Hospitality Design - September 2023 - 40

perspectives business sense
With input from Marriott and Friedman Properties, DLR Group has
designed a full prototype of a mass timber hotel with 34 rooms
per floor that could be constructed in any city in North America
" Our owners [wear a lot of] hats, and they're
focused on running their business. Part of
our job is to help demonstrate to them why
sustainability is good for business, " she adds.
When it comes to tackling water use, an
issue that will become increasingly urgent
because of climate change, brands are getting
creative. In addition to installing low-flow
toilets, faucets, and showerheads, washing
sheets and towels less frequently, and planting
native species to lessen the need for irrigation,
some have come up with other innovative
solutions to local water challenges.
Hilton's Conrad Washington, DC, for
example, added a system that captures and
reuses 97 percent of the stormwater that falls
on the property, helping to ease the burden
on local drainage infrastructure. Marriott's
Le Mériden Maldives Resort & Spa built a
desalination plant to convert seawater into
drinking water, while Berlin-based a&o
Hostels is currently devising a heat-recovery
system for new properties that captures up to
70 percent of the energy being lost and uses it
to heat more water.
Education is also central to the hostel
The undulating lobby at the Rottet
Studio-crafted Conrad Washington, DC
040
chain's water conservation initiatives,
including giving guests " the opportunity
to learn what water consumption means
and what reasonable, sustainable water
consumption looks like, " points out Cedric
Coy, the head of a&o's green team. These
sustainable best practices go beyond water
consumption. At a&o Berlin Mitte, for
instance, colorful comic strips that include
facts about energy use line the stairwells,
while other locations host a climate breakfast,
where staff members teach guests about food
and its origins.
Endeavors focused on diverting parts
of hotels' waste streams are also varied.
IHG Hotels & Resorts has teamed up with
food rescuer Goodr to distribute excess and
expiring food to local nonprofits from a few
pilot hotels. Hyatt introduced a pilot food
service tracking and training program in
Asia that cut waste by more than a third,
and Accor has eliminated single-use plastics
from over 80 percent of its hotels. Six Senses
Hotels Resorts Spas is moving toward zero
waste to landfill. In addition to producing its
own compost, organic vegetables, eggs, and
renewable energy at individual properties,
in 2022, the company eliminated more than
1.5 million plastic bottles by bottling its own
drinking water in reusable glass bottles.
Further, Hilton's partnership with
amenities recycler Clean the World, which
September 2023 hospitalitydesign.com
Photos courtesy of ROTTET STUDIO and SONGSTAM
http://www.hospitalitydesign.com
Hospitality Design - September 2023

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