Asilomar

Recently, I made a trip that would test the commitment of even the most ardent ecovangelist. On Sunday I left STL for Monterey, Ca (MRY).  I enjoyed participating in the Aramark Parks & Destinations Environmental Stewards meeting held at one of the most beautiful places on Earth -Asilomar Conference Grounds - Sunday night through Dinner on Monday evening. That evening I took the red-eye (I know I swore them off years ago) from MRY via SFO to EWR(Newark).  I arrived not quite as fresh as an organically grown daisy and headed for my hotel.

Check-in was a breeze at approximately 8 AM ( that was a bit of a gamble on my part), took a shower and headed off for the AH & LA Environmental and Engineering Committee meeting at the LEED Silver certified headquarters office of Wyndham Hotels in Parsippany, NJ.  Faith Taylor, our host does a great job of chairing this committee and we had a full agenda.  Long time stalwarts and members of the committee Tedd Saunders, Dave Stipanuk and Pat Maher(he atttended via conference call) were among those in attendance.  I am always amazed and impressed with the new initiatives that these gentlemen and their fellow committee members bring forth for consideration.

The meeting continued(did anyone see me knod off a couple times?) and culminated in Dinner that evening.  Back at it on Wednesday morning and then into NYC carpooling with Tedd and Nancy Scanlon ( I played the taller than thou card and rode shotgun) in a borrowed Honda driven by Eric Ricaurte of Envirelation (www.Envirelation.com) – another young and inspiring ecopreneur unlike myself.

The Willard

Had another great meeting with the out-of-the-box Triple Bottom Line driven Hervé Houdré, he led the Sustainability charge at The Willard InterContinental (see our list of top 40 Green Hotels at www.GreenerHotels.com)   He is the Regional Director of Operations & General Manager for The InterContinental Barclay (www.icbarclay.com) and as a special guest he invited Dinda Elliott from Condé Nast Traveler® (www.condenastraveler.com) to our meeting.  You may enjoy following her blog regarding the “greening” of The Barclay -http://dotherightthing.truth.travel

After this meeting we headed to LGA for the trip home to STL feeling inspired again by all these ardent advocates even if we were a little  fatigued.

February 16, 2010

Hello. My Name is __________ and I am a Green Hotelier. I met Ms. Hema Patel, president of Courtesy Management this past year at the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference in Atlanta. She approached me after we concluded a panel discussion regarding sustainability in hospitality and said that her company was building a Holiday Inn & Suites in Columbia, South Carolina, and that she wanted it to be as sustainably constructed and operated as possible.

This past week I called Hema to see how they were coming along. She said that they expect to open about April 1 and that originally they had designed it for LEED Silver certification, but she was striving to achieve LEED Gold status. I asked her why the change and she said, “You know, this gets addictive.”

I chuckled and said, “precisely.”

For more insight from Hema Patel and other “green hospitality addicts” you can attend “Upside Through Sustainable (Green) Operations – Session C from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m., Thursday, March 18, 2010, at the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference.

February 3, 2010

The Bardessono is now California’s first and only LEED Platinum hotel and only the second in the world. The other LEED Platinum hotel is The Proximity in Greensboro, North Carolina.This brings to mind some questions:

1) Why are there only two LEED Platinum hotels thus far?

2) Why are they smaller independent properties vs. larger branded hotels?

3) Which other “certification” programs are resonating with consumers (assuming any do)?

4) Are there any other LEED Platinum level hotel projects underway?

5) Are these hotels establishing a new standard for luxury hotels to follow?

January 4, 2010

Seaport Hotel Boston recently won the 2009 EcoRace Recycling Challenge for mixed-use buildings under 500,000 square feet, as well as the 2009 EcoRace Innovation Award for mixed-use multi-buildings from the Boston chapter of the Building Owners and Management Association.

The hote earned these awards by diverting 41% or 33.82 tons of material from the landfill in September and October. Their overall 2009 rate is 47%.

December 21, 2009

Pet Rocks, Chia Pets, Beanie Babies and The Heavenly Bed. Every once in awhile an idea or product comes along which causes you to slap yourself in the forehead and say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”Well, in my opinion, you can add Clean The World to that list. I have to admit that when I first read of this idea which involves sending used hotel soap to Third World Countries, the “show-me” (I live in Missouri) surfaced in me. In these trying economic times how could this concept possibly survive much less thrive?

Well, this past Tuesday before the beginning of the Florida Green Lodging Conference I spent a couple of hours at the Clean The World location processing “lightly used” hotel soap for shipment to Haiti and other less fortunate countries. Here is a video on the program.

It was an eye-opening, if not “soul cleansing,” experience.

This group appears to have all the passion and commitment necessary to keep this endeavor prospering for years to come.

They have been getting a lot of media attention and support of their efforts from hotels in the Orlando area and beyond.

For more information visit their Web site at www.CleanTheWorldFoundation.org.

November 20, 2009

At any given time, I usually have about three or four entries for this blog in the queue. This morning a subject came to me that jumped to the top of the list: holiday lighting. Has anyone thought about “greening” their holiday lighting? I know I have seen some news reports about various cities switching to L.E.D. holiday lighting, but I don’t recall seeing any stories about hotels.

Yesterday, I began e-mailing a few of my greener hotel friends to see if they have begun using L.E.D. holiday lighting. This morning I received the following response from one of them: :The L.E.D.s are still way too expensive comparatively to make it worthwhile. I can get a strand of 100 regular lights for US$4 at my local hardware store and that is without any sort of bulk discount.”

No one has ever mistaken me for a CFO,  but I did take Math II in high school and a finance class (dry and boring at the time) in college. Are L.E.D. holiday lights too expensive?

Here is the math: Pat Maher, green guru for the American Hotel & Lodging Association, an engineer by training and former VP of engineering for Marriott said my numbers look accurate and he commented that he has heard from several hotel brands who have used L.E.D. holiday lights with good success. They like the fact they are very dependable and don’t burn out midway through the season. One complaint has been the cool white light. This year, L.E.D. holiday lights are available in warm white which has been well received.

Assumption: 50 strands of 100 lights (5,000 lights) each burn from 5 p.m. until 1 a.m. from November 27 thru December 31. (35 nights x 8 hours = 280 hours of burn time) This also assumes you have these on a timer or that someone remembers to turn the lights off??

The L.E.D. strand of 100 uses from 5-9 watts, depending on which color or color combination you choose. We will use 9 watts for this calculation. (9 watts x 50 strands x 8 hours = 3,600 watts x 35 nights = 126,000 watts = 126 kwH x 10 cents Per Kwh = $12.60 to burn the L.E.D. holiday lights for the season.)

The most energy efficient incandescent strands now use 19 watts versus what you may have on hand that use 40 watts. (19 x 50 x 8 = 7,600 watts x 35 nights = 266,000 watts = 266 kwh x 10 cents = $26.60 to burn the incandescent holiday lights for the season.)

Based on that without any utility incentives your payback period would be about 50 years.  Not so great. But, let’s look at acquisition costs. (50 strands of L.E.D. at $24.00 = $1,200  vs. 50 strands of incandescent at $4.00 = $200.)

But if the incandescent is rated at 5,000 hours and the L.E.D. at 50,000 hours you will have to replace the incandescent 10 times for every time you replace the L.E.D. strand. Total life acquistion cost is $2,000 for the incandescent vs. $1,200 for the L.E.D.

Environmental Benefits
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, if all conventional incandescent Christmas lights in the U.S. were replaced with L.E.D. lights, annual energy savings would total 2 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) – enough to power 200,000 homes for a year.

If all Long Island, New Yorkers, converted to L.E.D. holiday lights, the Neighborhood Network estimates that approximately 108,744,000 kWh would be saved. This is equivalent to avoiding over 160,000 barrels of oil that would not need to be burned in local power plants. The result of avoiding this much oil consumption would be an environmental benefit of a reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of 68,950 tons, which is equal to eliminating the global warming, greenhouse gases from approximately 15,000 passenger cars taken off the roads for a year.
Source – http://www.neighborhoodnetwork.org/energy/holiday.htm#enviro.

Marketing and PR Benefits
If you are the first hotel in your city, county or state, you could host a community relations/public relations event focused on children and/or child-oriented charities to kick off the holiday shopping season with an L.E.D. tree lighting event (think Rockefeller Center). Better yet, dream big and add some environmentally oriented holiday arts and crafts to the party.

What do I do with the old lighting?
Cut off the plug on the old incandescent holiday lights so that they won’t be reused by someone else and use the strand in a creative and crafty way. How about a “bulbed” wire fence around the compost pile? This would be a good challenge for your green team.

L.E.D. Holiday Lights should feature the following:
* ENERGY STAR rating. This means that the holiday lights pass the EPA’s performance testing for electrical, lifetime, and weathering requirements.

* Holiday lights are UL certified for indoor/outdoor use per UL588-2004 Standard for Seasonal and Holiday Decorative Products.

* Three-year warranty

Product Benefits
* L.E.D.s are very energy efficient, approximately 50 to 90% energy savings as compared to incandescent strands.

* They last up to  20 times longer than traditional incandescent strands. (50,000 hours vs. 2,500 -5,000 hours)

* The L.E.D. color is very brilliant. The L.E.D chips themselves provide the color – not a colored bulb like traditional incandescent strands.

* Lighting displays are much more vivid.

* Incandescent strands are only recommended to have 3 or less strands connected together. L.E.D. strands can have up to 50 connected in a series for 50 count product and at least 30 connected in a series for 100 count product. This is means less circuits, outlets and extension cords are required for installations.

* L.E.D. is very durable. They are excellent for rough service lighting which means they are much more durable than incandescent – no glass bulbs or filaments to break.

* If for some reason one L.E.D. bulb would fail to light, the remaining string will stay lit.

So, from my perspective, if you want to operate a greener hotel you have three choices:

1) Completely replace your existing incandescent holiday lighting wth L.E.D.

2) Replace a portion each year or on an as needed basis.

3) Eliminate holiday lighting and find greener ways to decorate.

P.S. – We usually put the holiday lights up at our house on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Feel free to stop by with some egg nog and if you ask real nice we will let you help. (Which famous author frequently associated with Missouri does this remind you of?) As far as I know, we will be the first in our neighborhood to use L.E.D. holiday lights. Quick – alert the media!

October 16, 2009

This fall several opportunities are available for Green Education. I would encourage you to attend one or more as your time and budget permits.

In Chronological order please see below:

Cornell Sustainability Roundtable
Presented by the Center for Hospitality Research
October 29-30
http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/events/roundtables/documents/SustainabilityRoundtableAgenda_000.pdf
For more information contact Melissa Carlisle at mlp1@cornell.edu
Or visit www.chr.cornell.edu

NHSLRP’s Fall Sustainablity Conference
November 2, 10 a.m.– 4 p.m.
https://www.nhlra.com/index.php?page=seminar-registration
For more information contact Michelle Veasey at mveasey@nhlra.com

IHM&RS Seminar
Benchmarking Your Property’s Eco-System
Jacob Javitz Center, New York City
November 8, 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
Summary: Learn how to manage your hotel’s environmental performance using newly-launched GreenQuest to record your energy usage and measure your carbon footprint with direct input to EPA’s Energy Star.
www.ihmrs.com

2nd Annual Green Lodging and Hospitality Conference
“Greener Roads Ahead”
Rosen Shingle Creek, Orlando, Florida
December 9-11
www.GreenLodgingConference.com
http://www.treeo.ufl.edu/docs/conferences/GreenLodging/brochure.pdf

September 30, 2009

When you have a consistent commitment to the green continuum it makes it easier to communicate – both internally and externally — when opportunities are presented.

Fairmont Hotels, inspired by documentarian Ken Burns’ latest PBS project “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” is launching nature-related packages and making charitable contributions along with them. The Great Green Getaway at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge in Alberta, Canada, for instance, includes a US$100 credit for daily activities and US$25 donated in the guest’s name to the UNESCO World Heritage Alliance. A Green Adventure offered at Mexico’s Fairmont Mayakoba Riviera Maya includes an ecological tour of the area’s lagoons and a donation in the guest’s name to Adopt-a-Tree.

Does a hotel in San Francisco have a Muir Woods package? It seems like a good idea to me. Would now may be a good time to go to market?

Are you participating in The Great Green Rush?

September 23, 2009

Yesterday, I went out to buy myself a birthday present and came back with both the gift and a copy of the September 28th edition of Newsweek.

It may prove to be a memorable errand.

On the very green cover of Newsweek: “The Greenest Big Companies in America- An exclusive ranking.”

I must admit that I opened the issue with some trepidation. Would I find any lodging companies in the rankings?

The answer,  a resounding YES! Congratulations to the following:

#34- Walt Disney
#42 –Marriott International
#46 – Starwood Hotels & Resorts
#81 – Wyndham Worldwide
#128 – Las Vegas Sands
#164 – MGM Mirage
#176- Wynn Resorts

The rankings are for the 500 largest U.S. companies, which explains why some lodging companies are missing.

I think this increases the importance of a substantial sustainabilty program in every lodging company (is that an understatement?).

You may also find this article of interest – “It Ain’t Easy Being Green” which I noticed when I went on the Newsweek Web site to get the link for the article regarding the rankings.

Have we just begun the journey? Certainly, some guests are paying attention to your motives and your message.

What do you think?

P.S. The present, you ask?  Answer: 60 feet, 6 inches by Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson with Lonnie Wheeler.

September 3, 2009

During the past couple of decades it has been my privilege to meet some of people that I consider to be Environmental Champions. It has been a pleasure to talk briefly with Ray Anderson, Ed Begley, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at different events and to see the passion in their eyes and to hear it in their voices.

I just added another name to my brief list of Champions: Mrs. Wilma Maples. The 86 year old proprietor of the Historic Gatlinburg Inn recently donated 104 acres of land in the United States to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This is the largest land gift to the park in more than a decade.

The property is near Cove Mountain between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg in Tennessee. “The gift will provide greenspace and protect the scenic vistas, and give us additional opportunities for wildlife and plants,” Smokies Superintendent Dale Ditmanson said.

As a big fan of both this particular park and of our National Parks, in general, I could not resist picking up the phone and telling Mrs. Maples how much her gift means to those of us that appreciate conservation and our National Parks. In my opinion, she has created an outstanding example for the leaders of the lodging industry to follow. This gift is just one of her many gifts that will be form a lasting legacy of her commitment to preservation. She told me that she did not want to see the land sold and developed after she is gone.

On a separate note, PBS will begin airing Ken Burns’s ‘The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,’ a new six-part series about the history of the National Parks, on September 27.

I understand from our friend Susan Whitaker, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development that about 45 minutes will be devoted to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is the most visited of all the National Parks and  is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.