Westgate Historic Williamsburg Designated a Virginia Green Lodging

Williamsburg, VA, October 29, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Westgate Resorts’ Historic Williamsburg Resort has been designated as Virginia Green. Virginia Green is the statewide program that works to reduce the environmental impacts of Virginia’s tourism industry. It is a partnership between the Virginia Tourism Corporation and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. The program awards Virginia Green Certification to tourism-related business such as hotels, restaurants and attractions taking voluntary actions to reduce harmful impacts on the environment.

Virginia Green Lodging is a self-certifying program where facilities must verify that they are at least practicing the Virginia Green Lodging “core activities”. The Core Activities are:
· Optional Linen Service – sheets and towels are not automatically changed every day.
· Recycling – guests must have the opportunity to recycle during their stay.
· Water Conservation – a plan should be in place for minimizing water use.
· Energy Conservation – a plan should be in place to address energy conservation & efficiency opportunities.
· Green Events, Conferences, & Meetings – facilities should be able to accommodate groups who want “green” events.

Westgate Historic Williamsburg has gone beyond the core activities by also purchasing water and energy efficient washers and dryers, minimizing the use of bleach, pesticides and chemicals, using reusable glass and dishware, using water flow metering and implementing lighting and heat/air sensors.

Guests to Virginia are now able to search for Green Lodging facilities on their Virginia is for Lovers website, www.VirginiaGreenTravel.com. Westgate Historic Williamsburg appears there, as well as, Virginia Green Lodging website, www.deq.virginia.gov/p2/lodging.

About Westgate Resorts - With 28 resorts and over 450,000 owners worldwide, Westgate Resorts is the largest privately owned timeshare company in the world and one of the largest resort developers in the United States. Founded in 1982 by David A. Siegel, Westgate Resorts provides affordable luxury vacation accommodations and exchange opportunities through exclusive affiliation with Interval International, which offers worldwide travel solutions at over 2,000 resorts in over 65 countries. More information is available at www.westgateresorts.com.

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