Luxury Goes Green At New York Palace Hotel

 The terms “luxury” and “eco-friendly ” don’t always go hand in hand. It’s unfortunate, because the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive. In fact, the New York Palace Hotel is proving that, when the two come together, it can be a beautiful thing. The Palace has never been shy about its philosophies; from their high-efficiency lighting to free-range egg breakfasts, the hotel has consistently been at the forefront of the sustainability movement. To this day, it is one of the few New York hotels with a full-time green practices manager on staff. But why stop there? This year, hotel management plans to expand its green initiatives even further. As of January 1st, the New York Palace is the biggest hotel in the city to operate entirely on green energy. “We are committed to promoting sustainability in all areas of hotel management, and using green energy while reducing our property footprint is meaningful not just to our team but also to many of our guests,” said Palace general manager Edward A. Mady in the hotel’s press release . Through offsets and a new power model, the hotel expects to save 22 metric tons of carbon monoxide emissions—the equivalent of taking 4,142 cars off the road. The hotel has also partnered with Clean the World, a non-profit organization dedicated to distributing hygiene products to people in need, and plans to donate up to 500 lbs of “gently-used” soap and other amenities to the group every month. For eco-savvy executives, The Palace also has plans to expand into the green business world with a Green Meetings program. Specially developed by the hotel’s Green Team, the program will include all-electronic sales materials, non-plastic refreshment containers, and complimentary recycling of all non-confidential materials after meetings.

Read full story at: http://www.execdigital.com/sectors/recycling/luxury-goes-green-new-york-palace-hotel

 Source: Execdigital.com

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No Free Toiletries at Guangdong Hotels from April 1, 2010

In order to save energy and avoid waste, Guangdong Provincial Tourism Bureau recently issued a notice, which stipulates that, starting April 1, 2010, star-rating hotels in Guangdong stop sending free disposable toiletries to guest rooms, and toiletries are only supplied upon request by guests. The disposable toiletries involved in this policy include toothbrush, toothpaste, slippers, combs, shampoo, body wash, soap and shower cap. From April till September, guests can ask their hotel reception desk or service center to send free disposable toiletries to their rooms. However, after October 1, 2010, guests need to pay for using these disposable toiletries.

Proximity Hotel a LEED Platinum certified hotel

One of the leaders in the Green Hotel Revolution is Proximity Hotel, a LEED Platinum certified hotel.

This hotel owner Dennis Quaintance looked at the entire lifespan of the property well before construction  of the hotel began. This type of thinking has provided “Green Benifits” that will last for decades .

There is over 75+ sustainable practices incorporated with this Hotel. Some of its key green features are: 

• The building uses 41% less energy than a conventional hotel/restaurant. This is done  by using ultra efficient materials and the latest construction technology.
• The property uses the sun’s energy (which heats around 60% of the water requirements) using 100 solar panels which covers the 4,000 square feet of rooftop.
• A 700 linear feet of stream was restored by reducing erosion, planting local found adaptable plant species and rebuilding the buffers and banks.
• Approximately 700 cubic yards of soil was removed to create a floodplain bench and 376 tons of boulders and 18 logs were used to maintain grade control, dissipate energy and assist in the creation and maintenance of riffles and pools.
• Newly-engineered variable speed hoods in the restaurant use a series of sensors to set the power according to the kitchen’s needs and adjusts to a lower level of operation (typically 25% of their full capacity).
• The sensors also detect heat, smoke or other effluents and increase the fan speed to keep the air fresh.
• Geothermal energy is used for the restaurant’s refrigeration equipment, instead of a standard water-cooled system, saving significant amounts of water.
• The property also has  North America’s first Regenerative Drive model of the Otis’ Gen2 elevator reduces net energy usage by capturing the system’s energy and feeds it back into the building’s internal electrical grid.
• The hotels abundant natural lighting, including large energy-efficient “operable” windows connects guests to the outdoors by achieving a direct line of sight to the outdoor environment for more than 97% of all regularly occupied spaces.
• Water usage has been reduced by 33% by installing high-efficiency Kohler plumbing fixtures, saving two million gallons of water the first year.
• Air quality improved by circulating large amounts of outside air into guestrooms (60 cubic feet per minute) and doing so in an energy efficient way by employing “energy recovery” technology where the outside air is tempered by the air being exhausted. 
• Low-emitting volatile organic compound (VOC) paints, adhesives, carpets, etc were used so as to reduces indoor air contamination.
• Guestroom shelving and the bistro’s tabletops are made of walnut veneer, a particleboard made from 100% post-industrial recycled wood pulp with no added formaldehyde.

So what is Eco Green Travel?

Green Travel focuses on minimising negative environmental impact whilst contributing something positive to the natural and cultural environment.

A green holiday encourages responsible interaction with the environment and wilderness enabling tourists to have a more authentic and rewarding travel experience.

Going green doesn’t mean roughing it, you can experience everything nature has to offer in the comfort of an eco resort, eco lodge or eco hotel, there are plenty of options.

A green holiday encourages a sustainable relationship through choosing more eco-friendly transport options such as public transport (bus and rail), it also encourages walking and cycle activities (which are a lot of fun!) and looks at ways to make a positive impact on your immediate environment, such as offsetting your carbon emissions and looking at reducing carbon footprints.

There is an ever increasing movement in Hotels too, which are looking at making a more positive on the environment by replacing light globes with eco friendly ones, moving to solar energy, and becoming LEED certified. So make sure you are always future friendly.

Hilton Americas-Houston achieves Green Seal Certification

 The downtown Houston convention hotel was able to reduced their environmental impact and improved sustainability meeting the stringent guidelines set out by Green Seal to obtain the Green Seal Certification.

 This certification demonstrates that the  Hilton Americas-Houston complies with the environmental and performance requirements of the Green Seal Environmental Standard for Lodging Properties – Silver level.

Green Seal, an independent non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding the environment and transforming the marketplace.

new appointment at Outrigger

Outrigger Enterprises Group, appoints Robert Merrigan as Vice President Property Services, Asia

Hoteliers facing same fundamental challenges

It is a basic fact that Hoteliers around the globe are all facing the same fundamental eco challenges with thier property. There is a growing need in the industry from both individual consumers through to corporate customers who  are making decisions based on the “green level” of the property.

To tap into this growing consumer shift, hotel managers need to look at opportunities. The need to improve a properties environmental reputation among their guests, employees, shareholders, and local communities is important to grow sales while saving costs within the property.

Even in this tough climate there are opportunities to build your brand and tap into this ever growing consumer market.

farimont sonoma mission inn and spa

Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa implements laundry ozone laundry  purification support system.

This resort is estimating to save over 1.5million gallons of water per year and over 12,000 therms annually.

the growing use of ozone technology is becoming  a growing adoption by hotels.

Eco-friendly sugestions for Hotels and Resorts

Some quick ideas for Hotels and Resorts to adopt:

• Use where you can – energy-efficient light bulbs;

• Install double-glazing;

• Implement towel and linen re-use programmes;

• Look at finding safer to use cleaning products;

• Introduce recycling bins int each room;

• Source and serve organic and locally grown food products.