3rd essay ENG102 WP2 FINAL 3000 words essay

ENG 102

July 19, 2020

The Water Saving Programs for Sustainable Development Strategy in Hospitality Industry

With the expansion of economic globalization, environmental issues are becoming a major global problem that threatens the survival and development of human beings. Environmental protection is a continuous concern of governments of countries in the developing global economy. As an important part of service trade, the hospitality industry has also benefited from the process of globalization and obtained a great expansion, but it has inevitably contributed to the environmental problems brought by the expansion of economic globalization. Considering that environmental issues are gradually being paid more attention to by the society and the market, and the external costs are getting higher and higher, the hospitality industry is also more and more following the principles of sustainable development and implementing various programs to meet the needs of development.

Before putting the water saving programs in effect, the hoteliers must understand the advantages and disadvantages of these programs, and develop the appropriate strategies, so as to achieve the purpose of saving costs, building competitive advantages, and earning more profits. This report, therefore, aims at analyzing some programs, discussing their advantages and disadvantages for the hospitality industry, as well as propose a strategy demonstrating how the hotels to have a good performance on water saving.

Water resource management is an important part of hotel operation and environmental management plans. With increasing population and economic activity, the use of limited freshwater resources is becoming increasingly restricted and contested. How to effectively address the issue of water usage, to save cost and expand profit while ensuring the quality of hotel service, has become a challenge for all hotels. The following I will use the cases of certain hotels as examples, to demonstrate how the hospitality industry addresses the issue of water usage. From swimming pools to sprinklers to kitchen sinks, in our rapidly growing tourism sector hotels are big water consumers, so we should establish a water management plan with a clear goal. We may have the following steps to save water, including but not limited: establish a water management Plan, use water-saving products, implementing towel and linen reuse programs, educating employees improves efforts, etc.

For establish a water management plan, we can begin with a water usage audit to get a clear understanding of your costs and savings opportunities. The hotels and resorts should meter current usage, try to expose the problem areas, and gather all valuable information on water usage (Bragiel 2018). Then, we should set goals and communicate these goals to the hotel staff so they understand the best water-saving. The following I will use the case of Kalaloch Lodge which located in the Olympic National Park as an example, to demonstrate how the hospitality industry addresses the issue of water usage. In the case of Kalaloch Lodge, their original goal was reducing 40% in water usage by 2020. With a clear goal and all the efforts, the actual achievement will be better. Between 2011 and 2014, Kalaloch Lodge reduced its water consumption by more than 46%, to reach the goal in advance (Ago 2017).

Use water-saving products, look for “Water Sense” labeled products when replacing plumbing fixture, switch out older toilets for high- efficiency products, like low-flow or toilets, use aerated showerheads/faucet, install push-button showers if it near the pool area, that can further reduce consumption. For instance, in both guest rooms and employee housing, Kalaloch Lodge replaced all of its showerheads with Water Sense labeled models, bringing the flow rate down from 2.5 gallons per minute to 1.5 gpm. (Ago 2017). Another example is the Caesars Palace group in Las Vegas, which has achieved double benefits in terms of water saving. Due to the installation of 10,700 low-flow shower heads and a similar number of low-flow sink, the company saves approximately 50.5 million gallons a year at several locations in Nevada (Howard 2014). For implementing towel and linen reuse programs, Kalaloch Lodge posted the policies regarding towel placement and laundering clearly. Many hotel guests have become respectful of requesting laundry service only when necessary. The operator also educated employees on the optimum number and size of machine loads. additionally, considered working with chemical and equipment vendors on the strategies to consumer water use. Many vendors have introduced the new technology that drastically reduces water usage, and new equipment could pay for itself in reduced water usage.

On educating employees improves efforts, employees will have a major impact on water usage. For example, put procedures in place to train and inform housekeeping on reducing water usage including not to leave taps running, how often to flush toilets when cleaning and using a mop rather than a hose when cleaning floors. Should educate the staff maintenance is key. A leaking toilet can lose up to 200 gallons of water daily, so everybody should know how to maintain equipment for optimum efficiency (Bragiel 2018). A staff incentive plan should be considered to encourage employees to be vigilant in reducing water consumption. In the case of Kalaloch Lodge, the staff go through the training such as: encourage employees to report leaks and be conscious of when they’re running water; provide an overview of Kalaloch Lodge’s water savings goals; and emphasize how employees can help. The efforts bring the amount reducing of water served by approximately 50 percent. (Ago 2017)

Water saving is a long-term benefit for the hospitality industry. We should follow the principles of sustainable development technically, strategically and administratively, while have to keep the pace with the times.

Work Cited:

Bragiel, Justin. “Justin Bragiel, Author at Texas Hotel & Lodging Association - Page 10 of 29.” Texas Hotel & Lodging Association, 27 Sept. 2018, texaslodging.com/author/justin-bragiel/page/10/.

Ago, Admin  •  6 years. “Kalaloch Lodge Reduces Environmental Impact and Surpasses Goals.” Compass, 30 Mar. 2017, greenpathnews.com/kalaloch-lodge-reduces-environmental-impact-and-surpasses-goals/.