“SUSTAINABILITY, SAVING ENERGY, BEING ‘GREEN’ IS THE FIRST THING I THINK OF WHEN IT COMES TO ANY PROJECT.”
Marriott International takes sustainability very seriously. The hotel and hospitality company has set itself the target of achieving energy savings of 3 percent a year.
Featuring five floors, 393 rooms, two suites, 16 meeting rooms and 9000 square feet of total meeting space, the hotel also has its own rooftop garden and runs a 100 percent recycling program that utilizes organic waste to fuel incinerators and eliminate landfill waste. London Heathrow Marriott also participates in the annual Earth Hour event by turning off all hotel lights for one hour, raising awareness on climate change and showing support for a more sustainable future.
Jim Shields, Head of Hotel Engineering, says that “sustainability, saving energy, being ‘green’ is the first thing I think of when it comes to any project.” Marriott’s policy is to invest to make savings. General Manager Ron Vos leads the drive to sustainability, “We want to be the ’greenest’ hotel in Heathrow and the hotel team are all enthused to achieve this.”
The existing dishwasher was using between 200 and 230 kW/hour, which matched the consumption of the rest of the hotel
So when it came to choosing a new dishwasher, Vos and his team dedicated themselves to finding the most sustainable machine on the market. The existing dishwasher was using between 200 and 230 kW/hour, which matched the consumption of the rest of the hotel.
Jim Shields, Head of Hotel Engineering, explains: "I have to say MEIKO's response was clear and concise and showed that the MEIKO machine would pay for itself in year three or four.”
“Compared to what we had before, it is like the difference between night and day; it is so much more efficient,” says Shields. “Wash results are so good we no longer need to hand polish; we are saving labor as well as energy.”
“When we look at a capital investment now, we are investing ‘wisely’; considering not only the costs but also the running costs over the lifetime of the unit. The true cost of ownership is factored in every time.”
A successful solution: the London Heathrow Marriott has invested in green M-iQ technology as part of its strategy to become the ‘greenest’ hotel.
