BROOMFIELD, COLO.—Continuing on many of its company-wide environmental initiatives, Vail Resorts intends to return RockResorts to its original legacy of leadership in protecting the natural environment that serves as the setting for each one of its iconic resorts. RockResorts announced that it will be launching comprehensive sustainability initiatives across the full spectrum of its operations in the coming months, including energy and water conservation, renewable energy, construction, guestrooms, meetings and events, cuisine, local community outreach, education and guest activism.
“The mission of our company is Extraordinary Resorts, Exceptional Experiences,” says Rob Katz, CEO of Vail Resorts. “What defines each of our RockResorts properties is the natural beauty that surrounds them, and in essence, our product is the great outdoors. As such, our environmental efforts are part of our responsibility to protect the very product we sell. It also serves as an opportunity to deepen our relationship with our guests around their connection to the environment. Our company is dedicated to ensuring that RockResorts is on the path to being a leader in the travel industry in all major areas of sustainability.”
Several new green efforts will seamlessly integrate environmental features in both operational and service areas at each property, while delivering an exceptional luxury experience to RockResorts guests.
Green Guestrooms
RockResorts will focus on greening guestrooms in each hotel. The hotel company will build on a 10-point program that will feature the following sustainable elements: in-room recycling; towel and linen reuse, recycled content paper products, low toxic and no or low odor paints and finishes; sheets and towels made from organic cotton; limited or no use of disposables; greener cleaning products, custom formulated natural and refillable amenities; organic and natural mini-bar items; energy efficient lighting; and water conserving fixtures.
Green Meetings and Weddings
RockResorts will offer meeting planners the opportunity to arrange events that will incorporate sustainable practices in every facet of a group’s experience. In addition to all the previously mentioned initiatives, RockResorts will offer groups the opportunity to include sustainable food and beverage options, environmentally friendly sustainable decor, and in-room recycling and carbon-offset programs to minimize travel impacts. In addition, for weddings, RockResorts will work with the bride and groom to include more personal sustainability practices in their special occasion.
Sustainable Local and Organic Cuisine
Following on the heels of announcements by its sister mountain resorts, many of the RockResorts properties will be included in the company’s recent decision to switch to Coleman natural meats and poultry and Horizon Organic dairy. RockResorts is committed to continuing farther down that path, and over time will convert to additional organic and natural products, including meats, poultry, dairy, breads, produce and beverages such as wines. In addition, each of the RockResorts properties will feature numerous signature dishes with locally produced ingredients.
Energy Conservation Steps
In August of 2006, the company announced that it had offset 100 percent of its electricity usage through wind power for all of its operations. The company also just launched an internal campaign, “Use Less, Do More” to reduce its energy and fossil fuel consumption through such measures as employee carpooling, efficient lighting and the installation of energy management systems. In addition, RockResorts will continue to look at local opportunities to source alternative energy at each one of its properties.
Local Forest Conservation
Also, in 2006 RockResorts launched an innovative partnership with its guests and the National Forest Foundation, under which the company asks each guest to donate $1 for each room night to the foundation for on-the-ground conservation efforts in Colorado’s national forests that surround many of the RockResorts properties. The $1 donation is then matched with $.50 from the foundation and the entire $1.50 is dedicated to local conservation projects. The largest program of its kind in the country, this initiative is expected to raise up to $600,000 per year.
Green Building Practices
The company will commit to using sustainable building practices, wherever possible, in all of its construction and development activities. It announced that its $1.5 billion Ever Vail development, which will include a RockResorts hotel when completed, will be the largest LEED-certified resort project in North America. The Chateau at Heavenly also will be an additional LEED-certified RockResort property. The most recently announced RockResort, One Ski Hill Place in Breckenridge, will be designed using sustainable building practices. Finally, the recently constructed golf clubhouse in Jackson Hole was LEED-certified, as were the company’s newly constructed corporate offices in Broomfield, Colo.
Greening Golf Operations
RockResorts will continue its success in bringing the best sustainability practices to its golf operations. The company currently operates six courses, with five currently certified within the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary program. The company intends to bring its remaining course into the program and look for other measures that go beyond even the Audubon standards, including community stewardship projects, habitat restoration, integrating green practices into other course facilities, and supporting environmental practices with neighboring courses.
Greener Housekeeping
RockResorts will begin incorporating more environmentally friendly amenities with more sustainable packaging into all of its properties. In addition, RockResorts will be integrating environmentally preferable cleaning products into the operations of each of its properties, to lower the impact of these products on guests, employees and the natural environment.
“We will be providing additional details on each of these initiatives in the months and years to come as RockResorts is committed to ensuring that each program itself becomes sustainable within our organization, by becoming fully integrated into our day-to-day operations,” Katz says. “We believe these initiatives are not only the right thing to do, they also represent where the entire travel industry will be heading in the next several years. According to the World Tourism Organization, ecotourism is one of the sectors expected to show the strongest growth over the next two decades and according to the Travel Industry Association of America, very large majorities of travelers think that the environmental practices of where they stay is important to their decision. Companies that find the way to achieve the ultimate luxury experience in an environmentally sensitive way will become the future leaders of the travel industry. RockResorts will be one of those leaders.”
Go to RockResorts.
