About a year ago, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), based upon the recommendations of its Green Task Force, decided not to partner with a third party to offer its members a property certification program. Instead, the Task Force established a set of 11 Minimum Green Guidelines for any lodging property to follow to reduce operating costs and environmental impacts through reduced utility consumption, recycling programs, employee training, and supply chain management. The guidelines were officially launched last November. For those of you not familiar with the specific Guidelines, they range from forming an environmental committee to installing digital thermostats.
In April of this year, AH&LA challenged hoteliers to take its Green Guidelines Challenge. The challenge began when AH&LA members received a tracking tool to aid their measurement of occupancy statistics, monetary and energy expenditures, and return on investment (ROI) from specific green practices. To enter the challenge, participants were asked to complete an online Green Guidelines Challenge survey by October 1, 2009. AH&LA members who successfully implement practices in line with any of the 11 Guidelines are being encouraged to write in their success stories and best practices to be considered for a green prize package and to be featured on the association’s Green Resource Center website. Hoteliers who are not members of AH&LA have also been encouraged to participate in the Challenge, even though they are not eligible for the prize package.
According to Kathryn Potter, senior vice president of communications for AH&LA, the Green Guidelines Challenge has been a great success with hundreds of properties participating. The Challenge has helped drive traffic to the AH&LA’s online Green Resource Center, making it one of the AH&LA website’s most visited areas. The Challenge’s success has encouraged AH&LA to broaden its green offerings. In the pipeline are additional Green Guidelines. “There are so many other areas we can help our members track,” Potter says. Future Guidelines will address areas such as design and construction, materials and resources, chemicals and cleaning, and indoor air quality.
Best Practices, Case Studies, Tips
I highly recommend checking out the Green Resource Center and the Green Guidelines Challenge. The Resource Center includes best practices, case studies, operations tips, access to AH&LA’s Green Guru (Pat Maher of The Maher Group, LLC) and much more. Following the 11 Guidelines makes financial sense. Assuming one operates a 300-room hotel, one can achieve the following annual savings by following just a few of the Guidelines:
• $35,478/298,961 kilowatt-hours (kWh) by installing digital thermostats in guestrooms and throughout a hotel;
• $17,029/141,912 kWh by replacing existing incandescent lamps with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs);
• $35,478/1,182,600 gallons of water as a result of installing 2.5 gallons per minute (or less) showerheads in all guestroom baths and any employee shower areas.
Be sure to continue to visit Green Lodging News and the AH&LA website for updates on AH&LA’s environment-related activities.
GLN Welcomes Great Eco Solutions as Directory Partner
Green Lodging News welcomes Great Eco Solutions as an advertising partner. The company is the maker of Save A Flush, a new dual action flush valve that allows one to convert a standard toilet to a dual flush system. Save A Flush is designed as a universal retrofit for most two piece toilets. It can be installed in 30 minutes or less. The Save A Flush kit contains all new parts for a toilet. All of the moving parts in a toilet will be replaced with new Save A Flush parts. By moving the selector flush handle left, the toilet will flush only half of the water stored in the holding tank. By moving the selector flush handle right, the toilet will flush a full volume of water. A unique feature built into Save A Flush is the option to select and vary the volume of flush water. The half and full flush volumes can be individually adjusted at the time of installation. For more information, call (866) 299-8245, e-mail adorfler@greatecosolutions.com, or go to www.saveaflush.com.
Green Lodging News Advertising
Green Lodging News ad spots are selling fast. Be sure to call me at (440) 243-2055 to discuss your advertising plans for the remainder of 2009. A 2009 media kit is now available by request or by clicking here. A 2010 kit will be available soon. Thank you to all of those companies that consistently support Green Lodging News.
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As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
