ECOTEL – The Ecofriendly Hotel

Author: Mukul Kumar

Has worked with some of the best hotels in the world (Oberois & Fairmont, Dubai). Is presently working as the Business Development Manager for an Educational Company in Gulf and looking after ventures and networking in the Indian Sub Continent.

ECOTEL – The Concept

Ecotels were started with a view to focus on environment consciousness. The need to maintain a fine balance between business and eco-conservation became the driving force in building the Ecotel. The Ecotel took shape of a major campaign by the hoteliers around the world to show their guests that even though profit may be the motive for running a hotel, they were equally conscious about the well being of the environment.

Thus Ecotels are environment friendly hotels which follow certain regulations, processes and implement certain measures, which lead to reducing the harmful waste released by the hotel. The hotels put plants and processes to ensure maximum usage and recycling of resources. Most waste that is disposed is of non toxic nature to the environment and is bio degradable or recyclable.

Being an Ecotel needs inputs not just on part of the management but also needs equally conscious and responsible team to support the idea. This concept starts from the very basics like disposing wastes separately, this is only possible if the belief of the employees coincides with the belief of the organization i.e. to be an environmentally conscious hotel which gives as much as it can back to the society and help maintain the ecological balance. 

The Certification

The ECOTEL Certification is based on five areas of environmentalism, each of which is designated by a Globe award.  These five areas are referred to as the cornerstones of environmental responsibility, or simply as Globes.

1. Environmental Commitment

2. Solid Waste Management

3. Energy Efficiency

4. Water Conservation & Preservation

5. Employee Environment Education & Community Involvement

Hotels can apply for 1 to 5 Globe awards, although all hotels certified or recertified after 1999 must achieve at least two globe awards to be certified.

Within each globe inspection there are three levels of criteria and scoring: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary scores. All hotels applying for certification must satisfy all of the primary criteria before an inspection will be scheduled. The hotel must prepare an application including descriptions of how the primary criteria are achieved, and include descriptions of other environmental efforts and programs that are at the hotel.

Once it is evident that all of the primary criteria have been satisfied, inspections are scheduled to ascertain the lodging facility’s score according to the secondary criteria. Inspections – guided by hotel staff and unguided – are completed throughout the lodging facility to determine if the environmental programs that the hotel reports are actually part of the day-to-day operations. Each department or function area of the hotel (i.e., main restaurant kitchen, banquet kitchen, room service kitchen, front desk and office area, executive office areas, etc.) is inspected and scored individually. A percentage score is calculated for each department inspection and each department must score above a set level to be awarded the certification. If any department scores below that level, but above a minimum threshold, the tertiary criteria (described herein) can boost that department’s score in order that the hotel may achieve the award.

The tertiary criteria are most easily described as a bonus system. The hotel receives bonus points for environmental programs discovered in operation that are not part of the primary criteria, and are considered to be above ordinary levels of environmental responsibility. An example of a program that would earn tertiary points in the solid waste management category comes from a hotel in Latin America that collects cigarette butts and soaks them in solution to draw out chemicals, which are then used as pest-repellent for the fruits and vegetables grown on-site before the butts are disposed of.

Based upon the final scores of the hotels under the five different categories or the globes, a hotel is given an Ecotel status. Any hotel which is given an Ecotel status has to be ready for an inspection to check the standards and guidelines are adhered. This inspection may be carried out by surprise checks or the hotel may apply for it. A hotel to gain the Ecotel status must pass the classification for any two globes.

Benefits of an Ecotel

Being an Ecotel member can be beneficial in many ways. Apart from the increased publicity due to Ecotel tag, the hotel also sees best management of its resources which leads to lower operating costs. A very good example to show how a hotel would benefit from the Ecotel tag is “Uppal’s Orchid” in Delhi.  The hotel acclaims to be the first Ecotel in the continent and believes that along with all the publicity it gets as an Ecotel the guests who stay also are given a chance to contribute in different way to conservation of resources. The hotel believes that the Ecotel tag serves as a positioning statement for them and lures the guests to experience luxury with responsibility. A guest feels more responsible, when he is able to contribute even in the smallest form to the environment.

The hotel maintains a huge guest history and welcomes its guests to be a part of any programs that it does on environmental awareness and ecological drives. Also to quote in words of Junko Tsuda – Hilton International, Director of Marketing & Communications, Japan “ECOTEL is a great concept that any Hotel should be after. Under Ecotels guidance, we have been very successful in PR since the certification, receiving endless press inquiries and the saga still continues.”

It is clear that Ecotel as an effort is not based upon revenue maximisation but for making hotels more conscious towards the ecological balance and environment. The Ecotel is benchmark for showing responsibility towards the society and it individuals. Also apart from the environmental efforts the Ecotel also acts as a positioning statement to differentiate the hotel product from the rest of the hotels and creates inquisitiveness in guest’s minds.