WHAT IS A GREEN HOTEL BRAND?

WHO ARE WE KIDDING? ECO-FRIENDLY HOTEL BRAND FEATURES ARE NOT NEW.

The recent launch of a major hotel investor group's "first luxury, eco-friendly global hotel brand" described as a green hotel  and a "revolutionary force for change" is encouraging and opportune since it not only coincides with the G8 meetings who are discussing Global Warming but is a major opportunity for our industry.

As the former CEO at the International Hotel & Restaurant Association, I was encouraged to read of the launch of the first environmentally friendly 5 Star hotel developed by one of the world's largest and most respected hotel investment groups. Much work has been done in this area over the years in our industry and the expectations therefore of a consolidation of all this wisdom in one brand were very high for such an announcement.

In spite of being over 30 stories high and next to a 'most cherished' park, both of which seem to fly directly in the face of the announcement, I read on.

Particularly looking for elements that are innovative and/or inpractical for use in their other hotels, I soon see that there is little that is new or creative .....other than the announcement or the overall intent. Perhaps the real meat of the product was not in the announcement or is still under development.

Here however are the principal environmental elements from the article and some perhaps cynical personal observations,

• "High performance building envelope". Obviously or possibly designed,
  • to keep out the cold in winter ....pretty standard in hotels of any category.
  • to keep out the heat in summer....also pretty standard.
  • to trap the rain for water...... OK, this could be interesting.
  • to rein in the sun's energy........not new but OK, a good move.
  • to capture daylight....... standard architectural norm for many years.
  • to contain the guests.......at 30 stories, some safety is definitely needed!
• "Keycards". Well haven't we had those plastic cards for 20 years or so? With the average loss of most plastic cards being high, we would have expected the 'green' property to move to the next generation of locks be they credit cards, thumb prints or even eyeballs.
• "Occupancy sensors". Unless this is designed to gauge the occupancy of the competition, this could be the sensors that turn off the airco, lights or heat when no-one is there, generally fooled by the reception staff issuing 2 cards because of complaints. Nothing beats the French system of hall and staircase lights that automatically turn off after or during your rapid sprint to your room or the exit!
• "Lighting control systems".  So what else is new? Even the lighting systems control people say the best control is switching them off when not in use.
• "Energy Star appliances throughout to save energy".  Sound investment decision since it leads to tax credits.
• "Extensive use of recycled content".
  • Furniture? I doubt it.
  • Fixtures? Bathrooms, lighting, kitchens, laundries....I also doubt it.
  • Equipment? Perhaps they can get some deals from other NYC hotels that are renovating?
  • Operating equipment? China, glass, silver, uniforms..... perhaps from the same source.
  • Operating supplies? Paper...yes. We all do it now.
• "Locally procured materials". Excellent strategy but might be difficult in a 5 Star New York City hotel to find such luxuries as caviar, oranges & lemons, scotch or even fine wine, unless California is considered local. Most hotels and restaurants try harder now but there will always be exceptions, I hope.
• "Low VOC emitting materials". Sounds sensible. Now the EPA says "The main indoor sources of this chemical are environmental tobacco smoke"......so the 'no smoking' rules are generally taking care of that part so we just have to concern ourselves with the paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, office equipment, correction fluids, carbonless copy paper, graphics and craft materials, permanent markers, and photographic solutions. Should be fairly easy!
• "Renewable sources of energy for 50% of the energy used". Now we are talking!  Now if we can just work on the other 50%.
• "Greenhouse gases reduced by 30%". Not sure how one can reduce 30% when it has not been built yet! Assuming it is reducing by 30% from other hotels in NYC, I would hope that one might do better than those built in the late 1920s or 1930s.
• "Potable water reduced by 30%". Same comment as for greenhouse gases. However, we have had little satisfaction from those water saving showerheads and high pressure toilets and most water in a hotel is consumed in the laundry and the kitchen and progress made by the equipment manufacturers goes a long way to take care of that for everyone.
• "No potable water for landscaping". Although this is something I did in a 7 acre hotel in the Dominican Republic in 1977, I am happy to hear this is possible in a hotel up some 30 stories in 2010.
• "Irrigation water use will be reduced by 50%." Compared to what?
• "Non-toxic products for housekeeping". These are generally in use in most responsible hotel groups already and toxic products may not even be available in 2010!
• "One Percent of Profits to local environmental organizations" While this appears like a most generous strategy, most hotels put aside +/- 1.0% of revenues for charity and local PR purposes. Therefore one percent of profits in fact is a fraction of what is normally considered corporately responsible.

Perhaps the time has come for the industry to define our version of  green, eco-friendly and environmentally responsible. Perhaps the time has come for a global debate on global warming and the contribution hospitality will make to Kyoto. Perhaps the debate needs to to take place before we are mandated by governments, before there is a customer revolt, before international standards are inflicted.

Let us also be clear about who will be on the hook for the added expense of going green. Most investment in the hotel industry is done by investors, not the brands. Therefore any grand announcements by the brands themselves are sometimes in fact being made on behalf of others. Our debate must therefore take into account what we can and will do, not what others should do.

More importantly our debate needs to address some retrofitting of the existing inventory of hotels and their operations rather than a commitment only to new hotels in the future. Of this there are some excellent existing examples of Corporate Social Responsibility although some of the best examples of this give credit to their employees as the prime movers.  For more information,click on

http://www.fairmont.com/EN_FA/Articles/Environment

For more information on the opportunities for a global environmental hospitality debate, or if anyone has any good ideas on how to train room attendants not to replace used towels or how to read those little signs, contact [email protected]