American Idle. No, not the show, which I admit I do not watch. American Idle, as in idling your vehicles. Do you do it? I recommend avoiding it as much as you can. I received an e-mail from a reader last week that dealt with vehicle idling. Here is what she wrote: “As a flight attendant, I am constantly staying in hotels and taking shuttles from the airport to the hotels. The hotel shuttles and private shuttle services constantly run their engines while they wait for passengers, while loading bags and otherwise. In the dead of winter or summer it might be understandable, but otherwise not. I have spoken to the van drivers and their response is that they just don’t care or their boss instructed them to keep the vans running. Help!”
It is not often I receive e-mails from flight attendants, let alone ones in such distress about engine idling, but she does have a point. Shuttle drivers are notorious for keeping vehicle engines running. One might think this is not such a huge problem, but according to a report from Texas A&M, Americans burn 2.9 billion gallons of gas a year while engine idling—an amount worth around $78.2 billion. If you consider all of the waiting in traffic, the busses and trucks that idle their engines, and the restaurant drive-throughs, it really is not surprising.
Does your property have an engine idling policy? If not, create one to remind your guests and staff about the environmental impact of running a gasoline engine. Position signage where appropriate—in front of the entrance to your property, for example, or on vehicle dashboards. By minimizing engine idling, you will help to reduce the volume of harmful ozone exhaust emitted into our air and also reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. And, the next time you stop at a fast food restaurant, avoid the drive-through. The exercise will do you good.
GLN Adds Harris Pillow Supply Case Study to Website
Green Lodging News has added its seventh case study to its new Vendor Case Studies section. The case study focuses on The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo., and how it has been able to reduce its waste stream and save money at the same time with a Pillow-Vac manufactured by Harris Pillow Supply, Beaufort, S.C.
The Broadmoor, a 700-room property, uses the Pillow-Vac to renovate its pillows. Over time, pillows tend to become flat and lose their bounce, regardless of the filling. Feathers disintegrate, leaving dust. Most people who have allergies tend to think it is the feathers in the pillow that irritates them, but actually it is this dust.
The Pillow-Vac is designed specifically for pillow renovating. It uses an ozone-emitting germicidal light to kill bacteria, and to sanitize and deodorize the filling. The old pillow is cut open and emptied into a tumble chamber which has rotating brushes that expose everything to germicidal lights while breaking up clumps that have formed. It fluffs up the down clusters, and sifts out the dust that has been trapped in the pillow. If it is a feather and/or down pillow, more new filling is added to bring it back to the density of a new pillow. At the end of the cycle, all the filling is blown back into a new, 100 percent cotton feather- and down-proof ticking. The entire process takes an average of three to four minutes per pillow.
For the complete story, go to the Harris Pillow Supply case study.
Upcoming Advertising Opportunities
Those suppliers interested in having a prominent ad slot on the Green Lodging News website or newsletter should contact me soon at (440) 243-2055. The top banner position on the website, for example, becomes available on April 9. Other good spots are also available. The Green Lodging News website drew almost 26,000 visitors in January and the e-newsletter now reaches more than 7,600 subscribers each week.
Vendors Sought for New Mexico Event
Planners for New Mexico’s Governor’s Conference on Tourism that will be held in Roswell, N.M., April 16-18, are in search of suppliers interested in exhibiting. Climate change will be a focus of the conference. Go to www.tanm.org for more information, or e-mail sschultz@tanm.org.
As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
