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Capital Hotels' Green
Program
Our Commitment to the Environment
 Both
The Beacon Hotel & Corporate Quarters and The St. Gregory Luxury Hotel
take part in our "Green Program - Conserve to Preserve" and have
achieved the Silver Green Seal Certification.
At
Capital Hotels & Suites, protecting the
environment is a top priority. Responsible
environmental activity is good for both our
business and the community. Capital Hotels &
Suites has developed a comprehensive policy
to promote business practices that help
preserve the environment. Our goals are to
"Reduce - Reuse - Recycle" as much as we
can.
Water Conservation
 By asking our guests
when they would like their sheets and towels changed, by doing
this we hope to contribute to saving
thousands of fresh water a
month while also reducing waste water and the use of chemicals
and energy resources. Both hotels proactively participate in
this program. The Green Program enables our guests to decide
when the room attendant will change the bed linens. Upon
check-in to the hotel guests are informed (usually by a card
placed on the side of the bed) that the bed linens are fresh and
clean and that the sheets will typically be changed on a daily
basis during their stay. If a guest elects, they can request to
not have their sheets changed daily by simply placing the card
on the bed or calling housekeeping or the guest service hotline.
Thereafter, the room attendant will provide a change of sheets
as requested.
As part of our Green
Program, another information card is placed on the towel rack
along side clean towels. If a guest elects, they can re-hang the
used towels on the rack and they will not be laundered daily. If
the guest would like the towels changed, they simply place the
towels on the floor or in the bathtub. The room attendant will
then replace the used towels with clean fresh ones on daily
basis.
Laundering linens in
hotels uses an enormous amount of water. Capital Hotels & Suites
continues to implement programs to provide the latest in
laundering equipment that utilize the greatest water reduction
technologies. By investing in state-of-the-art equipment we have
reduced the amount of water used to clean every pound of linens
from approximately two (2) gallons of water downward to one (1)
gallon. As an example, fully serviced occupied rooms use on
average use 11.5 pounds of linens per room, so a single large,
fully-occupied hotel (200 rooms) with a typical stay of two
nights can reduce water usage by hundreds of gallons over a two
day period through the guest participation of these programs.
Further, all showers
will have water saving devises. As many of our accommodations
have pantry kitchens, the running of dishwashers will occur on
check out only. Small ware use will be hand washed with
antibacterial soap. All rooms are punched monthly for faucet
drips or related. Our restaurants are inspected weekly to check
for drips and related items conservation opportunities, such low
temp dishwasher will continue in use.
Electrical Energy
Conservation
Capital Hotels & Suites
has for several years implemented an energy efficient lighting
retrofit program for our guestrooms. By using state-of-the-art
compact fluorescent and other lighting technology, we provide an
environment that our guests desire while significantly reducing
our use of the natural resources that are utilized to power
these products. We estimate that after our retrofit the room has
approximately 220 watts for a reduction of 70%, while actually
increasing the level of light, making the room brighter for our
guests. All operations closets are currently being placed on
dimmers.
During summer periods
drapes will be drawn to conserve energy - rooms set at 68 in
winter and 72 in summer. Housekeepers are asked to turn off all
lights as they exit the rooms. HVAC filters are to be changed
twice per year and we review all rooms for weatherproofing needs
for windows.
"Turn off lights once
you leave this room" notices are placed on all administrative
switch plates. "We ask that you please conserve energy" and
"turn off lights when not in the room" - guest notices are
posted as well.
These efforts over the
years will allow us to conserve hundreds of thousands of watts
of electricity, without impacting the comfort of our guests.
Recycling
Capital Hotels & Suites
is committed to preserving our environment and have instituted
the initial recycling program guidelines, which provided
training and specific instructions on how to start and manage a
successful recycling program. This program has recently been
incorporated into our Engineering manual, and remains in the
Housekeeping manual.
All office materials and
paper is separated and recycled. Two different trash bins are
utilized. All paper will be sorted for trash haul removal.
One area that is getting
increased attention is in-room recycling. Most of the materials
collected in guest rooms are recyclable items such as cans,
bottles, newspapers, magazines, and office paper. We are
currently re-examining our current efforts to see how we can
improve these in-room programs, and give our guests the
opportunity to participate.
The hospitality industry
has the potential to dramatically reduce the amount it
contributes to our landfills. Hotels large and small generate
large quantities of recyclable plastics, cardboard, aluminum and
steel cans, glass and cooking oil as well as foodstuffs that can
be recycled. Through our company is small by "chain" standard we
feel that with our combined efforts we can all make a
significant and favorable impact on our environment.
Preserving the
Environment
Though we are a local
hotel company based in Washington DC, we encourage our team
members to also play a role by participating in various
community outreach projects, such as planting trees, and
undertaking other activities that help restore our natural
resources. We believe that all Americans should take action to
protect our environment for today and for the future. |
