Montana Hoteliers Greening up the Hospitality Business

08/16/01The price of overnight lodging in "the last best place" doesn't have to be expensive in terms of wasted resources and overflowing landfills, according to Ted Lange, a pollution prevention technical specialist with Montana State University Extension. Lange helps motel businesses save money while reducing their impact on the environment.

Saving energy and resources is a popular national trend in the hotel industry says Lange, and with the prospect of skyrocketing energy rates, energy efficiency is a top concern in Montana.

Lange says that as an important part of Montana's economy, the hospitality industry is a natural focus for MSU Extension's Pollution Prevention (P2) program. He works closely with the Montana Innkeepers Association and individual motel owners, providing free technical assistance. He shows motel owners how to realize cost savings in many ways -- from buying bulk cleaning agents to using resource-efficient equipment and processes -- but money isn't the only motivator that makes good business sense. Pollution prevention can be a marketing edge, too.

Motels all over the world are using pollution prevention to get an edge on the competition. Web-sites like "greenhotels.com" direct conscientious tourists to hotels with earth-friendly practices and the "Green" Hotel Association helps hotel managers learn to use environmentally sound techniques while making the most of cost savings and positive publicity. There are also catalogs of energy and water-saving products with everything from toilet tank fill-diverters to money-saving soap dispensers.

A growing consumer preference for environmentally friendly businesses is one reason MSU Extension's P2 program honors small businesses once a year with EcoStar recognition awards. Businesses that have taken steps to prevent waste and preserve the quality of Montana's environment can apply to receive the awards. After qualifying, they can post the EcoStar logo and include it in their advertising in hopes of boosting their competitive advantage. Of 20 small business that will be presented with EcoStar awards this August, four are from within the lodging industry. This year the P2 program will honor Boulder Hot Springs, Chico Hot Springs Resort, Sage Mountain Center and the Stillwater Lodge with EcoStar awards.

"I love our industry," says Colin Davis, who manages Chico Hot Springs -- a rustic, full-service resort south of Livingston in Pray. "It's a challenging, vital industry, but it also generates a lot of waste. We try to run a proactive and ethically sound business. We can be a leader and others will follow."

Chico heats several buildings with geothermal energy, grows many of its own vegetables, herbs and flowers and makes an effort to recycle or donate old linens. The lodge also adheres to a "no-purchase list" that nixes Styrofoam, minimizes individual packaging and leans favorably toward bulk cleaners and environmentally friendly alternatives.

"It takes the entire staff to catch the little things," says Davis, who credits his staff as the driving force for the resort's pollution prevention efforts. "They're always looking for ways we can do things differently. But we're still learning. Our program is still in its infancy at three years old."

Davis is adamant that the program makes business sense: "The environment is as important a product as anything else that I sell. I wouldn't be able to sell my rooms or my tremendous food without the pristine surroundings."

Barb Reiter, manager of Boulder Hot Springs, says that many of the pollution prevention measures she and her staff have undertaken were intended to accommodate their guests. Seeing a demand from guests who were sensitive to chemicals and perfumes, Boulder's management and staff teamed up to use alternative cleaning and disinfecting products that prevent pollution.
 "Also, we believe in it," says Reiter.

The getaway three miles south of Boulder uses natural hot water to its energy advantage -- heating buildings as well as pools and spas. The facility uses compact fluorescent light bulbs, maintains equipment with an eye to energy efficiency, and by donating or composting leftover food and running a full-scale recycling effort, has reduced its waste by as much as 40 percent.

For Dan and Theresa Burkhart, owners of the Stillwater Lodge in Absarokee, pollution prevention was a natural outgrowth of their style of hospitality. The Burkharts wanted to transform their motel into a friendly place with homelike surroundings, "Sort of a bed and breakfast without the breakfast," according to Dan.

"When we got into this business, every hotel was telling us that you had to go into this industrial place to get cleaners," Dan recalls. "The things they recommended to get old stains off looked just like acid. We had to fill out forms at the landfill for half the stuff we were trying to discard… Theresa did research on the Internet and found out that you could use cleaners that were a lot safer, like vinegar, ammonia, or soap and water." In the end, they discovered that pumice worked great on stubborn stains.

The Burkharts attribute the long-term success of their recycling program to the help and encouragement that Stillwater County provides right at the landfill. The county has provided containers for recyclable materials at the dump to make it handy for locals to recycle, and it isn't out of the ordinary for landfill employees to help people sort materials and break down boxes.

The Burkharts' down home style of pollution prevention is well received by guests. Visitors enjoy Theresa's compost-fertilized, pesticide-free flower garden and appreciate the natural soap that she makes to put in the rooms. The several EcoStar Awards that the lodge has posted on the office door receive attention as well. "We've gotten good comments," says Dan. "People come in and ask about it. Then they say, "Well, that's neat."

Unlike traditional businesses that are retrofitting to lessen their environmental impact, Sage Mountain Center -- an educational retreat center near Whitehall -- was designed to incorporate pollution prevention into every aspect of its operation.

Christopher Borton and Linda Welsh co-founded the center as a demonstration and education facility that focuses on many aspects of sustainable living. A final construction phase has temporarily halted retreats, but the center ordinarily offers workshops and seminars on meditation and vegetarian living as well as classes and tours that show off its straw bale construction, energy efficient fixtures, solar design, renewable energy use and reforestation efforts.

"One of the goals of our ten-year plan was to have all of our structures be as environmentally friendly as possible." said Borton.
 Borton says that the density of straw bale construction provides superior fire prevention, and once the wall is sealed with cement, it does a good job of preventing the entrance of pests. The insulation rating of straw bale buildings tends to be more than twice that of traditional wood homes, says Borton. But the more important thing is that unlike timber homes, "We can see our walls grow the season before they're harvested."

The 100% solar-electric powered, super-insulated center calculates saving $3,000 a year in heating and electric bills, some of which is reinvested in pollution prevention by buying recycled products.

Borton says that the benefit of receiving an EcoStar Award is to create a more environmentally friendly image. "It increases recognition. And for us it's nice to participate in a program that encourages pollution prevention and environmental principals."

The bottom line, according to Ted Lange, is that improving energy conservation and efficiency is a great way to make your facility more environmentally friendly while saving a lot of money. "It's also a great way for hotels and motels to qualify for next year's EcoStar awards."

Mike Vogel, who directs the Montana P2 program, encourages businesses to apply for EcoStar status. He says that although EcoStar recipients are currently a select group, pollution prevention is widespread. "Many businesses are doing this as a standard practice. We would like to honor more."

Montana State University Extension's Peaks to Prairies Pollution Prevention Information Center can be reached at (406) 994-3451. Or visit them on the Web at http://peakstoprairies.org. Panel discussions at the Montana Innkeepers Association's November convention will focus on energy issues. For more information, call MIKA Executive Director, Stuart Doggett at (406) 449-8408.
 
 

Sidebar:

Environmentally friendly and cost saving ideas from the Montana Pollution Prevention Program

Energy Conservation & Efficiency:

Water Conservation:

Solid Waste Reduction:

Housekeeping:

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Send questions or comments toMarla Goodman, MSU Communications Services, Bozeman, MT 59717, E-mail mgoodman@montana.edu