Check Into Green Hospitality

Staying in sustainable lodging is more than just a place to land while out traveling. These two places have embraced “green” hospitality. From solar panels to reusable products, to the dome built from Missouri-dug clay, you will rejoice in your visit.

By Nate Birt

Summer vacations in Missouri promise fun and sun. Increasingly, they also offer another enticing option for travelers: sustainable accommodations that help visitors reduce their environmental footprint and reconnect with nature.

“We have installed 57 solar panels, which cover almost all of our electricity needs year-round,” explains Dawson Claridge, who owns The Amber House bed- and-breakfast in Rocheport with his wife, Sherri. Built in 2005, the Victorian-style home features four guest suites.

“We recycle everything and ask our guests to do the same,” Dawson says. “We buy toiletries in bulk and use refillable dispensers in all of the guest suites and showers. Our bathrooms are equipped with low-flow water tanks. We use LED bulbs, and our appliances and windows are very efficient.”

These investments are important to the Claridge family, he says. For them, it comes from a deep connection with the region.

“We are both native to mid-Missouri, whose people and families thrive on the local farms, conservation land, and waterways,” Dawson says. “My family owns a century farm, and our family’s businesses are closely tied to the products of local farmers. The fabric of us all is woven with the nature here, so all of our health is affected by the health of our environment.”

Nearly eight in 10 travelers worldwide planned to stay in at least one green accommodation in the next year, according to 2022 data from Statista. About two-thirds of business travel managers in North America and Europe say they’d prioritize booking hotels with validated sustainability certificates, a 2022 study from travel tech firm HRS Group and the Global Business Travel Association found.

“When I teach natural building workshops, I always stress that sustainability is about using the materials that the earth has provided us,” says Alister Yoder, who advertises his Gnome Dome bed-and-breakfast on Airbnb. Located at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage near Rutledge, due east of Kirksville, the Gnome Dome features a rounded design made of Missouri-dug clay and resembles a Lord of the Rings hobbit home.

“When we shop at the hardware store, we’re often using materials that have come from thousands of miles away,” Alister says. “Natural building uses the wood, clay, and fibers that come directly from our backyard.”

Guests take note of hospitality owners’ commitment to reducing waste. The Claridges don’t use single plastic pod coffee makers, opting instead for conventional coffee that cuts down on packaging. They installed liquid gel dispensers in the showers and provide unwrapped bars of soap with their own signature scent, made by Blue Mound Soap Company in Cowgill.

“We generally get the same response from guests, who appreciate a commitment to a greener approach,” Dawson says. “They comment on the subtleties of our practices while saying it’s refreshing.”

Over in Rutledge, visitors can take in the Gnome Dome’s living roof, which provides both food and beautiful views.

“Guests of the Gnome Dome can enjoy the garden on top of my house, a nice spot for stargazing and lounging with the cherry tomatoes,” Alister says. He shares what one guest wrote after staying at the Dome: “This was more than just lodging; it was an ‘eco-adventure!’ ”

Book your stays at AmberHouseBB.com and Airbnb.com.

Staying in sustainable lodging is more than just a place to land while out traveling. These two places have embraced “green” hospitality. From solar panels to reusable products, to the dome built from Missouri-dug clay, you will rejoice in your visit

Article originally published in the July/August 2023 issue of Missouri Life.