--equipped with shopping baskets, naturally--to pedal the streets of Cambridge in eco style. Also intriguing is a new nanoMAX small car detection system that measures vehicles as they enter the garage and charges rates based on size. Small cars get a discounted parking rate, hybrid or not. According to this blog, the hotel also offers free charging for hybrids and EVs.

Similarly, The Heathman Hotel in Portland, Ore. offers complimentary parking for "guests arriving in a green-friendly or hybrid vehicle" as a part of its Go Green Package... my bet is that a Jetta diesel would score free parking under these terms.

Bottom line: Ask your hotel if they'll honor your environmental strides by expanding a hybrid discount to include diesels, bikes, or even public modes of transit (a discount off your room rate, perhaps, since you won't require parking). In the least, you'll help to spur the "What's green really mean?" conversation among hotel management.