10-year
CHARTER MEMBER Habitat Suites Hotel in
Austin, Texas, is one of our greenest member properties.
The 20-year old, smoke-free property has 72 1-bedroom suites
and 24 2-bedroom suites on 2 floors.
It is located across the street from Highland Mall’s 150
retail shops and 16 theaters, and is 8 miles from downtown.
The spacious suites (570 sq. ft. 1-bedroom and 780 sq. ft.
2-bedroom) satisfy travelers with full kitchens, real fireplaces,
windows that open, dual-line data phones with voice mail and free
local calls. Amenities
include an outdoor pool and heated whirlpool spa with an ionized
water system. Also
available is a coin-op laundry and a hospitality hour during the
week with beer, wine and light snacks.
The hotel was not designed or built with ecological considerations
in mind.
The managing partners of Habitat Suites
Hotel, Eduardo Longoria and John McCready, had a vision and commitment
to a sustainable future. So,
this award-winning hotel is a model of environmental consciousness
for other hotels to follow.
Programs in air quality, land use, energy efficiency, waste
reduction and management, recycling, resource conservation, water
quality and conservation, human health and public education make
Habitat Suites a pleasant place to stay for their guests and a more
profitable business for owners.
STAFF: One of the most significant results of
their very thorough environmental program is that employee
turnover
is virtually non-existent.
A core group of 18 of their 23 employees have worked at
Habitat Suites from 3 to 14 years. Five employees are part-time seasonal
workers. Management
actually has a waiting list of people who want to work there. Employees have their own community on
the property - a support system, a “family” and they take care
of each other as well as hotel guests and clients.
Guests see the same faces visit after
visit. Housekeepers
are not “on the clock.” They
are paid $3.75 per room cleaned each day.
Stayover rooms take about 20 minutes to clean while checkouts
take approximately 30 minutes to clean.
So, these very efficient housekeepers earn about $8.50 to
$8.75 per hour and generally work from 9 am till 1:30 pm. They are paid as though they’ve worked
a full 8-hour day at the $8.50+ rate.
Housekeepers then have more time with their children and
families or may choose to earn more money by cleaning homes or offices. Common areas are cleaned twice a day.
In the morning before work at about 5 or 5:30 am, kitchen staff clean common areas
which inspectors clean at about 2 pm each afternoon.
OCCUPANCY: Habitat Suites’ average occupancy rate
for all of 2004 was 71%, but it was 76% for the first nine months
of the year. These
numbers are well above the area average of 55% occupancy. Average stay is 4.3 nights per visit.
GUESTS: Another astounding fact is that 85% of
Habitat Suites’ guests are repeat customers. Natalie Marquis, General Manager, says,
“If guests know you have an interest in them, it affects them in
a very positive way.” The
property is an independent and does almost NO advertising and has
no branding. All business is via word-of-mouth. Natalie believes that 75 to 80% of their
guests are state or Federal employees.
Habitat Suites does have a reward
program for recommending a new guest.
The person recommending receives a $20 gift certificate to
any restaurant or chain in the Austin area. Because a room discount would not reward
an individual who is on an expense account, it’s felt that the restaurant
or other gift card is a better way to reward the person recommending.
GUEST ROOMS: Guestroom baths are provided with Aloe
Vera-based biodegradable, 100% natural, vegetable-oil based personal
care products with no dyes or artificial scents from 2-cartridge
dispensers. No little plastic bottles are discarded.
Biodegradable, unbleached 100% recycled-content Preference
facial tissue and Gulf Coast coreless bathroom tissue are available
in suite bathrooms.
All units have either a porch or a
deck with a bench or chair for outdoor enjoyment. 72 of the 96 suites have fireplaces.
Pine Logs, a composite, are provided because they burn cleaner
than real wood and burn completely. High-efficiency HVAC systems are central
rather than window units.
Filters are washed monthly and reused.
The ducts are cleaned monthly
as far as can be accessed with vacuum tools and hoses. Live plants are provided in each suite
to help clean the air. All
suites have windows that open for natural ventilation.
CLEANING SOLUTIONS: Maintenance and housekeeping staff are
exposed to virtually zero chemical off gassing. Only nontoxic, phosphate-free natural
cleaners are used. When
Natalie realized that the property was trucking in and recycling
220 1-gallon containers of Melaluca’s cleaners each month, she determined
that a change had to be made.
She now deals with a local vendor, Ecowise, who purchases
Bi-O-Kleen’s orange oil in 55-gallon drums. He transfers the product to 5-gallon containers
which are delivered to Habitat Suites. At delivery, he picks up the empty 5-gallon
containers for reuse. So,
there is no waste and the property is buying locally.
The orange oil is a concentrate which
is diluted in a standard 32-oz. spray bottle, 2 ounces to 30 ounces
of water for cleaning bathrooms.
The concentration for cleaning and degreasing in the kitchen
is bumped up to 2-1/2 to 3 ounces in a 32-ounce bottle. The product is odorless on drying, and
there is no off gassing and no residue.
Laundry detergent is Bio-Kleen’s ECOS which is citric-oil
based. When necessary, which is very seldom,
a non-chlorine bleach (Earth Friendly brand) is used for whites. Vinegar and water is used to clean mirrors
and glass. Baking soda
is used for cleaning refrigerators. The furniture polish recipe
is 1 part linseed oil to 3 parts lemon oil on a damp cloth.
LAUNDRY: The property has one large 60-gallon Unimac
washer used for most of the laundry, and it has a 20-gallon water-recycle
tank on top. The final
rinse water from one wash is stored in the top tank and then used
for the first wash cycle of the following wash.
This recycle tank saves about 350,000 gallons of water annually. One smaller washer is used for duvet covers
or lighter jobs. Guests
are given the option of reusing towels and not having sheets changed
every day to save on water, detergent, energy and labor.
FABRICS: All-cotton sheets are provided on all
guest beds along with down-alternate pillows. Bedspreads are being replaced with washable
microsuede duvet covers which are washed at checkout if soiled. If the covers are not soiled, they are
simply rinsed and fluff dried.
All upholstered furniture in guestrooms is covered with chenille
fabric. As draperies are replaced, new styles
with thermal reflective liners are being hung in the suites to keep
rooms naturally cooler. Sheers
are also being installed on all guest windows, so there is privacy
and the benefit of natural sunlight simultaneously.
WATER: 1.5 gpm showerheads and 1.5 gpm sink aerators
conserve thousands of gallons of water. The aerators alone have reduced the amount
of water used by 20-25%. These
and other water-saving efforts save 6,410 gallons of water per day—almost
2,400,000 gallons per year!
The single Waterless No-FlushÔ Urinal recently installed
in the common area restroom will save an estimated 50,000 gallons
of water annually.
GHA’s FAVORITE: The hotel observes stress-reducing “quiet hours” from 9 pm to 9 am. Signs throughout the property remind
guests to protect each others’ quiet during these hours. Anyone who violates this rule is asked
to leave the premises, pay for their suite as well as for the
suite
of the guest/s they disturbed and are placed on a “Do Not Register” list. What a grand idea!
SWIMMING POOL: Their outdoor pool and heated whirlpool
spa use an ionized water system.
An Aquarite Salt Generator was just installed a few months
ago. This eliminates the use of chlorine in
the pool, eliminating the use of about 250 lbs. of chlorine tablets
a year! Now, they simply add 50 lb. bags of solar
salt crystals (Lowe’s) about once a month. The salt water is circulated continuously
over an electrode, producing sodium chloride which is stable and
has no odor. The salt
is barely detectable to the taste, but almost matches eye salinity,
making swimming with your eyes open a delight.
Also, the salt increases buoyancy, making the water feel
more like a dip in the ocean than your standard chlorinated pool
experience. Management
is especially proud of eliminating all that chlorine use.
LANDSCAPING: Native plants and flowers have been planted
on the grounds because they require less water. Ewing water-saving sprinklers with variable-head
nozzles are used as needed in the evenings. Grounds are maintained with the use of
natural, nontoxic fertilizers such as Medina, seaweed, “manure teas” and colloidal
rock phosphates. Pests
are controlled with natural pyrethrums and beneficial nematodes. Trees have been planted to shade suites
from the summer sun while lowering air conditioning costs. Vines on plant trellises and on brick
work reduce energy use. Organic
landscape trimmings are composted and returned to the gardens. Plans are afoot to build a pond in front
of the guesthouse that will capture air conditioner condensate that
now flows out into the parking lot.
The pond will be inhabited by fish, snails and perhaps a
turtle or two to keep the algae cleaned up.
This will add to the already abundant wildlife on the property
such as lizards, birds, butterflies, frogs and insects.
Ladybugs populate the grounds as well.
Fruits, berries, nuts, herbs and medicinal plants are maintained
for use in the kitchen and to help feed wildlife.
RESTAURANT: A full, complimentary breakfast is the
only meal served. Everything
from Organic Whole Oat Groats, soy milk, brown rice syrup and Kukicha
(Twig) tea, free-range scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage, biscuits
and gravy are served daily.
Habitat Suites’ goal is to make healthy choices available
while choosing the highest quality, locally-grown products possible.
Guests are also invited
to try something new—like twig tea instead of coffee. One vegan and one macrobiotic entree are
offered at breakfast. Nothing
is deep fried, which eliminates the need to recycle grease.
RECYCLING: Individual recycling bins are provided
in each suite and throughout the hotel.
Paper, newspaper, cardboard, aluminum, metal, glass and plastics
are recycled. The property
now recycles 2.5 times the volume of trash that is put in the dumpster. Because the size of their dumpster could
be reduced, waste-hauling costs have been lowered by $80/mo, saving
almost $1,000/yr. Waste
Management handles both trash and recyclables, and charges only
$23/mo. to haul recyclables. There is no income from the recyclables.
Quarterly trash audits are conducted by volume rather than
by weight. All recycling data sheets are in English
and Spanish, so staff knows what is recycled and to reuse the plastic
that can’t be recycled for mixing cleaners, etc.
Buying recycled-content products and
minimizing consumables is a big part of their recycling program. Natalie says, “We must be totally aware
of exactly what is going into the landfills, and we must do everything
we can to reduce that volume.”
All hotel promotional and sales materials are printed on
recycled paper and printed with soy-based ink.
ENERGY USE: Programmable thermostats, which can be
cycled off by the city during peak demand times, were installed
2 years ago and have reduced electric consumption by 11%.
The reduction was offset by a 3% increase in their energy
demand due to some remodeling projects.
So, overall energy cost was down by 4%.
Their energy costs might have actually gone up if they hadn’t
enrolled in Austin’s Green Choice Program, which resulted
in a 24% reduction in their fuel charge. Five years ago Habitat Suites signed a
20-year contract that locked in their energy rates. The contract has been a fabulous money-saver,
and also made their solar energy rebate (see following) possible.
Last December motion- and heat-activated
“people sensing” programmable SmartSystems Thermostats using a radio
frequency were installed in all guestrooms. It is estimated that energy use will be
reduced by an additional 32,000 kW annually with these new thermostats. The guestroom temps float between 66°
and 76°F when guests are out of the room, but can return to the
preferred setting within 17 minutes when the guest returns. Energy savings have resulted in removing
an estimated 156 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere—the
equivalent of planting over 5,300 trees or removing 34 cars from
the streets.
As a result of Habitat Suites’ environmental
and conservation efforts, their overall utility bill is in the 23-27%
range of their total expenses—refuting the perception that it is
prohibitively expensive to operate in an environmentally sound manner. Window tinting on windows that receive
direct sun, radiant barriers under roofs, proper ceiling insulation,
weather stripping and duty cycling timers on circuit breakers all
reduce energy use. All
guestroom light fixtures have compact fluorescent bulbs.
Water heaters are lowered to an efficient temperature—125°F
in summer and 130°F in cold winter months.
SOLAR ENERGY: Their solar system was installed
in January 2005 and Mayor Will Wynn presided over the ribbon
cutting ceremony on March 11. The City of Austin provided a generous
rebate covering almost 80% of the cost of the system. This
is one of the largest on-site solar generation program of any
hotel in the country and one of the largest
commercial applications in the state. It
features 108 solar panels on three buildings with an overall
capacity of almost 18 Kilowatts. The rebate made it possible
for Habitat Suites to install the
maximum
number
of
PV cells
the
property
can
host,
with
a rating
of 97% efficiency! The system was installed by Meridian
Solar and is monitored by Chuck
Wright Consulting. Click here
to see how the energy generation is
working right now.
METAL DOORS: The property had 20 metal in-service entrance
doors that were about to be replaced because the bottom 5” of the
doors were rusty. Instead
of replacing them at $600 per door (totaling $12,000), staff reworked
the bottom of the doors by placing wood in the bottom of the doors,
using Bondo as filler, sanding and painting.
A low-VOC exterior paint recommended by Austin Energy’s Green
Building Program was used to paint the doors.
A huge saving was the result and nothing went to the landfill!
FLOORING: Habitat Suites has taken a unusual tack
in updating 3 kitchen floors.
A slurry of magnesium oxide only 1/8” thick was poured on
top of the vinyl flooring that was already in place to create beautiful
new flooring. Magnesium oxide is a very old, very strong
form of concrete that is being used again. It can be colored, and swirls and patterns
can be applied. Nothing
was spent to remove the old flooring and nothing was sent to the
landfill. Cost is about $4.50 per sq. ft. Magnesium oxide can also be used to make
repairs in grout and mortar.
VENDORS: Because Habitat Suites’ goal is to not
pass on problems to others and to not send anything unnecessary
to the landfill, vendors are encouraged to recycle whatever is being
replaced. For instance, Lowe’s agreed to recycle
all appliances replaced. Amtech
saw that all replaced bulbs were recycled when the property changed
over to fluorescent. Sales
people understand the environmental goals of management, and notify
Natalie with products that fit.
Their Sysco salesman notified her of Sterno cans that can
be refilled and of organic granola’s availability.
We all make decisions with our dollars, and vendors must
also believe in and work toward the property’s goals.
OTHER: Only metal, refillable fire extinguishers
with non-ozone-depleting chemicals are used.
VendingMisers have been installed
on their drink vending machines.
They turn off the vending machines’ compressors and lights
when no one is present. The
beverages stay cold, and the miser saves about $100 per machine
per year in energy dollars.
Motion sensors turn lights on and
off in the guest laundry and guesthouse lobby restrooms.
Directional fixtures outside prevent
the overlap of exterior lighting, reducing “light waste.” The lights are staggered and have
different lens so that coverage is complete without having 3 lights
shining on the same area.
Compact fluorescent bulbs in the outdoor fixtures save an
estimated 88 kilowatts each day or 32,120 kW each year.
Space for a community garden for employees
has been cleared in the rear of the parking lot, next to the compost
and mulch area, to grow fruit and vegetables organically. Seeds, plants, water and compost are provided
by management. Employees
will harvest as they like.
It’s believed that giving staff this garden area will create
better health and value for all of their environmental efforts.
Paycheck envelopes are returned to
the office for reuse.
Curb stops in the parking lot are
recycled plastic.
Their dry cleaning service uses no
toxic chemicals.
Employees are encouraged to participate
and implement new “green” programs, and are rewarded for taking
initiative. An EcoBrochure
detailing their programs is provided to guests, potential corporate
clients, other hotels and environmental organizations desiring “green”
hotels in their communities.
The EcoBrochure is available to teachers, homeowners and
others on request. Everyone at Habitat Suites works together
in a commitment to ecological consciousness.
Natalie says, “There is a threefold
motivation to sustaining an environmentally-friendly goal—the emotional
component, the health component and the financial component. We know we are doing the right thing environmentally.
Our employees rarely get sick because they are not exposed
to harmful chemicals or other health hazards at work.
Our guests enjoy our low rates ($79-$179) because we don’t
want them paying more so that we can do the right thing.
We are also helping to support small businesses, many of
them local, which provide the environmentally-friendly products
that we use. Habitat Suites Hotel also solicits ideas
from guests as to what they would like to see implemented, and tries
to accomplish what is possible.”
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