I think that for most of us, travel is part of the normal annual course of business. We travel to our communities, to comparable communities in the area, to our construction sites, to conventions, educational seminars, etc. We do this because sometimes the experiences that we can get at these places make us better at our jobs one way or another. However, I think that the majority of us miss another unique opportunity. Assessing the Hotel we stay in. Sure, you probably pull the sheets back to check for bed bugs or look around to ensure your room is clean, but have you ever flushed the toilet and timed how quickly it refills? Have you ever noticed the temperature setting on your room? Do you peak at the faucet to see how many gallons per minute you are getting? Or in the Shower? Were the blinds open or shut when you checked in?
There is a direct parallel between the apartment industry and the hotel industry. We are both service oriented. We both want to have all our rooms filled. We both want to get the maximum premium for our rooms. However, Hotels are much more advanced in the measures of Sustainability than Multifamily. I am pointing this out, because when we travel, we should really take a look at the hotel that we are staying at for tips and trends in Sustainability. Face it, the “next big thing” for multifamily, has already been tested and is in place in hotels. Low flow devices? Yes. Occupancy sensors? Yes. Electric Vehicle charge stations? Smart Controllers? Automated building controls? Solar? Recycling? Composting? Sustainable Landscape measures? LED lighting? Yes to all of that.
Recently the UMA was privileged to see first-hand some of the sustainability measures in place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center and Resort in Las Vegas. I think it is fair to say we all learned something from this experience that translates to our industry. It was quite inspirational. I have attached a couple of hyperlinks to articles and sustainability measures that the Mandalay Bay Hotel has completed and received awards for. I recommend that you take a peek at these articles. Be careful. You may just discover something you can do at your property.
In the spirit of sharing is caring, I ask you, what hotel sustainability measure have you seen recently that you think would be genius in multifamily?
http://www.mandalaybay.com/conventions/environment/#
http://lasvegastribune.net/worlds-largest-rooftop-solar-array-mandalay-bay/