“Green” initiatives are much more than add-ons at the Shore Hotel in Santa Monica, California — they are an integral part of the property’s culture. Opened in October 2011, the new-build, 164-room Shore has achieved LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council thanks to features such as low-flow water fixtures and locally sourced building materials as well as more unorthodox programs including an interactive “green screen” for guests to find information about eco-friendly resources.
“This wasn’t easy to do, and it’s not easy to do, but it’s the right thing to do,” said Steve Farzam, Shore Hotel’s owner and chief operating officer. “It’s impressive to be setting the benchmark and have other hotels call us (for advice). It’s fun.”
Farzam recently shared some of his secrets to sustainable success and future plans with HOTELS.
HOTELS: Why did you choose to make sustainability such a priority at Shore Hotel right from the start?
Steve Farzam: We live in the community. We grew up in the community. We sought out to see what’s important to our neighbors and the community as a whole.
Hotels generally generate a lot of waste and have a large carbon footprint. We wanted to see what we could do to really make a difference — not just run-of-the-mill, hang this little sign up so we don’t wash your bedding — but really go above and beyond and do what no other hotel has done with being green.
HOTELS: You have a lot of interesting green initiatives, but what stands out to you as the most significant or most unique?
Farzam: We have not taken one shortcut. [Our commitment to sustainability] is reflected in everything in the hotel, from employee uniforms being 100% recycled material to the carpets being recycled material.
There are a couple pieces of technology that we have in the hotel that no other hotels have on the West Coast. One is a neat piece of technology called an auto demand response system. You’ve probably heard of rolling blackouts and brownouts in California. We talked with our local power grid provider about what we could do to be part of a solution, what we could do to offset demand on the grid.
This auto demand response system does that. On days when there is a strain on the power grid (because of high temperatures or the like), the power company is automatically, with no human involvement, able to electronically send a message to our hotel, and it will selectively knock off electric components within the hotel that will save power, up to almost 40% of our normal consumption. It knocks off things that have no effect on the guest experience. It will take all the lights in the parking garage down 50%. It will take the air conditioning up 4 degrees. It essentially cuts down on every piece of unnecessary lighting in the hallways. It’s really a smart system.
HOTELS: What kind of cost savings or other ROI have you achieved thanks to one of your sustainability programs?
Farzam: Running a green hotel and developing it from the ground up is by no means a cost savings. You pay substantially more upfront, which is why a lot of hotels tend to not do it at this LEED Gold level. There is no initial cost savings.
However, there are areas where we are saving, and over the long run our investment will pay itself back. For instance, we have one piece of our green mission where we pay guests that decline to have their room serviced. If guests stay two nights or more, for every night they decline housekeeping we’ll give them US$5 off their stay. That does a variety of things. We’re seeing a substantial reduction in supplies, and we are seeing a reduction in staffing and payroll.
Based on the last numbers we saw, in a full house, about 23% of guests on average are using this service. A central part of it is educating clients. My hope is to have it close to 40% to 50% by year-end.
HOTELS: What future green projects does Shore Hotel have planned?
Farzam: One piece we have not done because it wasn’t a proven piece of technology is a co-gen micro turbine system. The system is a generator operated by natural gas. Rather than relying on the grid or the power company, we would be our own power plant here within the hotel. The byproduct, which is the excess heat, would heat the pool and the water in the guestrooms. We’re going to generate 100% of our power in-house. We’re hoping to have it launched within a year.
We’re also going to add vehicle-charging stations. We’re going to start off with two of the latest and greatest types of vehicle chargers. You can charge a midsized vehicle in 20 minutes, which is unheard of. We’re looking at bringing that on in the next six months.