The Golden Rule: Bringing Communities Together Through Social Sustainability
It's no secret that sustainability has been an ongoing conversation in the hospitality industry for decades.
With more and more hoteliers adopting eco-friendly practices into their properties, green hotels have become the standard, not the anomaly – and travelers have quickly caught on to the trend.
According to Statista, an estimated 78% of travelers are intending to stay in an eco-friendly or "green accommodation" at least once when looking at the year ahead. With travelers becoming more knowledgeable about the environmental impacts that come with traveling, hoteliers have found innovative ways to express and implement environmental stewardship practices into all facets of the guest experience.
Living By the Golden Rule in Golden, Colorado
Golden, Colorado is a small town tucked between the North and South Table Mountains just west of Denver and widely recognized for being the birthplace of Coors Brewing Company and its famed Rocky Mountain Spring Water. Known for its green-driven initiatives, the city of Golden along with the whole Golden community have been focused on sustainability well before it was so commonplace.
Consistently ranked as one of the best places to live, work and play within the state, Golden has gained popularity due to its central location providing residents with a less than 30-minute drive from most of the Denver metro area. It also serves as an ideal daytrip destination for the 4.9 million residents who live between Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Pueblo, Colorado.
As the town continues to grow, and more travelers discover the small-town charm and undeniable beauty of Golden, local businesses are stepping up to find new ways of maintaining its commitment to sustainability. Overlooking the iconic 66 mile-long Clear Creek and nestled in the breathtaking foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, The Golden Hotel sits in the heart of historic downtown. Recognized as the first-ever solar-powered hotel in Golden, The Golden Hotel proudly features 160 solar panels, which will save 43,647 kilowatt-hours of electricity production annually for the next 30 years. In fact, over the past 13 years, the hotel's solar panels have reduced carbon dioxide emissions by over 1 million pounds, the equivalent of planting 44,694 trees.
In tune with the community's environmentally friendly policies, The Golden Hotel is a proud participant of the Commitment to Green and Room to be Green programs. Through these initiatives, hotels within The Ascend Hotel Collection (a boutique segment of the Choice Hotels portfolio) can participate in an optional environmental program that includes the use of energy-efficient lighting, on-premises recycling and re-use of guest room towels and linens.
While the Room to be Green program mandates the use of energy efficient bulbs in all guest room lamps and light fixtures in all public spaces of the property, The Golden Hotel embraced this change years ago, before it was a requirement. Participating hotels must offer a towel and linen re-use program, at least one recycling bin in plain view for guests and sustainable alternatives for cups and to-go containers.
Pivoting the responsibility to hotel team members, at least one employed staff member must be certified as the "Green Leader" through an interactive training module by Choice University – Choice Hotels' learning portal.
Going Greener
As we know in the hospitality industry, it's all about the details, and The Golden Hotel has carried out interactive ways to show guests the power of going green.
With the global reusable water bottle market valued at $8.64 billion in 2021 and growing to $8.92 billion in 2022, it's clear to see that consumers' public awareness of the impacts of using single-use plastic bottles has increased – and hotels have taken note.
In the lobby, guests are greeted by the friendly staff and a state-of-the-art water purification system that leverages UV power to provide cold, ambient, or hot water on demand encouraging the use of refillable bottles.
As a daily reminder to be mindful of conserving energy, each guest room bathroom has a sign that reads As part of our effort to help the environment by reducing waste, this hotel is proud to offer superior quality liquids in this dispenser system, instead of individually packaged items.
Bulk dispensers for the hotel's luxury custom blend shampoo, shower gel and conditioner, reduce the number of plastic bottles in landfills. The change was so significant, the hotel opted to offer hand soap and lotion in all guest restrooms in bulk as well.
In that same vein, the hotel has installed motion sensor lighting in public restrooms, storage spaces, housekeeping closets and the fitness room. The hotel also features an occupancy monitoring system for guest rooms that will return the temperature to a pre-programmed energy reducing level while rooms are not occupied as well as the installation of a Tesla charging station in the parking lot to cater to guests with electric vehicles.
Staying true to its commitment to sustainability, The Golden Hotel recently completed an Xcel Energy efficiency audit to ensure maximum performance and created a recycling program that encompasses aluminum cans, glass bottles, paper, batteries, toner and more.
A Sustainable Stay in a Growing Small Town
As tourism continues to grow in Golden through signature events such as Goldens in Golden, which brings in more than 3,000 golden retrievers and their owners to celebrate National Golden Retriever Day yearly, guests are able to opt for a hotel that takes sustainability seriously.
With the hotel sector accounting for around 1% of global carbon emissions, according to the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, the hotel has found strategic ways to minimize guests' carbon footprint. Located within walking distance to favorite local attractions, shopping and dining spots, guests can breathe that fresh Colorado mountain air while taking a stroll through Golden.
The City of Golden has maintained and advanced its commitment to sustainability over the years, enhancing sustainability to enrich the community while improving residents' quality of life and protecting the natural resources and environment of Golden.
Creatively seeking ways to engage the community with eco-friendly practices, the City of Golden established its Sustainability Awards program in 2009 to spotlight members of the community who are paving the way to a greener future. Honoring residents, businesses, community groups and nonprofits who have displayed an outstanding commitment to the city's goals, The Golden Hotel is proud to have been recognized for the business award in 2011.
Reducing Waste & Conserving Water
Design also played an instrumental role in keeping The Golden green, with water efficient fixtures installed throughout the hotel and restaurant. All guest bathrooms have dual-flush toilets, which use .08 gallons for liquid waste and 1.28 gallons for solid waste. This equates to a 44% water savings compared with a traditional 1.6 gallon-toilet.
Each guest room has individual receptacles for recyclable items and the entire property reuses recycled paper along with the implemented paperless applications and paperless guest checkout.
Striving to keep all aspects of the hotel as sustainable as possible, The Golden only purchases products made of recycled material and does not provide items made of Styrofoam, making all "to go" products eco-friendly. The paper cups are also "green" and boxes are made of recycled paper.
The hotel even recycles its used cooking grease.
Doing Your Part
Apart from the sustainable amenities sprinkled throughout the hotel, guests and employees alike do their part to ensure maximum sustainability is practiced each and every day. The hotel proudly offers the in-room dining menu via QR codes in guest rooms as a reminder of its commitment to reduced paper consumption. Guests also have the opportunity to do their part by choosing to opt out of housekeeping services, which reduces energy, water and chemical consumption.
With the average American using 650 pounds of paper each year, The Golden decided to transition to a cloud-based paperless system for accounting records. The hotel utilizes double-sided printing when applicable and only purchase reusable toner and ink cartridges, which are returned to the manufacturer for refills.
Bridgewater Grill, The Golden Hotel's restaurant, exclusively uses eco-friendly cleaning materials as well as an Oasis tower for all chemicals ensuring the proper concentration of chemicals while limiting water usage.
Incorporated to dramatically reduce water usage in three different areas of the hotel, Bridgewater Grill also uses the Ecolab Apex system for dishwashing. Even the chemicals used in the restaurant are environmentally friendly, eliminating caustic chemicals in the hotel's drainage system.
With tourism increasing since the pandemic, it's up to hoteliers and owners to introduce innovative solutions to waste management, water and energy conservation while maintaining top notch service to guests.
With Colorado having nearly 300 days of sunshine, it creates the perfect opportunity to incorporate solar panels in hotels significantly reducing carbon emissions and cutting electricity costs.
Additionally, the Rocky Mountains states receive 70 to 90% of their water from snowmelt, keeping water conservation top of mind for residents since the state relies on precipitation to replenish water resources.
By bridging the gap between the community's needs with local resources, and tailoring eco-friendly initiatives to the environment in which the hotel is located, it creates a natural opportunity to harmonize sustainability and community needs, resulting in a vibrant community that puts sustainability at the forefront.
The Golden Hotel is managed by 5 Senses Hospitality Management. Its founders, Chris Manley and Jeff Blackman, bring nearly 60 years of hotel and real estate investment experience and champion environmentally friendly initiatives throughout the entire 5 Senses Hospitality Management portfolio. The company is dedicated to activating all five senses through acts of genuine hospitality.
Reprinted from the Hotel Business Review with permission from http://www.hotelexecutive.com/
