Name: Dennis Quaintance.
Title: CEO & CDO (chief design officer).
Company: Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels, Greensboro, N.C.
Hotel Properties: The Proximity Hotel and O.Henry Hotel, both in Greensboro.
My primary responsibilities: “I am the leader of our company and have the obligation to cause followers to behave in a way that is consistent with our values—to be of service to the community.”
What keeps me motivated: “My job is to cause delight. I am humbled that people choose to follow me and honor me with a night’s sleep.”
Our biggest environmental challenge: “Justifying sustainable practices. Being able to pragmatically justify everything we do. LEED is a way to demonstrate that we are sincere. What we do has to make good business sense.”
What advice I would give to a hotel company considering going green: “Do it because of the benefits related to energy savings and utility savings in general.”
GREENSBORO, N.C.—As a teenager growing up in Missoula, Montana, Dennis Quaintance made two important discoveries that have had a life-long impact. While working as a housekeeper’s assistant at the age of 15 at the old Village Inn and Edgewater Restaurant, he fell in love with the hospitality business. His other discovery? He learned not to take necessities such as electricity and water for granted; these were not always easily available in the West.
Years later and now CEO and chief design officer for Greensboro, N.C.-based Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels, Quaintance’s love for hospitality and his concern for the environment are still apparent. His company’s Proximity Hotel, a 147-room property located in Greensboro, is well on its way toward Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum certification. If the hotel achieves that designation, it will be the first hotel in the United States to do so.
“I think it is more probable than not that we will get it,” Quaintance says.
The entrepreneur, whose company also owns and operates the O.Henry Hotel in Greensboro, as well as four restaurants in North Carolina, has been intimately involved in the Proximity Hotel’s development. His efforts have paid off with the hotel’s soft opening in early November as well as a significant amount of national publicity. In fact, the property is so unique that tours are given almost every day.
What Makes Proximity Unique
What is different about the Proximity Hotel? If not for the 100 solar panels on the roof and the waterless urinals in the public restrooms, a visitor would not know that the hotel is a green one. Here are just some of the reasons the hotel most likely will achieve LEED platinum certification:
• It uses 40 percent less energy than a conventional hotel by using ultra-efficient materials and the latest construction technology.
• North America’s first Otis Gen2 elevator was installed. It actually generates electricity by using a regenerative drive as the cab descends .
• The hotel takes advantage of natural light by incorporating large (7’4”-square) energy-efficient windows in guestrooms. The windows open to allow fresh air in.
• The building was constructed with reinforced steel that contains 90 percent post consumer recycled content. The sheetrock includes 100 percent post consumer recycled content, the asphalt 25 percent, and staircase steel 50 percent.
• Seventy-five percent of construction waste was recycled and diverted from landfills.
• Water usage is reduced by 30 percent thanks to high-efficiency plumbing fixtures.
• Indoor air quality is assured by using low-emitting VOC paints, adhesives and carpets to reduce indoor air contamination.
• Variable speed hoods in the restaurant use a series of sensors to set the power according to the kitchen’s needs and adjust to a lower level of operation (typically 25 percent of their full capacity).
Up on the roof of the hotel, the 100 solar panels heat water to a temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit. It is then brought down to 120 degrees. Approximately 5,000 gallons can be heated each day. Quaintance says the system has the capacity to supply all of the hotel’s domestic hot water needs. It cost about $400,000 and estimated payback time currently, factoring in tax credits and energy savings, is about five years. If energy costs rise, the payback period will be less.
Local Vendors Selected
Throughout the operations of the Greensboro hotel, attempts are made to cater to local businesses as much as possible. The art is from local artists and the Proximity’s restaurant, Print Works Bistro, uses fresh, local food.
“The nearer the farm to the fork, the better the flavor,” Quaintance says. “Most of our competitors do not buy local because it is a lot of work.”
Quaintance says guest response since the hotel opened has been very positive.
“They love the feel, design, natural light, and Print Works Bistro,” he says. “We get a lot of thank you notes from guests appreciative of our environmental responsibility.”
The Proximity’s CEO has come a long way since his first job in Missoula, with stops in places such as Phoenix, Seattle and Palm Beach, Florida along the way. Now, Quaintance is in his element and ready to grow his newly created green hotel concept.
“It is my belief that Proximity is a brand waiting to grow,” he says.
To learn more about the Proximity Hotel’s environmental efforts, click here or here.
Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
