There's a growing push for hotels, resorts, and other hospitality properties to become more environmentally-friendly. Not so long ago, that meant shelling out precious cash to purchase energy-efficient equipment and supplies without seeing any financial benefit from these investments.
But now, the "green industry" has evolved to the point where conversion project costs can be recouped quickly and energy savings can significantly affect a property's bottom line. Here are several ways to go green and save money in the process.
- Low-flush toilets. These are already required in some municipalities. They work by allowing less water to flow into the bowl each time the unit is flushed. And because each commode uses less water per flush, some properties are reporting savings of almost $100 per toilet per year in water costs.
- Low-flow faucets. Remarkably, some hotels have low-flush toilets and don't even know that could also be using low-flow faucets. These are often called aerating faucets, which add in air to the water stream and result in less water waste. Low-flow faucets can easily save hundreds of millions of gallons of water per year.
- Amenity dispensers. Simply put, this means putting refillable liquid soap, shampoo, lotion, and other similar dispensers in every room instead of those plastic bottles. These dispensers are easier for staff to maintain, which means a reduction of over 2,900 work hours annually per 100 rooms. That's a savings of over $46,000 based on the federal minimum wage of $15.96 an hour.
- Energy-efficient bulbs in lamps. Replacing incandescent light bulbs in wall-mounted or tabletop lamps with compact fluorescent light (CFL) or light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs is a relatively simple way to make each room greener. Assuming guests leave the lights on an average of four hours per day, using these bulbs would save around $40 per year per room.
- Automatic lighting and temperature controls. Some systems accommodate a guest's room key card in order to activate the thermostat and lights. Others just use infrared sensors to determine if guests are present and whether to turn off the power to these utilities. Installing these controls into guest rooms could save a million kilowatt-hours of energy annually.
- Turning pool lights off. It's amazing how many hotel operators leave the lights inside swimming pools and/or jacuzzis on for aesthetic purposes even when these areas are closed to guests. Turning these lights off for eight hours a day could save $240 per year.
- Turning storeroom lighting off. The same can be said for lights in storerooms where housekeeping supplies are kept. Telling employees to turn off these lights when they leave (or installing infrared sensors in these areas as well) could reduce the $55 to $115 per storeroom annual cost of energy in these areas.
- Energy-efficient vending machines. Think about how much energy is used by vending machines when the display case light and/or refrigerator motor is on when no one is around. Now, there are vending machines which cut power to these devices when they sense that no people are around (though refrigeration motors are activated briefly every couple hours to keep beverages cold). The company boasts per-machine savings of $140 each year.
So when it comes to helping the environment, you don't have to sacrifice eco-friendliness for cost savings or vice-versa. In other words, going green is good business, both for your bottom line and your property's perception in the eyes of your guests.
About the author
Chris Martin is a freelance writer who writes for numerous websites and is also a ghostwriter for several blogs. In addition, he is an accomplished voice actor and an experienced sportscaster – and he actively monitors his online reputation on Reputation.com.
