Connecticut Hotel First Net-Zero Hotel In Country

More and more people are thinking about their environmental impact when they travel. Now, hotels are taking notice.

The first thing you'll notice about New Haven, Connecticut's Hotel Marcel is the unique architecture. The famed architect Marcel Breuer designed it in the 1960's as an office building. Over the decades it switched owners and then sat empty for many years until it was taken over by Bruce Becker. The architect and developer has given the inside of the old structure a modern-day makeover and opened it as an eco-friendly hotel. It's self-powered, uses no fossil fuels and aims to be the first net-zero carbon emissions hotel in the nation.

"I wanted to make sure that if I make a building that's going to be here for a while. That not only will it be beautiful, but it will be beautiful for the environment," Becker says.

Every inch of the hotel is designed with the environment in mind. Solar panels on the roof keep the power on. Electric heat pumps and triple-glazed windows moderate the temperature. There are electric car chargers, an electric shuttle van, and even the kitchen has an electric range instead of a gas one. While all of it this may seem expensive, Becker says it pays for itself.

"It also keeps our energy costs down. If you're not using electricity, you net that out, you don't have an electric bill, so that helps financially," Becker says.

Since opening in May, the "no footprint" approach has been attracting customers. "Environmentally, it's highly appealing to me to be somewhere that leaves no footprint on our environment, it's incredibly important," says guest Edward McLaughlin.

Becker says it will take a year of testing to confirm his building is truly net zero when it comes to carbon emissions.

But he believes others could follow his lead and create a new standard for hotels in the future.