Tales From The LEEDers

-- Hotels, 1/1/2008

A Pioneering Spirit At Gaia

Owner Wen-I Chang calls his LEED Gold-certified Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa, American Canyon, California, “my beautiful idea.” But he also admits that at times his dream was something of a nightmare. Design changes, procurement challenges and lead times dogged his pioneering effort.

“I’m fortunate in that my partners supported me to the end,” says this self-described green spirit.

It took a great deal of support and patience to build the first hotel to attain LEED Gold certification. “We all were in a long learning curve,” he says. It wasn’t that Chang was a neophyte. His San Francisco-based Atman Hospitality Group has various flags in its portfolio, and Chang himself has work experience with Hilton Hotels Corp. and other chains. But none of his experience prepared him for the challenge of going green at the Gold level.

Replacing the “heat island” effect produced by blacktop with a permeable alternative was not 25% more expensive as advisors had estimated; it was more than double the cost. The payback time for the solar panels will not be three to seven years; it will be more like 10 to 13 years.

“We redesigned three times because we were navigating in uncharted waters,” Chang says. “You have to listen to your heart and do what’s right for the environment, not just what’s right to get LEED certification.”

Some of the other requirements needed for LEED’s top designation included:

Wood based materials: All lumber used for the hotel is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). The FSC is an international network to promote responsible management of the world’s forests.

Coatings, adhesives and sealants: Low VOC paints were used throughout the hotel to help improve the air quality within the hotel and have a positive effect on human health by improving the quality of air.

Carpet: Carpets contain post consumer recycled material in the backing, fiber and pad.

Construction waste management: The contractor implemented waste diversion practices as an integral part of their operations. The firm provided a recycling station for paints. The contractor also provided a recycling station for cardboard. During construction, bins were placed on the property primarily for cardboard. All cardboard was recycled on the premises.

Stone: All restrooms use recycled tiles and granite.

Water: The project achieved a water use reduction of about 40 percent. All toilets produce 1 gallon per flush as opposed to standard toilets which produce 1.6 gallons per flush. Low-flow showerheads were used in all guestrooms. The koi pond uses recycled water from the site, which is filtered and cleaned before entering the pond.

Environmental quality: Appropriately sized, quieter and more efficient HVAC systems are used throughout. The project also features an environmentally friendly refrigerant. Aluminum exterior grates were used in all entrances to help minimize dust and particulates entering the building, therefore improving air quality.

Energy/Solatubing: All windows used are efficient, low energy transmittable and reduce glare. Solatube Tubular skylights are used throughout the hotel including for the conference rooms, lobby and the hallways. These skylights magnify the sun’s rays to deliver abundant light into the property interior spaces during the day. The property will generate and save 24% of its own energy.  Conservation will mean typical savings of US$50,000 to US$70,000 on utility bills.

Recycling bins in rooms and around property: Newspapers are not delivered to each occupied room but are available in the lobby available “for guests who actually read them.”

Chemical-free landscaping: Fertilizers used for landscaping are all natural and chemical free. Native and climate-adaptive plants were used so only limited amounts of water are needed for irrigation.

Solar panel: Solar panels provide 12% of the property’s electricity. Cool reflective roof reflects heat, saving money in cooling costs. 

An extra:  Promoting awareness of sustainability: Kiosks with “green touch screens” show guests and visitors how much the hotel is saving in water, electricity and how much carbon dioxide it is emitting.

LEED is just a starting point for the green platform of Gaia Napa Valley, which soon will have two sister properties in California. Known for his organic forms, Big Sur architect Mickey Muenning (who also did the Post Ranch Inn) referenced the natural surroundings in the lines of the 132-room property in California’s wine country. Breakfasts are organic (a restaurant is coming on line). The resort earmarks 12% of revenues for donations to the needy and to the environment.

Chang stresses the importance of having both management and public relations/marketing that carry through the green theme. “You have to execute at the operations level,” Chang says. That means understanding target markets, reinforcing the green message once guests are on property and incorporating green practices into every aspect of daily operations. “Green can’t be an extra,” he says.

An extra two years and US$1.2 million later, Chang says the effort was worthwhile. “I want to try to change people’s consciousness. I still think this is a beautiful idea. You just can’t look two feet in front of your face; you can’t be short-sighted.”

Nor do owners have to sacrifice profitability in the name of sustainability.  Chang says Gaia’s green appeal translates to a 5% rate premium. Gaia’s unique Gold certified status not only earned attention from the travel industry, but positioned Chang in front of a prime market of business travelers who read interviews featured on Entrepreneur.com, LAtimes.com and Bloomberg’s web site.

“We got world connections from that,” Chang says. “I am dreamer, but I am also a businessman who wants to make a profit. Our company is very performance-oriented, and we’re proving that green projects make money.”

Sage Makes Green History

Denver-based Sage Hospitality Resources saw LEED certification as an attention-getting way to differentiate its luxury conversion, The Nines, from competitors at the top of Portland, Oregon’s hotel sector.

“LEED certification will enhance market share by giving the customer a green choice in the luxury hotel marketplace,” says Ken Geist, executive vice president, Sage Hospitality Resources.

Unlike many greenfield site LEED projects, Sage was starting with the nine upper floors of the city’s landmark Meier & Frank department store. “We are not only preserving a singular architectural landmark and giving it new life; we are establishing innovative environmental landmarks by renovating in a green way and by creating eco-friendly operations,” Geist notes.

Aiming for LEED Silver certification, the hotel will generate measurable environmental benefits from the design and construction—from sealing and insulating some 600 existing, inoperable windows to installation of energy-efficient mechanical systems that will help optimize the hotel’s energy usage at 26% less than code. In addition, dual-flush toilets and low-flow aerators will save an estimated 400,000 gallons of water a year.

Sage also is contracting with Boulder, Colorado-based Renewable Choice Energy to purchase 100% green power for the hotel, which Geist says will prevent more than 6 million pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere—an equivalent of removing 536 cars from the roads. 

In creating the 100-ft. (30.3-m) atrium, the contractors removed more than 24 million pounds of construction waste, 90% of which was recycled. Viscous dampers were installed to lessen disruption to the existing structure, making the US$118 million green renovation possible while preserving the integrity of the historic architecture.

When the 331-room hotel opens this summer, it will feature green operating practices that include the use of Green Seal certified cleaning products; low VOC paints, sealants and adhesives; and a no-smoking policy throughout the hotel.

Geist says all the effort is worthwhile: “Projects such as The Nines, a Starwood Luxury Collection hotel, show that we as a company are very committed to creating added value in the communities where we work and for our hotel guests.”

Solution-Oriented Certification at Baltimore Marriott

Gene Singleton, president of Summit Associates, a Raleigh, North Carolina-based longtime Marriott franchisee, did not set out to break new “green” ground with Baltimore’s 154-room Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott—Inner Harbor at Historic Brewers’ Park. But from the outset of planning, it was apparent that going green was not only right for the environment but also was the most efficient means of developing a hotel on a challenging site.

“We could not go underground for our water because of the site’s location near the harbor,” Singleton says. “So we started to investigate green practices such as surface water control as a means of complying with the city’s ordinances. We opted to apply for LEED certification because it would put us in compliance (with the ordinances) and because we believed going the green route would garner support from everyone,” he says.

Summit collaborated with the hotel’s co-owners (Hospitality Partners, Washington, D.C., and minority-owned A&R Development, a division of A&R Companies of Baltimore and Washington, D.C.) as well as with Marriott to navigate “the complex matrix of criteria” that is part of the certification process. “It takes a good amount of engineering on the front end to meet LEED criteria,” Singleton says.

It’s not as easy as buying water-saving toilets or low-flow showerheads. A toilet that uses 1.5 gallons per flush earns no points toward certification—it has to use 1 or 1.1 gallons. The Fairfield’s ownership targeted faucets and showerheads that use 20% less water than standard models. “The difficulty is determining how much water/energy the hotel is going to use,” Singleton says. He would like to see a simplified checklist to streamline the LEED process.

Singleton estimates that “going green” added roughly US$300,000 to US$400,000 to the US$23 million project. For some compliance elements, time was more of an issue than money.

“We wanted to use materials for the guestroom and bathroom doors that did not emit toxins. They weren’t that much more expensive than standard doors, but not many companies make them. So production takes longer,” he says.

He also notes that urban hotels have a leg up in seeking certification. “There are so many things urban hotels get credit for, such as availability of mass transit. Getting a resort LEED certified would be more challenging.”

He sees this problem resolving itself as green demand grows.

“Marriott is already incorporating some LEED requirements into its standards. More architects and directors of development are getting LEED certification. We’re working with Marriott to simplify the process. There is still a significant amount of cost on the front end to get third-party certification on the back,” says Singleton, who serves as president of Marriott’s Residence Inn Association and heads the Design and Construction Committee for the Residence Inn Brand.