NEWH - Spring 2015 - 10

Sustainability Point of View

NEWH Sustainability

Lessons from Three LEED Platinum
Certified Hotels
By Dina M. Belon

LEED certification

is not out of reach for new or
existing hotels. Indeed, the common misconception that LEED is
too hard and too expensive was dispelled during NEWH's Green
Voice Series session "Gone Platinum! A First-Time Ever Gathering of
Leaders of Th ree LEED Platinum Hotels" at the International Hotel,
Motel + Restaurant Show this past November in New York.
Panelists included Jim Treadway, GM at Bardessono in Yountville
in Napa Valley, California; Lynee Sauer, business manager of
Woodbine Group, which owns the 58-room Hotel Skyler in Syracuse,
New York; and Dennis Quaintance, CEO and chief design officer of
Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, North Carolina. They represented
the only three LEED Platinum-certified hotels in the U.S. (not
including one LEED Platinum hostel, the Crash Pad in Chattanooga,
Tennessee) and discussed how they achieved this level of verified
sustainable development.
Each property reflects a different market segment. For example,
Bardessono is a new-construction property that falls into the ultraluxury segment, in a market that expects sustainability. Meanwhile,
Proximity is a new-construction upper-upscale hotel in a non-

traditional green market, and the Skyler is an adaptive reuse hotel
that caters to the business traveler.
Different travelers also influence a hotel's sustainability practices.
The Skyler's strong meeting component led to a lot of inquiries and
RFPs about the hotel's sustainability initiatives, especially from
government organizations, Sauer says. And, "about 20 percent of
our group business is because of our greenness," adds Treadway of
Bardessono. "In Northern California it was a no-brainer to pursue
LEED. There is an ROI component to it." Yet, transient guests don't
want to feel like they have to give up any element of their experience.
"We cannot ask our guests to save energy for us," he says.
Other times, eco-friendly practices aren't planned. At Proximity,
"we ended up getting LEED Platinum by accident," Quaintance
explains. They looked for different ways to include sustainable
development in every step of the process. "A LEED point should be
the product of a good decision," he says.
However, Quaintance says, the U.S. hasn't made as much progress
in the sustainability realm, especially compared with its European
counterparts. Treadway agrees, noting that his company sourced
systems and technology in Europe where sustainability is more
advanced. "We have a lot of catching up to do," he says.
LEED certification can change customer perceptions. The positive
PR that followed Proximity Hotel's LEED certification led to more
bookings, Quaintance points out. And though other outlets such as
TripAdvisor offer their own sustainable certification or designations,
"LEED Platinum is the real deal," Quaintance says, because it's
considered the highest level and the most trusted certification in the
marketplace. "The best thing we can do for the environment is to
build things that people don't want to tear down," he adds. ❙❘❚

http://www.swavellehospitality.com http://www.swavellehospitality.com

NEWH - Spring 2015

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