 Upland,
CA � April 2002 � Imagine sticking to a diet, but only losing weight in
one leg. That�s what hoteliers in Texas and elsewhere in the U.S. have
been doing for decades with regard to devising and executing energy cost-saving
initiatives.
Hoteliers have long embraced in-room Energy Management Systems (EMS) and smart, programmable digital thermostats, primarily to cut their heating and cooling costs in unoccupied guestrooms. Now, with energy prices in many markets having doubled or tripled in the past 18 months, operators are looking to reduce related costs from head to toe, so to speak. Lodging operators� expanded cost containment needs has two companies working together in the hoteliers� corner. Working their collective magic to coach and protect those in the fiercely competitive travel ring are: Green Suites International, hospitality�s leading provide of ecological solutions with economic benefits; ECS Energy, an energy information and analysis firm providing expert monitoring systems. Lodging
Connection
While California continues to make national headlines for its ongoing energy crisis, that doesn�t mean that the state holds a monopoly on energy shortages and skyrocketing prices. Peter Noland, President of ECS Energy, said significant energy savings opportunities exist in a variety of hotel areas at properties of all types in markets coast to coast. �Guestroom energy management and smart thermostat technology have made significant technological advances in recent years, maximizing savings opportunities in the guestroom,� Noland said. �It�s important to note that the these guestroom systems are just one facet of energy cost containment. Let�s not forget the meeting rooms, the ballrooms and other public spaces.� �Now, hoteliers can combine these guestroom energy savings with new energy consumption data and monitoring devices to reap savings across an entire property,� Noland said. �Precise monitoring and expert analysis of energy usage data allows companies to shed significant energy costs throughout a property. EMS and smart thermostat technologies can save significant dollars, but they are not designed to be stand-alone energy cost-containment programs.� Dan Bornholdt, President & Founder of Green Suites International concurred. Bornholdt said as deregulation spreads across the nation�s electric power and gas industries, both the complexity and the opportunity involved in managing energy costs increases. The need to develop a comprehensive and continuous energy purchasing and management strategy is paramount for operators. The enormous challenge to manage all of this, especially for an independent operator or one with just a few dozen properties, has just been made electrifyingly easy in Austin, Texas, thanks to a new rebate program. Austin Energy, which offers rebates for a number of commercial energy-saving technologies, on average will shoulder 15% of the investment when a hotel purchases the GSI-ECS solution, which is comprised of:
With the Austin Energy rebate, the cost of coupling ECS� digital data sensors and analysis propertywide, with Green Suites International�s Guestat� programmable digital thermostats, is $90 to $115 per guestroom, depending on the size of the hotel. The payback typically is measured in months. Ray Burger, VP-Sales & Marketing for Green Suites International, said precise information is key to all energy usage analyses and purchasing plans. In the volatile and ever-changing energy business, precisely when, how, where, why and by whom energy is consumed is becoming just as important as important as tracking how much energy is consumed. �Our alliance helps eliminate the �hocus pocus black magic� in calculating energy demand, cost savings and the ROI on related saving strategies embarked on in the past,� Burger said. �Integrating our Guestat� with ECS Energy�s information solutions and services provides a very cost effective method for monitoring and controlling energy use.� �EMS technologies� ROI is proven,� Bornholdt said. �But only energy monitoring and verification of exact savings opportunities provides the missing link to complete the energy savings puzzle.� Jim Abrams, Executive Vice President of the CH&LA, concurred that hoteliers and others are realizing a world of new opportunities when comprehensive real-time energy demand data is captured and dissected to serve as the foundation for smart savings strategies. �I don�t know anyone out there who can afford to ignore ever-escalating energy costs, particularly at a time such as now,� Abrams said. �Again, Green Suites International and ECS are taking the industry a step beyond with their powerful marriage of EMS technologies and precise propertywide energy consumption and pricing information.� �Now we can better understand, track and contain our energy costs and make smarter management and investment decisions,� Abrams said. �If an EMS system can reduce guestroom energy consumption by 30 percent, imagine what a property-wide process that blends the best of technologies and precise propertywide information and expert analysis can do. The opportunities really are endless.� Vince Andres, GM of the 140-room Ramada Limited & Suites in Costa Mesa, Calif., seconded the notion that energy information and technology make up the magic potion. �Strange as it sounds, we collectively as people, not just the hospitality industry, for decades have �just paid the bill� and moved on � usually after a bit of moaning and groaning � when it comes to electricity,� Andres said. �Why is this? Why aren�t all of us leveraging the knowledge of experts such as this alliance to find out just what we�re getting for our hard-earned money?� �We comparison shop for almost everything but energy. Go figure � how many other monthly payables have doubled to tripled on average during the past 18 months?� he said. �When times get really tight like now, hoteliers� need solutions such as this that shed costs propertywide.� Based in Carlsbad, Calif., ECS functions as an �energy advisor� by analyzing hotels� energy usage, and customizing solutions and creative financing to maximize savings opportunities. The firm starts with capturing customized energy data for tracking and analysis propertywide, and then helps clients take full advantage of all savings opportunities.
For
more information, contact:
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Small Business Hospitality Association (SBHA) |