"Green concerns have made their way to the business traveler's agenda," says Adam Weissenberg, Deloitte tourism, hospitality and leisure leader. "Business travelers understand the issues and are trying to do their part in being more environmentally responsible when they are on the road."

Among the green elements of Charania's hotel, which is set to open by first quarter 2009 near Atlanta's giant Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, is a 25,000-gallon stormwater recycling tank underneath the hotel's parking structure, with contents to be used for landscape irrigation. Also included is a recycling system for non-potable or "gray" water from sinks and showers that will be used to flush toilets.

Charania figures on cutting potable water use by 50% while overall water waste will be 70% of the norm. Those are important considerations in Atlanta and other Southern cities that are overcoming years of drought conditions, he says.

From a cost-savings standpoint, heat sensors wired to a fiber-optic network throughout the hotel will be used to adjust lighting and air conditioning in each suite whenever a guest enters or leaves. "We're the only hotel in the country that's doing this right now," Charania boasts, though he adds that he has no problem with hospitality competitors stealing the idea.

Deloitte's survey cites five key environmental actions that business travelers look for when staying in hotels, with recycling topping the list at 77%. Energy-efficient lighting (74%) and windows (59%) are next, followed by placement of cards in rooms to leave sheets and towels unchanged (52%), and use of environmentally safe cleaning products (49%).

At least 70% of Deloitte survey respondents indicate that they believe the national lodging industry is only "somewhat" green, with another 23% saying it is not green at all. One in five business travelers said they stayed at hotels that didn't allow them to be as green as they wanted, while 30% recall requesting that sheets and towels not be changed but room service did anyway.

Charania, who is scheduled among several presenters at next week's GreenBusiness Works Expo in Atlanta, says hoteliers need to think through their efforts toward greening their properties, focusing on those elements that make the most sense. "There is a vast difference between decorative LEED and useful LEED," he says. "If your hotel is 25 miles from the nearest neighborhood, how useful is a bike rack going to be?"