I think I spend more time in foreign hotels than in US hotels. Because whenever I walk into an American hotel room I find it completely startling that when I open the door, all the lights are ablaze and the air conditioner is running at full tilt.
Really? Do we have to be this stupid? In 2013?
I found an old New York Times article which suggests a variety of reasons for the lack of master switches (or water-saving features) in US hotel rooms, none of which are valid. As far as I can tell, nothing has changed since then.