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Dear Boston Green Tourism Members,
The presentations from the December 10 meeting are linked and summarized below. See the other sections, too.
Our next meeting will be Thursday January 14 at Sheraton Commander.
Last week I was reminded again that Boston hotels are way ahead of the pack on environmental stewardship. Telkonet's Gerrit Reiders told me that 90% of Boston hotels have systems that reduce guestroom energy use--compared to 30% of all U.S. hotels.
With the holidays upon us, I want to express my gratitude to you for your initiative in fostering a better world. It's truly a pleasure to work with you.
Dan
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Boston Green Tourism Meeting
December 10, 2015
Location: Le Méridien Cambridge-MIT
Hosts: Ryan O'Heir and Melvin Santos
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Present: Melvin Santos, Tom Taylor, Tedd Saunders, Samantha Sorrin, Jeff Hanulec, Charlie Mooskian, Tom Taylor, Kevin Lubinger, Alex Alexandrovich, Karen Weber, Jason Mahoney, Gerrit Reinders, Dan Cook, Bill DeFlavio, Dan Ruben.
Guest Room Energy Management Systems (GREMS) have advanced rapidly, enabling hotels and hotel guests to better control HVAC, lights and curtains. They also help guests communicate with hotel restaurants, front desks and housekeeping departments.
Newer systems are more attractive and intuitive than their predecessors. They sense occupancy better than the older versions, too. New systems are modular, so features can be added over time.
Mr. Reinders' presentation covers these topics and provides pricing information. It also gives advice about how to select a suitable system.
This 3-minute video also depicts the advantages of a new GREMS.
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Sphagnum moss products are used to treat pools and spas. They have many benefits: reduced use of chemicals, water and energy; less maintenance; better water quality; better air quality; no chlorine smell; and less scale, staining and corrosion.
Pool owners who use sphagnum moss can backwash 2/3 less often--which cuts water use and reduces the amount of new pool water that must be heated. Swimmers and bathers report fewer breathing issues, burning eyes, skin discomfort and swimsuit degradation.
Sphagnum moss was recently used at the world swimming championships.
It has advantages for cooling tower water treatment systems, too.
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Bill DeFlavio, Director of Business Development, PathoSans
ElectroChemically Activated Water (ECA), also known as electrolyzed water, is made on-site by using electricity and ionic membranes that convert water into two products. One cleans and degreases. The other is a sanitizer.
Hotels buy equipment that makes ECA solutions for 6 cents/gallon--or 3 cents/room/day. In the example given, the ROI for a 300-room hotel is under one year. ECA Water systems have other advantages: they eliminate truck deliveries, the need to warehouse cleaning products and the need to dispose of bottles.
ECA Water products are certified by Green Seal and qualify for LEED credits. They are approved by the CDC, the USDA and the FDA.
This video shows how the system works. It has testimonials from The Colonnade Hotel's executive chef, the GM of MIT Endicott House and several other hospitality professionals.
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| IDEAS |
Hotels Laundries Recycle Wastewater, Cut Energy and Water Bills
A Department of Energy study confirmed that laundry wastewater recycling technology cuts energy and water bills, and has "little to no impact on wash quality."
Wastewater recycling systems filter and disinfect laundry water, and reinject it back into the wash system. When hot water is recycled, it returns almost as hot as when it left.
The D.O.E. studied the AquaRecycle system installed at the Grand Hyatt Seattle. That laundry serves two Hyatt's with a combined total of 741 guest rooms. The wastewater recycling system cut utility bills by $134,000 per year, with a simple payback period of under nine months. Would wastewater recycling make sense at a small facility, too? Perhaps--the 164-room Shore Hotel installed a system in September. Interested hotels must have enough space to hold several tanks that filter and process the wastewater. Hotel wastewater recycling is becoming more common. AquaReycle alone has installed 150 systems. Royal Hospitality Services, a commercial laundry that serves many Boston hotels, recycles 42 million gallons of water per year.
Last year, the Boston College dining program started a Leanpath food waste tracking and management program at Corcoran Dining Commons, one of its largest facilities. The program is successful--Corcoran cut its pre-consumer food waste by almost 60%! Corcoran discovered that 40% of its baked goods and 50% of its salad bar went uneaten. In response, the staff creatively rearranged the salad and bakery displays after peak hours to appear abundant, while containing less food. Food waste plummeted, while customer satisfaction remained steady. Due to Corcoran's success, BC started food waste management programs in other facilities.
Correction to Last Newsletter's T5 LED Lighting Article
I made a significant mistake in an article (T5 LED Replacements Now Available for $5) in last week's newsletter, and I want to correct it. The fact is that there is a $5 Mass Save incentive for the purchase of T5 linear LED replacement bulbs made by Remphos. T5 LED's cost about $22 without the incentive--and about $17 with the incentive.
The value of the Remphos product is still striking: ~$17 for a T5 LED that lasts 50,000 hours versus ~$11 for a T5 fluorescent that burns out at 2,500 hours.
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ARTICLES
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Starwood launches pocket seafood guide to help protect oceans
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| | credit_ naturalhealthmag.com.au |
Siobhan O'Neill, green hotelier, December 14
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide introduced a sustainable seafood poster, purchasing guide and instruction materials to help their employees know which species to choose and which to avoid in their region of the world. Starwood also provided, "a list of questions [employees] can ask suppliers to determine if seafood is sustainable."
These materials were developed with New England Aquarium experts.
Starwood had already banned shark fins, whales and turtles from its menus.
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The following meeting will be 2:30 to 4:00.
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January 14
| Sheraton Commander, Cambridge |
| | March 10 |
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| April 28
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| May 26
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| June 30
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| September 8
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| October 13
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| December 1
| Seaport Hotel |
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See you January 14, 2016 at Sheraton Commander!
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