The 1st ECO HOTEL 2015 EU Prize in Italy goes to the Island of Elba in Tuscany

It is located in Fetovaia, on Elba Island, the hotel in full harmony with the environment.

The Island of Elba sometimes is considered a "small" island (actually it is the third largest Italian island and the largest among the smaller islands), but it is really great as far as some excellences like the quality of agricultural production and the care of the natural environment.

For the latter, in particular, we can boast recently even the achievement of an important national award, reached by the Hotel Montemerlo in Fetovaia. A gracious property, in the family for two generations, it has in fact been the first hotel in Italy to be awarded with the EU Ecolabel National Award 2015 for the most effective strategies in the spread of the EU Ecolabel, in the category of micro enterprises.

Nicola Palmieri, owner of the structure together with his sister Sara, explains that this is the result of a process that began since the opening in 1971 and for over 45 years oriented to the continuous search for balance between hospitality and eco-management.

From the initial 10 units, today the hotel has 38 rooms divided into 5 buildings built around a lovely garden, but its growth has always been in tune with the environment. Over the time, the eco philosophy has become increasingly important going through every aspect of the tourist offer. Thanks to this the hotel had already gained the recognition among the best 7 eco-hotels of Italy and the Oscar Ecotourism .

In 2012, in addition to the brand of Tourism Beauty Nature of Legambiente, which leads to follow a precise eco-Decalogue, Hotel Montemerlo went further, calling for the European certification, with more restrictive parameters and criteria. Among these it is that it uses at least 30% of energy from renewable sources. "Since years - says Nicholas - we are committed to have the least possible impact on the surrounding territory, of rare beauty and protected by the Tuscan Archipelago National Park. We do not do it for reasons of image and marketing, but because we firmly believe in doing everything possible to leave a livable world to our children. So we said that 30% should not necessarily be our ultimate goal, but the first step in a precise path for improvement. This was followed by significant investments, focused on specific systems, which today allows us to produce 30-40% more energy independently, while the remaining share of renewable energy is purchased from Enel Energia. So we achieved 100% of energy used coming from renewable sources.

"In addition the Hotel Montemerlo, when possible, try to use products at Km 0, even preferred to biological products maybe coming from other countries; it produces 70-80% of hot water used by solar panels; it reaches 60-70% of recycling; it promotes energy and water saving ; it uses in its own garden fertilizer 100% natural .... and much more.

The conversion into eco-friendly property is a commendable way, but challenging, which has no direct financial return nor fast (just think of the higher costs in the use of all raw materials or providing services that meet the required criteria) . Of course, the market in time tends to reward those who have done this kind of choices, but behind it there is a great effort and a lot of work.

For the success of such a project all levels must necessarily pass through this involvement: the property, for guidance and decisions, the staff for the implementation in everyday life and finally the guests who benefit directly from the structure of attention and at the  same time are architects of the success of its eco guidelines.

The prize was given also to reward the communication of the accommodation, that with few but well-designed solutions surpassed in visibility and effectiveness of promotion even more extensive and expensive campaigns. Two, in particular, were the reward elements: first the choice of using the ECO LABEL logo on all their social channels, instead of the logo Hotel Montemerlo ... a true anomaly for marketers. "In fact, since on Elba Island no one was using the ECO-LABEL brand yet, we thought it was a great opportunity, that would not in any way put at risk our image, giving it us a unique contrast and a well defined  connotation. The EcoLabel brand is very strong, and very recognized abroad. We have set ourselves a time of 3-4 usage and verification.

Second element that motivates the prize is that the hotel implemented a number of projects within the structure such as to compose a kind of eco-label laboratory. Among them the attention to recycling even in public areas, with signs and explanations, and the replacement of much of the information and promotional paper materials of the structure with explanatory videos collected in 2 thematic eco-label VideoChannels. In the lobby, these videos are shown on rotation 24 hours a 24, while in the rooms, the tv switching system makes you tune on these eco channels, thus spreading out the themes so dear to the structure. This simple but innovative device, which takes guests to view the ecological messages at least until they change channel, has meant that the video-tv mix was considered so effective for the dissemination of ecological issues, to become a new rule for facilities that want to join the European protocol.

The guests of Hotel Montemerlo, both Italian and foreign, show to appreciate this commitment ... and especially - tell us about the owners - it's nice to see  children so attentive and curious in respect of how and why things are done in a certain way.

"After all, we also work for their future and this encourages us to do more and more. "

PHOTOS: Fetovaia on Elba Island and Hotel Montemerlo. Pictures of Hotel Montemerlo