How one hotel is saving $1 million by going green

Read more about: conservation, Green Lodging Program, Hotels, lighting, Los Angeles, recycling, waste reduction, water, Westin

The benefits of hotels and other travel lodging properties stepping into the sustainability arena are multi-fold. Winning new and loyal customers, touting an environmental “seal of approval” or two, saving money and helping to conserve the planet’s remaining natural resources are just a few factors that most any hotel would not turn down.

One such property is the 1,354-room Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles, which has just recently been awarded the city’s first Green Seal Silver Certification largely in part for its energy conservation and waste reduction efforts. Initially, the Bonaventure expects to save a whopping $225,000 per year, with this number eventually reaching upwards of $1 million annually.

According to the Bonaventure’s Chief Engineer, Steve Silva, the hotel’s Green Team has only just “scratched the surface” of what it can potentially accomplish.

The Green Seal Silver Certificate was awarded by Washington, D.C.-based non-profit Green Seal.

Making the grade

The Westin Bonaventure was made to had to pass a preliminary inspection as well as continuing monthly inspections by Green Seal. Efforts included in the property’s green efforts are a comprehensive food composting program, delivery pallet reuse, extensive waste recycling and the adoption of an environmental purchasing policy – a policy which mandates the use of light sensors and energy efficient light bulbs.

The hotel has already seen significant savings in lighting. According to Silva, the hotel’s parking area has been replaced all of its 100-watt metal halide bulbs with 23-watt fluorescents.

“That will save us about $75 to $80 per year per fixture and we have about 80 fixtures,” Silva says, adding that new bulbs cost just $2,000.

Throughout the hotel’s lobby and along its rooftops, 400-watt metal halide lamps were replaced with 100-watt fluorescents – a change that will actually cover its own cost within one year.

The property has also replaced all paper, plastic and Styrofoam dining products with reusable dishware and encourages guests to reuse towels and sheets.

Over the next 3 years, the hotel expects to have replaced all existing guestroom water fixtures with water conserving fixtures, including faucets, aerators, showers, toilets and waterless urinals, saving as much as 10 million gallons of water per year. Light sensors, currently operating in all 27 meeting rooms, also will be added to all hotel linen closets during the next five years.

Meanwhile, with the food composting program in place, approximately 21 tons of food waste has been recycled between March and July 2009, while a recently upgraded laundry-water reclamation system is conserving 9,000 gallons of water daily.

A city-wide effort

In an effort to launch its own green lodging program, the City of Los Angeles and LA INC., the city’s convention and visitors bureau, and City Councilmember Richard Alarcon are encouraging hotels to seek Green Seal certification and open the door for further green initiatives.

“We consider ‘greening’ the hotel to be our responsibility,” said Michael Czarcinski, managing director of the Westin Bonaventure. “By implementing these programs and monitoring them, we’re reinforcing that wasting resources is not an option. While some of these initiatives may seem simple, they’ve already made a noticeable difference in our energy use and waste output. The flick of a light switch is more significant than you think—particularly in a hotel of this size. This is not something that’s optional or just a trend. We’re in a position to make a great deal of difference by reducing our carbon footprint.”

For more information, visit www.thebonaventure.com.

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