NEW YORK—Philips Electronics announced the signing of an exclusive three-year agreement with Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Inc. to provide Philips’ latest range of SmartPower energy efficient televisions to Starwood’s 460 properties across North America. The deal, which could be worth up to $100 million with existing opportunities and expected growth, will see industry-leading energy efficient televisions installed in new hotels and existing Starwood properties looking to convert to LCD TV technology for the first time.
In what is believed to be the biggest ‘green TV’ deal to date, this agreement is also expected to save the premier global hotel company more than $12 Million dollars in energy costs over the seven-year lifetime of the equipment, and reduce energy consumption by up to 40 percent when compared with the televisions currently in use.
Philips will immediately begin installing these televisions, which are also available to consumers as the ‘EcoTV’. Taking the recently announced growth targets of Starwood North America into consideration, at least 80,000 Philips SmartPower TVs will be installed over the course of the next three years.
All Starwood Brands Impacted
This partnership impacts such well known Starwood brands as St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W, Westin, Le Méridien, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton and Aloft. These TVs will also be included in Starwood’s newest hotel brand, Element, which is at the forefront of green hotel building, having recently announced that each of its hotels brand-wide are required to pursue the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification.
“This is a defining agreement for us, and is indicative of the fundamental change in mindset we have implemented around procurement and sourcing, and the partners we want to work with to achieve this,” said Paul Davis, senior vice president of Global Sourcing at Starwood. “Philips has shown us that it is easy to simultaneously provide our guests with the very latest technology while making a sound business decision that significantly impacts costs and reduces energy consumption.”
Televisions were an important area to address for Starwood in its search for energy efficiency. Starwood estimates that the average hotel television is operating for six to eight hours every day. Anecdotal evidence highlights that guests regularly leave their hotel rooms without switching off their television, while many hotels also like to welcome guests with a personalized message on the television screen in their room.
Already a Lighting Partner
This deal continues an already successful relationship between Starwood and Philips, which has also been the exclusive provider of energy efficient lighting to the hotel group for more than two years. This lighting includes compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs for hotel rooms, as well as other energy efficient lighting for areas such as lobbies and building beautification.
A comparison of hotel rooms reveals some staggering savings numbers. While configurations differ for each hotel, there is on average one television and three light bulbs in each room, using approximately 455 watts of energy daily. By replacing these with the Philips SmartPower TVs and Philips energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs, energy consumption is reduced to 153 watts, just one-third of existing energy needs.
“This partnership with Starwood highlights Philips’ ambitions to become a major sustainability and global innovation partner for the hotel industry,” says Willem Houck, head of Global Business Key Account Management for Philips Electronics. “Whether it be lighting lobbies around the world or choosing the right television when it is time for a replacement, we demonstrated to Starwood that there was no need to compromise on product quality in its goal to reduce the company’s carbon footprint and achieve important environmental goals.”
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