Articles
Going green:
Not just the right thing, but the smart thing
6/27/2000
What’s good for the environment and the guest is often good for the bottom line as well
By Judy Colbert
Kermit the Frog may say it's not easy being green, but that's not how operators of "green" hotels feel. And with good reason. Designing an environmentally friendly hotel saves resources, improves the bottom line and creates goodwill.
Numerous hotels and chains have joined the green movement as charter members in the "Green" Hotels Association including Best Western, Clarion, Colony Hotels, Comfort Inn and Suites, Days Inn, Doubletree, EconoLodge, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Hyatt, Quality Hotels and Inns, Radisson, Sleep Inns, Super 8, SuperClubs, Travelodge and Wyndham. According to the association, the first 100 charter member properties represented 15,338 guestrooms in 25 U.S. states and around the world. The association provides information and materials to help promote the green movement, as does the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with its Water Alliances for Voluntary Efficiency (WAVE) program.
Recycled building materials, water conservation cut operating bills
Probably the most talked-about green facility is the Sheraton Rittenhouse Square Hotel in Philadelphia, billed as the U.S.’ first completely ecofriendly hotel. Using 93% recycled granite for the lobby floor, recycled glass in room number signs, nightstands made from recycled shipping pallets and an air filtration system that provides fresh air to each hotel room every 34 minutes bumped construction costs by about 2%. But the hotel recouped that investment within six months.
The Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa in California launched an environmental program in fall 1998, converting to low-flow showers and toilets in the guestrooms and low-flow toilets and urinals in the public restrooms. The hotel cut water usage by more than 250,000 gallons in the first year, a savings of about $1,000.
About 9% of guests at the hotel cooperate with the hotel’s voluntary “Save Our Planet” guest conservation measures, which a nationwide program that encourages guests to reuse sheets, towels and robes. Cutting down on laundering not only saves water, it also reduces wear on the linens.
Don’t just throw it away—recycle!
The Fairmont Acapulco Princess and the Fairmont Pierre Marques started the chain's Green Partnership Program in January 1999 and have saved $15,000 just from their recycled products initiative. The Royal York in Toronto, Canada sends more than 20,000 pounds of soap and 4,000 pounds of shampoos conditioner and lotion along with reusable bed linens to charitable agencies and missions each year. Since 1996, the hotel has recycled more than 212,000 pounds of cardboard and paper, saving 2,025 trees, almost $80,000 in landfill fees and 1,050+ cubic yards of landfill space. A towel conservation program has reduced the Royal York’s laundry water consumption by 40,000 gallons a month. Typically, not laundering guestroom linens daily saves about 30 gallons of water per day, plus energy.
Of the more than 34,000 light fixtures at the Royal York, almost 2,000 guest bathroom bulbs, more than 5,000 guestroom bulbs and nearly 800 bulbs in public areas and staircases have been switched from incandescent to compact fluorescent bulbs, saving more than $80,000 annually in bulb purchases. Energy savings equal more than $36,000 a year.
At the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver, all rooms have "waste not baskets" divided into two compartments for recycling cans and papers. The hotel staff is allowed to take home opened room amenities. Recycling cardboard and papers earns the hotel about $5,200 per year plus an additional $3,000 savings in biowaste recycling costs. Leftover foods are recycled to a farm and fed to livestock.
The Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands produces its own electricity and water. The hotel also treats and uses wastewater for irrigation purposes. Three large Caterpillar generators run 24 hours a day providing all their power requirements. The hotel’s desalinization plant can produce up to 125,000 gallons of fresh, potable water daily. The wastewater treatment plant processes all of the water used by the operation and their guests. This water is stored in two interconnected ponds before being used for irrigation. These ponds have become a magnet for fish, ducks, turtles, egrets, herons and a thriving colony of iguanas that live in the mangroves along the pond banks. The mangroves were planted in cooperation with the local Dept. of Natural Resources to assist in stabilizing the shore of the pond and also to help filter out nutrients before the water is used in irrigation.
Sugar Bay GM Rik Vlyth says the hotel printed colorful guest cards explaining the green program and its benefits and encouraging guests to reuse their towels and keep the same bed linens for three days. "We estimate that by the end of 2000, we can achieve a reduction of $15,000 in water consumption, $4,000 in chemicals and $5,000 in linen/towel replacement,” Vlyth says.
Aruba's La Cabana All Suite Beach Resort was one of four companies worldwide to win the worldwide Green Globe Distinction Award for outstanding environmental performance for a "green" program. Energy conservation helped the hotel save more than $145,000 in 1999. Among the programs they've initiated are the use of capacitor banks that control and regulate the efficient flow of electricity, yielding a savings of $30,000; the installation of air-conditioner thermostats/timers, which saved the resort $20,000; compacting of almost two tons of cardboard per week; the installation of 1.6-gallon toilets, which saved $40,000; and full implementation of bulk composting, using the output to fertilize the resort’s gardens.
Simple steps to get green
Install low-flow sink aerators, toggle aerators and low-flow showerhead (2.5-3.0 gallons per minute).
Use bulk dispensers for amenities rather than small plastic bottles to eliminate wasted contents and consumption of plastics for containers.
Change linens between guests or on request only (towels on floor or in tub) to save on linen purchases, water and laundry supplies.
Furnish rooms with extra blankets to help keep the thermostat down in winter.
Install occupancy sensors to control lights, HVAC, TV.
Configure HVAC switches so the room is not heated or cooled while the patio/balcony door is open.
Live potted plants keep the air healthier.
A recycling bin by the pool and in public areas allows guests to conveniently recycle aluminum cans rather than disposing of them. Additional recycling bins can be available for glass, plastic, steel cans, newspapers and other paper products.
Recycle such products as telephone books, oil products and pallets.
Recycle, by donating, such used durables as room furnishings.
Use cream pitchers, sugar pourers and jelly jars rather than individual packages.
Offer to collect and distribute to appropriate charities and organizations any leftover materials from meetings and conferences, including folders, notebooks and pads, pencils and pens and sample products. Use chips or coins for coat checks and auto parking instead of disposable paper tickets.
Provide double-sided photocopying. Copy both sides of any collateral material (news releases, daily schedules) your hotel uses.
Recycle stained tablecloths into napkins, chef's aprons and neckerchiefs.
Recycle worn sheets into laundry bags.
Offer bicycles (for loan or rent) to guests for local travels.
Use ground cover instead of lawn (cuts down on lawnmower use, reducing air and noise pollution) and recycle grass clippings into mulch and compost.
Use xeriscaping to keep down watering needs.
Provide a night light (such as those built into a wall-mounted hair dryer) so guests don't have to leave the bathroom light on all night.
Serve drinking water on request only.
Offer incentives (extra paid vacation time, compensation) for employees who carpool, take public transportation to and from work or walk or bike to work.
Institute regular checks of electrical connections, water spigots and the tub diverter mechanism to assure their most efficient use. Ask guests via bedside table tent or room newsletter to report leaks and follow up on their repair.
Offer cardboard food carryout containers rather than foam or aluminum foil.
Create a room pamphlet describing the property 's “green” activities and informing guests how they can participate and make a difference