Green solutions help this Canadian hotel save money and impress guests

In an industry with a massive carbon footprint, the Hyatt Place Ottawa West has implemented sustainable innovations — from the food it doesn’t throw out to the lights that only turn on when needed.

Whether it’s for business or leisure, getting away exacts a hefty toll on the planet.

In 2022, the annual carbon footprint of the hospitality industry was estimated at 1 percent of the global total (3 percent, when you factor in embodied carbon). In fact, hotels are responsible for 363 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year — the equivalent of about 46 million homes.

While efforts to implement green solutions remain “uneven” in the hotel industry, a 2023 Booking.com survey found that 76 percent of global travellers want to travel sustainably. While significant sustainable innovations remain rare in the sector, they can yield massive returns.

In the west end of our nation’s capital, a new 140-room hotel took a giant green leap forward in 2021, becoming one of the first hotels in the world to earn a five-key rating, the highest category of eco-certification from Green Key Global. The Hyatt Place Ottawa West is reducing its environmental impact with solar panels, geothermal heating and cooling, EV chargers and a rooftop apiary.

We spoke to general manager Alison Hunter about how sustainable solutions save money, impress guests and deliver outsized environmental returns.

What are the challenges facing the hospitality industry and why should sustainability be a driving force in your sector?

Our sector is one that is open 24/7, 365 days a year, and it doesn’t have a small carbon footprint. People travel to get to us. They consume while they’re here. They travel to get home.

Our hotel does some pretty great stuff, but I think as an industry, if we can turn things on their head, change how we do things, we can make a big impact.

Can you walk me through some of the major innovations in sustainability you’ve implemented?

Our owners built the building with sustainability in mind. They put in huge capital investment in geothermal earth energy to heat and cool the building, 225 solar panels, motion-sensor lighting. The owners put in the capital expense, knowing that the payback is going to be there.

We really have made it part of our brand and who we are.

Geothermal is not the norm in the hotel industry, but is a much nicer option. We do not rely on gas or other options to heat and cool; just glycol circulating through heat pumps. Guests don’t see any difference but it’s better environmentally and, long term, it’s much more cost effective to operate.

We have four level-2 EV charging stations. They are loved by our guests and we’re exploring installing more. The solar panels help operate anything that runs on electricity. We use almost all of our power ourselves but, in the rare cases we do not, it’s put back into the grid. It has helped reduce our electricity bills by an average of 25 percent and reduces operating costs.

Tell me about the green initiatives you’re most proud of?

The À la Carte food recovery program, which we participate in, has delivered over a million meals in the nation’s capital. That just makes me sleep better at night. They come three times a week and pick up all of the food that was not consumed and get it to women’s shelters and community housing.

How does your mission impact your team?

For our owners it was both the right thing to do and economically the right thing to do. It became a culture in our hotel for our staff — something to connect with. You come to work, you want to be a part of something bigger. The team really has that. Then that translates to our guests in the conversations, and so then our guest loyalty.

How do you tell your guests about your programs?

We have a story wall that explains our EV chargers, solar panels, earth energy and our Green Key rating. It tells them about our commitment to buying Canadian and buying local. That’s not just since Elbows Up; that’s since before we opened.

I want to show guests that being green doesn’t crimp on comfort. You would never have any less of an experience because of the initiatives we have put in place. In fact, they are the same if not better and doing the right thing enhances the guest experience.

And what has the response been like?

One thing that happens on the regular has to do with the bee colony on our roof. At check-in, our little travellers receive crayons and colouring books with bees on them and we explain that we have 50,000 residents that stay at our hotel permanently. Just the awe that these kids have, “They live here?”

I wonder how that’s going to stick and what other questions they’re going to ask and where that’s going to take them on their journey of learning about nature or sustainability.

What’s the latest solution you’ve implemented?

Two days ago, we installed a valve on our water pipe that is guaranteed to provide 15 percent savings on our water bills because — what do you not know? — there’s a bunch of air in that pipe. Your city metre doesn’t know the difference and it charges you for all of it. By filtering out the air, you only get charged for the water that you’re using. It’s brilliant.

Do you have advice for existing hotels that require retrofitting and how they should think about that?

Don’t try to do it alone! There are so many resources out there. The Green Key Global program really helps our industry a lot. And there are incentives to install solar, to install EV chargers. There are even companies that will assess all your utilities. They’ll do an audit of your building and see if you’re leaking air from your heating and cooling bill or if there’s something about your water that could be improved.

What’s an example of an innovation that’s easy to implement and delivers big returns?

Yesterday, I inked a new deal to change how we deliver toilet paper and Kleenex to guest rooms that is going to eliminate 95 percent of the packaging and the quarter-of-a-roll coming out of a room because it’s almost gone.

If you think about how many Kleenex boxes and toilet paper rolls my hotel uses, and then how many in Ottawa, and how many in Canada, and how many globally. It can change the way we do things. Innovation comes from necessity.

MaRS is launching a new cohort program to help hotels and motels improve the performance of their buildings. Learn more at our upcoming webinar.

Photos courtesy of Hyatt Park Ottawa West