Methodology And Benefits Of Ecotel Hotels Tourism Essay

ECOTEL®?

ECOTEL® is an environmental certification that enables hotels to be truly green, socially responsible, and sustainable over the long term by involving the entire value chain of owners, architects, operators, employees, suppliers and hotel guests.

What is the ECOTEL® Methodology?

The ECOTEL® methodology evaluates a hotel’s systems, processes and practices for environment friendliness through a stringent assessment of its range, scope and results across five crucial parameters, known as ‘The Five Globes’. These are: Environment Commitment, Solid Waste Management, Energy Management, Water Management, and Employee Education and Community Involvement. To be certified as an ECOTEL, a hotel must score the minimum qualifying percentage on each of the globes.

What are the benefits for ECOTEL® Hotels?

• Lower operating costs, greater profits through a focused effort on reducing waste generation and increasing operational efficiencies.

• Enhanced visibility for members through the ECOTEL® website who also gain access to the reservation engine and other marketing features.

• Publicly recognized branding for hotels that may have/not have partnered with international chains.

• Value for money, as the cost of certification is comparatively lower than others to enable hotels to truly benefit from the transfer of knowledge.

HISTORY of ECOTEL

ECOTEL® was developed by HVS in association with the Rocky Mountain Institute, USA with the help of engineering and hospitality experts. Conceptualized in 1994 by HVS – the world’s leading consulting and services organization focused on the hotel, restaurant, shared ownership, gaming, and leisure industries – ECOTEL was a pioneering program specific to hospitalityWhy should you choose to be an ECOTEL®?

Rigorous standards used for the certification methodology that are regularly updated to keep current with scientific advances and international thinking.

Specific to hospitality as ECOTEL® is managed by HVS, a global consulting giant in hospitality.

Recognition of hotel‐specific green operations with hotels demonstrating substantial such evidence encouraged to seek certification, instead of just those who could ‘build in’ the features.

Broader in scope than other certifications as it enables a hotel to function responsibly while positively impacting the local community.

Handholding throughout certification period, as clients are updated and assisted to improve their performance through consultation, training and identification of operational areas where they can improve efficiencies and cut back consumption.

Spans the positioning spectrum, recognizing high levels of environment commitment and environment‐friendly operations in hotels irrespective of size, positioning, or profile.

How to be an ECOTEL®?

Hotels seeking the ECOTEL® Certification are assessed for their environmental readiness through a property walkthrough, which entails inspection of different departments and random interviews with hotel staff. As per their status, they are either awarded the specific certification or enabled through a customized blueprint to achieve a specific level. In case of the later, the hotel is finally audited after the intervention and awarded the certification

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The Five Globes

The methodology for the ECOTEL Certification is centered upon the idea of the Five Globes or five areas of certification, which together encompass the processes, systems and practices that ensure an environmentally responsible hotel operation. An audit is undertaken in each of these globes based on an audit checklist. The audit checklist for each of the globes is very well researched and

based on scientific and technological advances and international charters and treaties specific to saving the environment.

Environment Commitment – A hotel demonstrates its environmental commitment through wide ranging programs and best practices that minimise its impact on the environment throughout its value chain while lowering overall business costs.

Solid Waste Management – For the hospitality industry, the waste created by daily operations is an ongoing challenge. In addition to incurring the costs of waste disposal, hotels need to also allocate valuable back-of-the house space for waste to be stored and sorted. For hotels, a good waste management strategy results in greater operational efficiencies, keeping waste

out of the landfill, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy Management – Energy is among the fastest-growing cost items for the lodging industry worldwide. In India, it approximates 8-15% of a hotel’s gross revenue. While design and operating system-improvements provide the framework for conservation of resources, large energy savings and thereby economic efficiency results through the switch to low-cost, easy-to-implement alternatives and a regular maintenance schedule.

Water Management – The rampant overusing and wasting of water along with global warming has led to a water-scarcity challenge that has

serious implications for the global community and economy. A good water management strategy includes conservation of water through Efficient technology and programs, recycling through measures like grey water treatment, as well as earth-friendly practices like ground water recharge and rainwater harvesting.

Employee Education and Community Involvement – Motivating employees to understand the need for a change to environment-friendly practices, believing in them, and adapting them is a necessity for environmental initiatives to be both successful and sustainable. A well-thought out and well-executed education and training effort enables this. ECOTEL hotels also raise eco-consciousness in the community through either awareness campaigns or practices that can be built into the community, thus truly facilitating a change for a better environment.

The graphic on the right shows the ECOTEL logo represented by the Earth in the centre, surrounded by the five globes or areas of ECOTEL Certification. Together, these five globes encompass the processes, systems, and practices of environmentally responsible hotel operations. Thus, the image conveys that ECOTEL through its five globes is a Certification that cares for the WORLD.

Certification Details

The certification is valid for a period of one year only, after which members must reapply. It is applicable to hotels irrespective of a member hotel’s country of origin since it is designed specifically for recognizing environment‐friendly systems, operations, and practices in hospitality.

The Process

The Process for Certification is typically undertaken in three steps, which are:

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Step One: Property Assessment:–

In an effort to understand the current standards observed by the hotel, an in-depth assessment of the property is conducted covering all the relevant areas of focus. The inspection includes:

Interviews with the management and staff to comprehend the property’s commitment to environment.

Physical inspection of the subject property including back-of-the-house areas to evaluate the systems employed for undertaking environment friendly operations.

Collating data on consumption of various resources such as electricity, water, diesel, and chemicals among others to assess the processes for environment friendly operations.

Interviews with the staff to assess their knowledge, attitude, and training levels to carry out environment friendly operations.

This stage of the certification process culminates in generation of a Property Assessment Report that details the property’s baseline status as regards achieving minimum standards considered essential for an ECOTEL.

Step Two: Roadmap for Certification:-

If the hotel wishes to certify itself as an ECOTEL, our team prepares a detailed blueprint for the certification in conjunction with the hotel’s management team. This Roadmap for Certification includes mutually decided targets, technology, and training workshops that will enable the hotel to become an ECOTEL.

The process is estimated to take upto 5-6 months and will include training initiatives, inclusion of best practices as part of the hotel’s standard operating procedures and the necessary capital infusion where required.

Phase Three: Audit:–

A final audit of the property shall then be conducted and a certification awarded on its successful completion.

Rating System: The hotel is rated on the parameters defined in our checklists covering the five globes. Our methodology rates every standard on a Likert scale, assigning weights to them based on their contribution. The checklists have a predefined minimum standard, Primary Criteria, which every participating hotel has to clear before being certified as an ECOTEL.