October 30, 2012

Dear Boston Green Tourism Members,

 

I hope you and your workplace fared well in the storm! I lost my land-line and internet connection. Since I'm working remotely, I'll keep this newsletter short and simple.

 

Our next Boston Green Tourism meeting will be this Thursday, November 1 from 2:30 to 4:00 at Hostelling International Boston in the Community Room on floor 1. Directions are here.

Thank you to our host: Bob Sylvia, General Manager.

 

Dan  

 

       It is easy to be green when you stay at HI-Boston. 

                                 Credit to http://bostonhostel.org/

MEETING AGENDA

Boston Green Tourism Meeting Agenda

 

November 1, 2012

 

Location: Hostelling International Boston in the Community Room on floor 1.

Host: Bob Sylvia

 

2:30 to 2:40     Introductions

 

2:40 to 2:45     Update  

Dan Ruben

 

2:45 to 3:00     HI-Boston LEEDs the Way: The Development and Marketing of a Green Hostel

                       Kelly Smith, Director of Marketing & Sales, Hostelling International-Boston

                       

3:00 to 3:15     Green Laundry; Cleaning with Microfibers                   

                      Bill Scherer, President, Clean Green Solutions 

 

3:15 to 3:30     Green Technologies in Elevator and Escalator Design                          

                      James Marchioni, Regional Sales Manager, Otis Elevator Company

 

3:30 to 4:00     Green Tour of Hostelling International Boston

IDEAS
When Will CFL's be Phased Out?                                                                                   Recently, I talked to NSTAR's Carlos Alonso Niemeyer about lighting. He told me that LED's are advancing so quickly in quality, and dropping so quickly in price, that that they will be the clear choice over cfl's before long. Indeed, the number of cfl products offered on the market is beginning to decrease. Recently, IKEA announced that they will sell only LED bulbs by 2016. 

While cfl's days appear to be numbered, fluorescent tubes are still the best option for many applications. There is not a good LED alternative to them yet.

 

Until now, hotels are mostly purchasing LED's to replace incandescents. But it makes sense to start planning to replace cfl's with LED's, too. Since cfl's last a long time, some hotels will phase in LED's one floor at a time as their cfl's burn out. 

OPPORTUNITY
    Credit to rentalo.com

GREATER BOSTON ENERGY EFFICIENT HOTELS CONFERENCE

The Greater Boston Energy Efficient Hotels Conference will be held on December 6, at Sheraton Boston Hotel from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

 

This Massachusetts Lodging Association Speaker and Seminar Series event is organized by Boston Green Tourism, NSTAR, National Grid, Renew Boston, Sheraton Boston and the Barr Foundation.  

 

The conference will feature:

  • Presentations about the latest cost effective energy efficiency innovations.
  • Case studies from Boston hotels that have slashed their energy bills.
  • A panel discussion with City of Boston, NSTAR, National Grid and hotel leaders regarding energy policies, incentives, strategy and new technology.
  • Energy efficiency vendors.
  • Lunch and a wine / beer / hors d'oeuvre reception.  

Cost: $25 per attendee.

 

Who Should Attend: Hotel GM's, Directors of Engineering, Chief Financial Officers, Green Team Leaders.

 

Please note: In the next newsletter, I will provide instructions on how to register. This is an event for hoteliers. BGT vendor members who wish to attend should contact me directly. 
NEWS

Energy Star Portfolio Manager Upgrade in Spring 2013: Update

Credit to www.prweb.com

Andrea Schnitzer, National Program Manager for EPA's ENERGY STAR Commercial and Industrial Buildings Branch updated me on the Portfolio Manager upgrade. Portfolio Manager is the system that hotels and other buildings use to calculate Energy Star scores. This system is particularly pertinent to City of Boston hotels because of the 2013 ordinance that will require hotels to report their scores.

 

The upgrade is all about making the system more user-friendly. It will be easier, for example, to calculate hotel scores. However, the scoring system will not change--so you won't see a change in your facility's score.

 

The new version of PM is due out in late spring. EPA will offer a sneak peak in March. They will schedule webinar-based training sessions near the official release date.

 

See the attached Fact Sheet for more information about the program.

2012 MEETING  

November 1: Hostelling International Boston

December 6: The Greater Boston Energy Efficient Hotels Conference, Sheraton Boston, 8:00 to 4:00. More information is in the OPPORTUNITY section, above.

See you Thursday at Hostelling International Boston!