Earlier this week I wrote about the greening of the hotel industry, based on a Washington Post article on the makeover of The Bethesda Doubletree, the hotel owned by my company, Thayer Lodging Group.

That blog post earned a nice mention by Anne Schroeder of the Politico, who writes their Shenanigans column. Here’s what Anne wrote yesterday:

Fred Malek Blogs?

The man who has done everything under the sun in Washington — though possibly best known for his philanthropy, his leading role in returning baseball to D.C. and his advising top Republican officials and presidents — has gotten all Gen X-y on us, admitting Al Gore got to his staunch Republicanism.

And his views on air, too.

“Did Al Gore get to me? Sure — it proves even Democrats can get it right sometimes; and in my view, Mr. Gore earned his Nobel for drawing attention not only to global warming but to the environment overall,” Fred Malek writes about his new goal of hopefully becoming the leader of going green within the hotel industry.

“Ever get sleepy in the afternoons? Wonder why? Maybe it’s more than the big lunch. Maybe it has something to do with the air you breathe. We are convinced that we can differentiate our product and improve preference for our hotels through these measures. Green means more than improving the environment — it can also create more green on the bottom line,” he writes.

Agrees a D.C insider: “Fresh air is something this town sorely needs.”

It was a gracious and fun item in Anne’s column. But more important than my blogging, I hope it sparks greater discussion about how going green can help consumers and businesses alike.

Mood lighting is the latest fancy touch added to the Doubletree by its owners, Thayer Lodging Group, the Annapolis hotel company co-founded by longtime Washington investor Frederic V. Malek. Over the summer, Thayer installed a purification system in the hotel’s meeting rooms to help keep air fresher and cleaner with an eye toward drawing more business customers.

The Post piece discusses our focus on providing a healthier and relaxing alternative to typical hotels. That it is, but there’s more. Our goal is to become the leader in the “greening” of the hotel industry. Surprising for this conservative Republican? Yes. Did Al Gore get to me? Sure – it proves even Democrats can get it right sometimes, and in my view Mr. Gore earned his Nobel for drawing attention not only to global warming, but to the environment overall.Perhaps the most important part of our efforts at Thayer Lodging is the impact not only the environment but also health. Not only are we providing healthy menu alternatives but we’re also purifying the air in meeting rooms and guest rooms. Typical hotels re-circulate the air throughout the day leading to a depletion of oxygen. Ever get sleepy in the afternoons? Wonder why? Maybe it’s more than the big lunch. Maybe it has something to do with the air you breathe. We are convinced that we can differentiate our product and improve preference for our hotels through these measures. Green means more than improving the environment – it can also create more green on the bottom line.