Save By Searching Out Local Green Rebates

By Adam Kirby, Associate Editor -- Hotels, 4/1/2008

When Investors Hospitality Management (IHM) takes control of a hotel, one of the first calls CEO John DiGuiseppe makes is to the local utility company.

The Thousand Oaks, California-based IHM, which touts itself as America’s first green third-party management company, makes it a point to leverage business-friendly environmental initiatives at the local level as a way to transform the energy efficiency of newly managed properties.

“When you’re dealing with the owners, they think being green is so hard—but it’s not,” DiGuiseppe says. “Pick up the phone and call the utility companies and have them come out and give you an assessment. You’ll be surprised at how much you can do that costs very, very little.”

Case in point: When IHM began managing The Hotel on Mount Charleston in Las Vegas in December, DiGuiseppe had the local electric company, Nevada Power, come out to the property to assess its energy efficiencies. Through Nevada Power’s Sure Bet Program, which compensates businesses for eco-friendly facilities upgrades, IHM received discounts and reimbursements for a completely new energy management system. The property-wide system ended up costing IHM about US$8,300, which DiGuiseppe expects to recoup within 13 months by reducing energy use by one-third.

Other localities and utilities have similar programs. Water departments sometimes give away low-flow toilets and faucets. Gas companies may provide discounts to properties that install Energy Star-certified windows. With just a little initiative, resource conservation can become easy and relatively inexpensive, DiGuiseppe says.