Hawaii Hospitality - May/June 2013 - (Page 6)

War on Waste Happy guests stay at 'green' hotels By KyLe LittLe When you think of “going green” in the hospitality industry, your mind might conjure up images of placards instructing guests where to place their towels. But many local hotels and resorts have upgraded that old “leave it on the rack” chestnut with more proactive measures that encourage both staff and guests to reduce their environmental impact—and simultaneously cut down on energy costs. Here, Hawaii Hospitality explores how the hospitality industry is working toward reducing the size of its environmental footprint. Conservation is Key One of Hawaii’s resorts that is taking big strides toward being more “green” is The Westin Kaanapali ocean Resort villas. The resort has recently invested in a lighting retrofit and a carbon monoxide sensor system. Brian Fitzgerald, a spokesperson for Hawaii Energy (the ratepayer-funded conservation and efficiency program under the direction of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission) notes that “the easiest, most cost-effective thing that properties can do to conserve energy and reduce energy costs is to switch to energy efficient lighting, such as CFls or lEds.” For example, last year Hawaii Energy endowed The Westin Kaanapali with an incentive check of $215,657. It rewarded the Westin’s commitment to energy reduction and, more tangibly, its recent lighting retrofit. The resort replaced more than 9,500 incandescent lamps with Energy star® qualified lEd bulbs, which “reduces the resort’s electricity use related to lighting by more than 80 percent.” Hawaii Energy presents The Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas with an energy-efficiency incentive check. 6 Hawaii Hospitality ■ May/June 2013 In hotel parking structures, sneaky energy suckers (aka exhaust fans) hide out in the dark corners of garages and literally blow money away. The electricity required to run exhaust fans 24 hours a day is exceptionally high. To address this issue, The Westin Kaanapali installed its garages with carbon dioxide monitoring system that determines the concentration of carbon dioxide levels and triggers exhaust fans only when deemed necessary. On average, the run times of exhaust fans can be reduced by 83 percent. In a recent Hawaii Energy case study, The Hawaii prince Hotel reached 80 percent or higher energy savings. The annual savings is $182,901. And with Hawaii Energy incentives, the payback period was “zero.” In the Westin’s case, the combination of a new lighting retrofit and garage system will save the resort an “estimated 1,914,958 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy annually—a third of the electricity the property purchases from the utility each year. This is equal to $608,956 in savings,” says Hawaii Energy. With numbers like these (along with Hawaii Energy’s incentive program), Westin anticipated recouping its retrofit budget in less than 6 months. “We will continue our powerful commitment to transform the resort and its services into a greener operation, says Angela nolan, The Westin Kaanapali general manager. “We

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hawaii Hospitality - May/June 2013

Hawaii's Female Chefs
War on Waste
Big Island Hookipa
Hawaii’s Little Touches
HRA Excellence Awards
Talk Story with George Szegeti
New Restaurants: Chef Chai and Liko Lehua Cafe
News Briefs
Association News

Hawaii Hospitality - May/June 2013