Since re-launching our Sustainability practice in late 2011, HVS has contended that sustainability initiatives should focus on utility efficiency and be driven by the bottom line. We believe that a valid business case exists for numerous types of investments in building equipment and enhanced operating practices, and across the hospitality sector there are literally thousands of good projects with strong return on investment that are waiting to be undertaken. While we have observed a growing number of case studies that describe the cost and savings of various building equipment upgrades, it would be remiss to have a conversation about...

When it comes to greening carpet cleaning, many hotel and hospitality facilities that have taken significant steps to implement green cleaning strategies tend to overlook a key environmental concern. What’s happening? Are they using environmentally preferable carpet care chemicals, spotters, and related products? In most cases, yes. Are they employing high-performance carpet extractors to more effectively remove moisture from carpets, helping to reduce drying times and prevent the growth of mold, mildew, and other contaminants? Again, in most cases, yes. To conserve water and use it more efficiently, are some properties using carpet extractors that recycle water and solution?...

The most effective way to set up viable recycling programs is using a method that I call parallel access. Recycling bins for most commonly-discarded materials should be located next to but be visibly different than the trash bins. The decision the guest makes of whether or not to participate in the recycling program should only take a fraction of an instant and the effort required to do so shouldn’t take much longer. For example, if your guest has a trash bin in their room, but has to walk down the hallway to get to a recycling bin, that is...

Did you know that an average household will spend approximately 40 percent of their annual budget on heating and cooling costs? Did you know that windows are responsible for as much as 30 percent of the total cooling loads in a commercial building? Both of these facts come from the Department of Energy. The question is what product can reduce your energy costs and pay for itself in a relatively short period of time? Window Film.  You may have heard of it but have you incorporated window film into your energy conservation plan? Here are five reasons why window film...

As someone who’s been in the laundry equipment business for more than 30 years, I can say without any doubt, that these are the most exciting times I’ve experienced. Technology in this industry has progressed to a level where it’s no longer just about throughput. Programmability and engineering have made the machines immensely important management tools. Automatic weighing systems are now adjusting water fill levels and chemical dosing to match the loads. Residual moisture technology can continually measure the dryness level of the load and step down the heat, before shutting the tumbler off when the preset moisture level has...

For the hospitality industry, managing the infrastructure of buildings, facilities and equipment is critical to the operational success of the hotel. At the same time, the hotel must comply with strict quality and safety guidelines, along with the many service level standards to meet the needs of their most valuable assets—their guests. A property can easily focus on top-line growth for revenue management, distribution strategies and creating profitability via customer loyalty, but sustainability is intrinsically difficult to quantify. And, even though sustainability typically touches nearly all aspects of hotel enterprise ownership and management, aligning environmental, social and financial factors to...

A guest first arrives at your property. When they do, those first few moments will likely be what they remember and set the tone for their entire stay and experience. So how do you imprint the green behaviors that you want your guests to have, or convey the “green facility” features that you want to convey? If you miss that window and your guest harbors negative perceptions of your facility, you will likely spend their entire stay trying to overcome that. The moment your guests arrive is an incredibly busy moment for them. They are likely tired from their trip....

Since its founding in 1989, Green Seal, a not-for-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., has developed standards for more than 375 categories of products and services, from paints and adhesives to cleaning products. These standards are designed to address the environmental and social impacts of a product using a lifecycle approach—considering everything from the raw materials used to make the product to the manufacturing process and the product’s eventual disposal. This evaluation involves independent, third-party testing protocols using state-of-the-art scientific technologies that are internationally accepted. One of Green Seal’s latest standards applies specifically to the hotel and hospitality industries for...

When it comes to green cleaning, an often underemphasized area is the need for matting at all hotel entries. Stopping dust, soils, and contaminants before they ever enter a facility helps reduce the need for cleaning and enhances indoor environmental quality. This is why it makes sense to place effective matting systems at the heart of any green cleaning program. The most effective type of mats are referred to as high-performance mats, which are higher-quality mats that have a performance life of several years. These mats are often part of what is called a soil “source control” strategy. Hotel managers, even...

Remember those days when we didn’t have to worry about bed bugs? When we were dancing in the brilliance of chemicals and our freedom from pests? Well, we were bugless, but our environment and wildlife was suffocating from the affects of harmful chemicals like DTT, and the pesticides were also affecting our own health. The change in pesticide practices has enabled the resurgence of bed bugs. But even if we kept up our bad habits, the bed bugs would have reappeared anyway. All those chemicals have only created a greater monster—they’re now resistant to many pesticides. International travel hasn’t helped us...