Home Personnel Profile Golden Arrow Resort Owner Inspired by Picturesque Lake Placid

Golden Arrow Resort Owner Inspired by Picturesque Lake Placid

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Name: Jenn Holderied
Title: Owner
Property: The Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort, Lake Placid, N.Y.

My primary responsibilities: “In addition to being owner, I am director of marketing and public relations.”
What keeps me motivated each day: “I really enjoy meeting new people. Lake Placid is an international town and I get to meet people from all over the world. I also get to work with my family every day. Our staff is like a giant extended family.”

Property’s most significant environmental accomplishment so far: “Obtaining a Four Green Leaves Rating from Audubon International. The rating encompasses all the efforts we have put into our environmental program. Our guestroom recycling program has also been a success. We started it in June 2007. We have had 85 percent guest participation. Our recycling volume has doubled.”
Our biggest environmental challenge: “One of the biggest environmental challenges is finding suppliers that sell green products that are price competitive.”
What advice I would give to a hotel operator considering going green: “It is worth it. It has increased the morale of our staff. It makes them proud to work here. Our guests are behind it. It is an opportunity to influence guests to be more conscious of the environment.”

LAKE PLACID, N.Y.—Growing up in Lake Placid, in the midst of a scenic 6-million-acre park, Jenn Holderied learned the importance of protecting the area’s natural resources. “Up here [in New York], it becomes part of who you are,” she says. It should come as no surprise then, that the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort that she owns would reflect her concern for the environment.

Throughout the 152-room (soon to be 165 rooms) resort, efforts have been made to reduce waste, cut energy and water consumption, and create a work culture that encourages staff to participate in green programs. A green team that includes management, housekeeping and a representative of the property’s adjacent restaurant has been in place since 2006.

In addition to recycling, low-flow toilets and showerheads help to reduce waste. In the 13 rooms currently being added to the resort, a guestroom energy management system has been installed. Holderied says that initiative eventually will be expanded to all resort guestrooms.

Green Roof to be Added

On June 12 this year, a green roof will be placed between the main lobby and the restaurant. Similar to a garden, the roof will include a bed of soil and plants that will have both aesthetic and environmental benefits. The Golden Arrow Lakeside resort is working with West Chester, Pa.-based Weston Solutions Inc. to install a GreenGrid system. The plants are being grown in Connecticut. When installed, the green roof will cover a 3,000-square-foot area. Holderied says the green roof will also improve air quality by releasing oxygen into the air, reduce dust and storm runoff, provide insulation during the winter and help cool air during the summer.

The Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort has taken numerous other steps to run an efficient green operation. Here are just a few examples:

• The property has been 100 percent nonsmoking since 2002.
• One floor of the resort is for guests who have allergies. The Allergen Free Floor features bamboo flooring—hallway included. Guestrooms feature leather furniture, air filters and a showerhead with a chlorine filter.
• Lighting sensors turn off lighting in several areas when guests or staff are not present (public restrooms, for example).
• Double-paned windows save energy.
• In one guestroom, a modular mattress system is being tested that allows one to replace interchangeable parts such as zippered mattress covers, foam overlays and other components instead of replacing the entire bed.
• All conferences and meetings held at the resort are automatically green.
• Compact fluorescent light bulbs have been installed and were purchased from a local Boy Scouts troop.
• Suppliers are selected based on their commitment to environmental and social responsibility.

Audubon International Honor

Earlier this year, Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort announced that it had achieved a Four Green Leaves Rating as part of Audubon International’s Green Leaf Hotels program. The resort is the only property in New York State to have a certified Audubon Green Leaf Rating and the only property in North America to have achieved the Four Green Leaves status.

“The Audubon rating is the culmination of all of our efforts,” says Holderied, who adds that the resort intends to work toward achieving Five Leaf status—the highest Audubon rating level.

Go to the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort.

Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

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