In a world where people are choosing to spend their money on experiences over things, the hotel and travel industries have seen a boom in recent years. Young people backpack around the world, travel for work, and seek out new and exciting adventures.
As hoteliers, our endeavour is to create everlasting memories by offering unique experiences and comfortable stays. But industry leaders also have another responsibility – towards the environment.The hospitality industry is known to generate a lot of waste. At GRT Hotels & Resorts, we’ve taken a number of steps to cut our footprint down significantly.
From water conservation to recycling of organic waste, here are some of the practices we’ve implemented across our properties.
WATER
An essential part of smooth hotel operations is efficient housekeeping, and we pride ourselves at the high levels of cleanliness maintained across all areas in our hotels. In an effort to reduce the amount of water that goes into washing bed linen and towels, eco cards are placed in every room, offering the guest the choice to have their linen washed every other day.
Our properties in Chennai have in-built sewage treatment plants that filter the water used in the rooms, which is then used to water the gardens and in cooling towers. The Grand Chennai by GRT Hotels is one of the first properties in the city to receive permission from the State authorities to recycle waste water to be used in the WCs. The hotel uses force reducers and aerators in the taps, along with rain-showers and unique flush fittings in the bathrooms. Kitchens use high pressure jets for washing and cleaning – keeping the force high but the flow low. All of these efforts have reduced usage of water by 35%.
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
Large scale kitchen operations in hotels generate a considerable amount of organic waste (think vegetable peels, stalks etc). All of this is separated from other waste and converted to compost in-house, which is then used in the gardens as well. Any excess manure is sent to the GRT farms where it is put to good use. The Radisson Blu Resort Temple Bay Mamallapuram treats its organic food waste interestingly – it is all sent to the biogas plant which produces enough energy to power three street lights!
Non bio-degradable waste is also separated and disposed through authorised, responsible vendors.
ENERGY
All hotels are fitted with motion sensitive lighting and energy efficient LED bulbs. Air-conditioners are switched off when not in use, back areas are closely monitored, and corridors have motion sensitive lighting too. The cold air generated from heat pumps is circulated back into the staff areas to keep them cool.
What’s more, solar panels generate enough power to heat up 60% of the hot water needed at the Grand Chennai by GRT Hotels! The Radisson Blu Resort Temple Bay also utilises in-house solar panels for one phase of the property.
GOING GREEN
The Radisson Blu Hotel GRT Chennai efficiently manages staff timings in a way that ensures they come and go in groups, to facilitate carpooling and reduce fuel consumption. Along with the Grand Chennai by GRT Hotels, they send all of their used cooking oil to the Southern Railways to be used as fuel. How cool is that?
All hotels have reduced the number of flowers in the public areas and rooms in favour of plants, in an effort to save water. They all have soap and shampoo dispensers in the bathrooms (cutting down on plastic), and all team members are encouraged to restrict usage of paper and print on both sides if they must.
This year, we also celebrated Earth Hour with creative menus, cakes, and eco-friendly oaths across properties. The next time you stay with us, chat with one of our team members about all the cool eco-friendly practices we’re implementing and we’ll only keeping adding more!
