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Hospitality Leadership Through Learning
Faculty & Research

Sustainable Hospitality©: Sustainable Development in the Hotel Industry

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By: Hervé Houdré, General Manager, Willard InterContinental Hotel

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Executive Summary: The Willard InterContinental’s Sustainable Development initiative is showing substantial results. The program's chief goals are based on profits, people, and planet. The first goal is to find ways to operate the hotel according to the idea of a “triple bottom line,” which embodies profitable operation combined with attention to the people who use and work in the hotel and a focus on careful stewardship of resources. While that goal is important, even more vital is to use the hotel’s position as an industry leader in the nation’s capital to demonstrate to the hotel industry, customers, and vendors that sustainable operation is the best strategy to ensure successful hotel operation. The sustainability initiative goes beyond such well-known ideas as reusing guest linens, recycling waste materials, and changing to compact fluorescent lamps. The strategy also includes community involvement by supporting charities and encouraging employees to volunteer in the community, as well as participating in global award and certification programs.

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Comments

I read with interest the article by Mr. Herve Houdre of the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington on their sustainable practices. I thought it fit that I share with you what we are doing here in Bangalore in South India.
We own and run a 24 room, 100% eco resort called Our Native Village – we are not eco friendly or eco sensitive – we are 100% eco.

  • We generate 60 to 70 % of our electricity ourselves - we use a wind mill, solar panels and 2 bio gas plants. The bio gas plants generate gas using de oiled cakes...we store this gas and this gas powers a generator that generates electricity that is then stored in a huge bank of batteries.
  • 40 to 60% of the water we use (depending on the rains) is rain water that we harvest from all the roofs of the resort. The water flows through a network of pipes and all the water is then stored in an 84,000 liter underground tank. 
  • All the construction is eco construction. The bricks used for the construction were made on the site. We used the soil that we got when we dug for the foundation, mixed some stabilizing material like cement and quarry dust into this and formed the bricks. The bricks were sun baked for 9 days and then ready for use – no firing, no external energy for baking, just the sun. 
  • All the waste on the resort is processed and reused appropriately - all waste we send out to a recycling unit. All our food waste goes into our bio gas plant, all black water - which is the flush water in the rooms, goes into a leech pits that convert the waste to manure over time. Water from the showers and hand wash water, goes through reed beds and is used to recharge the ground water. Kitchen water is used for gardening (as we do not use conventional detergents) and for our bio gas plants, etc. 
  • Most of the vegetables in the kitchen are from the 12 acre organic farm that the resort is on - so a fresh supply of organic vegetables is what the guests get every day. 
  • All the soaps and shampoos for guests are natural, organic and hand made exclusively for our resort.
  • We have the regions first 100% natural swimming pool, where we use aquatic plants to clean the water rather than chemicals.

For all these reasons - we are the first 100% eco resort. There are resorts that are eco friendly and eco sensitive - but none that is 100% eco – except us.

Why am I telling you folks this? Only because when I read the article, it seemed that we were doing far more than what the hospitality majors are doing. Granted that we are much smaller and it is easier for us to do this. Our vision is to be the first 100% eco resort chain in the world, so while we are small now, we definitely have big dreams.

More details about us is on our web site – www.ournativevillage.com

C B Ramkumar
Founder & Managing Director
Our Native Village - a 100% eco resort
www.ournativevillage.com

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