ORLANDO—The second annual Green Lodging and Hospitality Conference, held at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Fla., from December 9-11, featured a strong group of speakers but failed to attract the crowd one might expect from one of the largest hotel centers in the world. Attendance was 175 for the event, including approximately 50 vendors. The conference was hosted by the TREEO Center, University of Florida. Highlights of the conference included a keynote presentation by David Jerome, senior vice president for corporate responsibility, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), and presentations with titles such as “Green Lodging from 10,000 feet, How a Corporate Hotel Company Goes Green,” “The Sustainability of Marketing Sustainability,” “The Art and Science of Environmentally Preferable Purchasing,” and “Sustainable Renovations.”
David Jerome, in his presentation, addressed three myths that persist regarding the greening of operations: the idea that green is expensive, the notion that consumers do not care, and the idea that hotel companies can continue to wait to implement green measures.
“I am surprised how often there is a discussion of expense,” Jerome said. “It is expensive not to do it. Green is about efficiency and opportunity. It is also about increasing the value of the product.”
Jerome explained that IHG currently has a goal to reduce energy expenses by 15 percent at each of its approximately 4,200 hotels. For a typical 147-room property that will amount to a reduction of about $500,000 in energy costs annually.
Proof That Customers Care
In regard to consumers caring or not caring, Jerome said they do care and IHG has done the research to prove it. “There has been a true shift in how customers perceive this issue. Your guests care about this and there is a lot of opportunity to become relevant. It is about time we stop thinking guests don’t care.”
Responding to those who take a wait and see approach to going green, Jerome added, “We need to shape the conversation instead of being managed by it.”
Jerome concluded his presentation by offering several tips. “Treat green as a business issue,” he said. “This is not about giving money away. Understand this is about how we make our money. Everybody has got to be involved. Oftentimes there are too many voices disconnected. It is about your product and not about regulation or anything else. Let’s make hotels that are more efficient…more valuable for us to own and operate. Green is not a substitute for running a great hotel. Green is about creating ‘win wins.’”
In the session entitled, “Green Lodging from 10,000 feet, How a Corporate Hotel Company Goes Green,” representatives from Rosen Hotels and Resorts, Hilton Worldwide, and Starwood Hotels and Resorts reported on their companies’ efforts at reducing their respective footprints. The session was moderated by Ray Hobbs, senior vice president of operations for Kelco Management & Development Co.
Aggressive Footprint Reduction Goals
Kyle Williams, senior director of architecture and construction for Hilton Worldwide, said his company is working to reduce its energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions and waste volume by 20 percent, and water consumption by 10 percent—all by 2014. Williams said Hilton currently has a program called H.E.A.T. (Hilton Environmental Analysis & Tracking) in place at 1,000 of its approximately 3,000 hotels. Its purpose is to measure electricity, carbon dioxide emissions, water consumption, waste and associated costs.
Brian McGuire, senior director of operations and Six Sigma, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, said Starwood’s current green strategy is to reduce environmental impact, develop sustainable products and services, and create a company culture committed to sustainability. McGuire said more than 130 Starwood properties have either achieved or are pursuing third party certifications. He highlighted the company’s W Hotel San Francisco which is working toward zero waste. It currently recycles 60 percent of its waste. McGuire also discussed Sheraton and Westin’s Make a Green Choice program which rewards guests with a $5 voucher or 500 Starwood Preferred Guest Points for declining housekeeping service for a day.
“Make a Green Choice has been a smashing success,” McGuire said. “We are looking to expand it to other Starwood brands.”
McGuire said Starwood has not yet set carbon targets because the company has not yet calculated its carbon baseline. He added that the company currently has an online Sustainable Resource Center for its managers and associates and will soon be rolling out Sustainable Meeting Practices across all Starwood properties worldwide.
In a session on “The Sustainability of Marketing Sustainability,” David Stipanuk, PhD, professor emeritus, Cornell University, School of Hotel Administration, addressed the practice of greenwashing—companies or hotels that stretch the truth or lie about their green progress, products or programs. Stipanuk said hotel companies need to be aware of the segment of travelers for which the environment is a religion. It is this group that is most likely to hold one accountable for green claims. On the other hand, companies must also be aware of those who get upset when anything green is done. Ray Burger, president of Pineapple Hospitality, said recycling is the most difficult green step for most hotels to take but it is what travelers expect most at a hotel. The highlight of the session was a heated discussion about the pros and cons of optional towel and linen reuse programs.
Reasons for Green Purchasing
In the session, “The Art and Science of Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP),” Heidi Siegelbaum, representing the consulting company Calyx, said hotel owners that practice EPP must add an environmental screen, or filter, when purchasing products or services. “EPP addresses virtually everything that comes into your property,” Siegelbaum said. Among the drivers for EPP, she said, are the consolidation of inventory, reducing costs, providing a healthier indoor environment, and reducing liabilities.
“Concentrate on what cleaning chemicals and what other off-gassing materials you bring into your hotels,” she said.
Mark Petruzzi, vice president of certification and strategic relations for Green Seal, Inc., explained why product certification is important. He cited the rise in greenwashing and environmental claims, the reluctance to trust manufacturers’ claims, the importance of distinguishing one brand from another, and the credibility that goes along with certification by a third party. When asked what the most workable business model should look like for green hotel certification, Petruzzi said, “Hotels should have to pay something for it and there should be an on-site audit.”
In a session on “Sustainable Renovations,” Bernadette Upton, president of Eco Décor, introduced speakers including Dina Belon, principal, Rush Hospitality, and Diana Dobin, senior vice president of Valley Forge Fabrics. Belon, in her presentation, described a resort in Titusville, Fla., that she designed. It will include pervious surface parking, a green roof, capture gray water for reuse, be cooled with the help of a geothermal system, and feature recycled carpet and tiles. Dobin described the history of her company that designs and sells sustainable FRESH (Fabrics Redefining Environmental Standards for Hospitality) fabrics. She announced that the company is now selling mattress and pillow encasements made from Tencel+Plus, a combination of Eucalyptus fibers and cotton.
In “Managing and Reducing Your Waste,” Miriam Zimms, a senior consultant with Kessler Consulting, Inc., said Florida’s lodging industry generates 4 percent of the state’s solid waste. In putting together a plan to manage a waste stream, Zimms suggested the following approach: define the objective and role of each party, assemble a preliminary team, identify and quantify the existing system, determine what is in the waste stream, evaluate waste reduction and recycling options, prepare a cost/benefit analysis, and develop a preliminary plan.
Clean the World Update
Shawn Seipler, executive director of Clean the World, detailed the progress of his organization’s attempt to collect partially used soap and shampoo for the purpose of distributing it to those in need in the United States and other countries. Seipler said more than 100 hotels, 85 in Florida, are currently contributing partially used items. So far in 2009, Clean the World has prevented 230 tons of soap and shampoo from going to landfills.
Jeff Dean, Southeast regional manager for Veolia Environmental Services, North America, discussed lamp recycling and the dangers of mercury contamination. Less than 30 percent of fluorescent lamps, which contain mercury, are currently being recycled, he said. Mercury can also be found in flat screen TVs, appliances and other electronic items. “You want to make sure the company you hire [to manage expired lamps and other items] is doing things properly,” Dean said.
What should one look for when seeking out an electronic waste recycler? Jim Kristof, vice president sales and procurement for Creative Recycling Systems, said recyclers should offer the latest automated technology, have certifications such as ISO 14001 and R2/RIOS, have all necessary permits, registrations and licenses, and have logistics capabilities.
Crestline’s EarthPact Program
In a “What Were We Thinking?—Why a Hotel Owner Decides to Go Green” session, Elizabeth Delens, general manager of the Four Points Sheraton in Washington, D.C. Downtown, described Crestline Hotels & Resort’s EarthPact program. Released in the beginning of 2009, it addresses sustainability across multiple disciplines including administration, food and beverage, facility management, conferences and meetings, owner relations, public relations and rooms operations.
In the same session, Michael Tall, senior vice president of management company Charlestowne Hotels, discussed his company’s new Holiday Inn Express property in South Carolina that is pursuing LEED certification. “It was the owners who decided [LEED] was the right thing to do,” Tall said. “They did not look at the option of not going green.”
Stuart Arp, general manager of the LEED Silver Sandpearl Resort in Clearwater Beach, Fla., said earning the LEED designation has added credibility to his property’s green efforts. “We have had a few groups select us because of what we have done,” Arp said. When asked if the Sandpearl Resort’s owners would pursue LEED if they had to do it over again, Arp added, “No question about it. Our next project will be a LEED-designed project.”
Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
