Marriott is finalizing a prototype for its popular Courtyard brand that meets Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification standards, and it intends to have similar pre-certified designs for most of its brands next year.
"To date, every hotel has had to go through the process of getting LEED certification on their own," said Marriott President and COO Arne Sorenson.
With the pre-certified prototypes, he said, "Anyone can take it and know they are going to have a certified green building."
Marriott estimated that the introduction of the prototypes would expand its green hotel portfolio tenfold over the next five years.
The first Marriott prototype to be pre-certified under the LEED certification system of the U.S. Green Building Council will be available in April.
The company said it would save owners approximately $100,000 and six months in design time and would reduce a hotel's energy and water consumption by up to 25%, based on national averages. These savings, combined with tax and other incentives offered in many jurisdictions, could provide a payback for the LEED building investment in about two years.
The green hotel prototype, referred to by the U.S. Green Building Council as "volume build certification," has been created for Marriott's Courtyard brand, which currently has a development pipeline of nearly 160 hotels worldwide.
In 2010, the company expects to introduce similar green hotel prototypes for its Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn, SpringHillSuites and TownePlace Suites brands, which together have more than 290 hotels in the pipeline worldwide.
Marriott has 15 LEED-certified hotels open or set to open by the end of 2010.