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This is a great article that provides tips on how to use green practices within the IT realm. It starts by giving statistics on how much energy can be consumed by equipment, and also how much electronic waste can be done when not reusing or recycling such equipment. There is tips on how to increase efficiency with your technology and also providing tips on how to properly purchase needed equipment. Another set of tips covers reducing the running costs of office equipment and reducing e-waste by the 'reduce, reuse, and recycle'. Lastly, developments for green technology and equipment are provided for us. My opinion is that this article is very informative and should be read by all hoteliers to look into and apply the tips given. Showing the statistics paints a great picture for the reasons why we should be going green with technology.

Green computing, commonly referred to as "green technology," is the study of creating, utilizing, and disposing of computing systems in a way that minimizes their impact on the environment. The ecologically friendly and ethical use of computers and their resources is known as "green computing." A growing trend that has established itself as the preferred method of doing things while preserving the environment is "Going Green." Green computing aims to lessen technology's negative effects on the environment. This entails conserving energy, cutting waste, and fostering sustainability. The goal of "green computing" is to lessen the carbon footprint left by the information technology and systems sector and allied businesses. Green computing mainly uses two methods: e-waste and energy efficiency. Reduced resource use as well as the use of energy-efficient servers, peripherals, and CPUs are all part of energy efficiency. And e-waste is how electronic garbage should be disposed of properly. Even while we may believe that computers are non-polluting and require relatively little energy, their use really contributes significantly to environmental pollution. Only 15% of the estimated $250 billion annually spent on powering computers globally is thought to be used for computation; the remaining energy is lost idling on inactive machines. Since energy consumption is the primary cause of CO2 emissions, any energy saved on computer hardware and computing will result in tons of CO2 emissions being avoided every year. The Energy Star program was established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1992 as a controlled labeling initiative to promote and reward energy efficiency. More than 75 different product categories, as well as residences, office buildings, and industrial facilities, have already received the Energy Star badge. Consumers of devices have widely embraced sleep mode because of the campaign. The IT industry is working to implement Green Computing across a

This article introduced a technology has been applied in Europe and Asia for years that is Key-card management. This key-card management system links to heating, cooling and lighting system in guestroom with a monitoring in a slot besides door. In Europe and Asia, it has been demonstrated key-card management system is a successful system, that can save 20%-40% energy bill inside guest room. Although US hotels don't apply this system at beginning, now, more and more hotels has taken key-card management system. The hotel GM which taken this system said that is save a lot of energy bill after using this system.

This article talks about how hotels have the opportunity to conserve energy. It is known that many hotel guests are usually unaware or disinterested on how much energy they waste in their hotel room because they've already paid for the room. However, many of us are very conscious of how much energy we waste at home because we do in fact need to pay for that. So why don't we do it in hotel rooms? It comes down to convenience. When you're in a hotel, you don't worry about bills or energy or what harm you are doing to the environment or to the hotel's wallet because you are simply on vacation. However, key card management systems allow guests to save energy without the hassle of walking throughout the room turning off every light, faucet and air conditioning. Instead, saving energy is now as simple as leaving your room. With the key card management, energy management is in affect as soon as the guest pulls out the key card when leaving their room, and as easy as placing it back in the slot when they return. This is an effective, simple way for guests to save energy, while still on vacation.   

Engergy always be the top cost generator in hotel expense. Hundreds of new technology is developed to control the cost of energy consume and provent guests' oversmart on wasting. Zenros Smart Engergy is a new energy management system for hotels. It is predicted that the system can save at least 35% in HLP cost.

Solar Powered Energy Management for Hotels "Hotels consume massive amounts of energy and use 50% more energy than a similar sized residential building despite having only 55% occupancy rates on average. " "Energy costs are the ghighest fixed expenses for hotels fafter salaries. It is very important for hotels to save energy  The article started by mentioning the most widely used sensor system. And smart energy management solutions are quite expensive and sometimes even impossible to be retrofit old hotels.  ZENROS is a new solar powered energy management system. It is believed  to be able to save at least 35% in HLP costs. It is connected to the room controller and use Zigbee Smart Energy, a panel wireless communication system to control all the electrical devices. This combination of solar energy and wireless enables restoration in most hotels, even the ones without electrical grid nearby. 

The following Press Release describes the Marriott La Jolla was showcased by a tour by the Department of Energy of its Better Building Challenge participants. The three-day tour took place in California and highlights the energy-efficient and energy savings practices and technologies in which the hotel offers.  The Marriott La Jolla-is owned by HEI Hotels & Resorts and recently was selected by President Obama to the Dept. of Energy Better Building Challenge as a part of the initiative to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent. HEI's commitment has led to enhancing its properties by energy efficiency upgrades and renovations-HEI has installed Energy Looking Glass (ELG), as well as the Energy Set-Point (ESP) program which defines optimum settings for key systems (domestic hot water, chilled water, etc.). Additionally, the hotel's BUZZ Committee gets all hotel associates engaged in conservation efforts. Core energy upgrades such as lighting and HVAC are proven technologies that were adopted and implemented years ago by the Marriott La Jolla and other properties in the HEI portfolio.

This article primarily discusses HEI Hotels & Resorts' Marriott La Jolla and their past showcase during "Tour of Department of Energy's Better Buildings Challenge Participant Facilities". Fundamentally, this hotel is using and produced an energy efficiently program which will allow the hotel to annually save $200,000 each year. That is an incredible savings that will keep the hotel tremendously environmentally friendly, while hopefully starting a trend for other hotels to do the same. This hotel is now facing great benefits with their energy saving initiatives and great operational systems such as HVAC, ELG, and ESP which will overall save water, the consumption of energy, and reduce waste.

San Diego, CA - August 30, 2012 -The Marriott La Jolla, owned and operated by HEI Hotels & Resorts, was showcased on Tuesday by the Department of Energy during a tour of the facilities of its Better Buildings Challenge participants. The visit was part of a three-day tour in California to highlight the energy-efficient and energy saving practices and technologies implemented by the participants.

Energy management is a important part of physical plant of hospitality management. The most significant meaning of energy management is to reduce costs and drive up profits. Energex system is a kind of energy management software introduced in this article. It can adjust the using of the HVAC system automatically and save energy costs. It also can ensure the guests' comforts. The system can be used in both old and upcoming hotels. What the hotel need to do is to install a sensor along side the thermostat. I believe this is a good technology for this industry because it can not only benefit the hotels but also be environment-friendly.

In the United States, hotels represent more than 5 billion square feet of space, nealry 5 million guest rooms and approxiamtely $4 billion in annual energy use. As of January 2010, there were only 40 hotels that were LEED certified. The acronym LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED is a voluntary, third party green building certification program that awards points to buildings depending on their sustainable practice being implemented which includes building improvements, environemntal footprint and water and energy use. LEED was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit organization. Its main purpose is to provide building owners and operators with a basic framework for developing and implementing sustainable practices. The first hotel to ever be certified according to LEED criteria was the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, NC. This hote received Platnium status for being able to recycle 87% of its construction debris, purchasing 40% of the building materials and 90% of its furniture locally. Installation of 100 solar panels, use of geothermal energy for the restaurant's refrigeration equipment and instllation of a Regenerative Drive model for its elevators made the Proximity Hotel a benchmark hotel. There are several practices that can make a hotel conserve energy and make it sustainable such as using flourescent lightbulbs, offering linen and towel reuse programs, paving parkig lots with highly reflective materials or open grid pavers, installing high-efficiency plumbing fixtures, landscaping with native plants and using local materials and goods. These will not necessarily lead to LEED certification but will definitely earn points towards obtaining that accredidation. The use of sustainable practices not only helps conserve the environment but also saves money in the long run. Through water conservation techniques, recycling and linen and towel reuse programs, the hospitality industry wins two-fold,

This article discusses the implementation of computer technologies in hotels' green practices. Electricity use accounts for 60-70% of the utility costs and average daily water consumption per occupied room is 218 gallons. Management is permanently under pressure to cut these costs, however, this should be done without impacting guests' comfort. Installation of water-efficient fixtures and energy-efficient lighting helps to reduce utility bills. Computer operated systems aimed at consumption data collection, analytics and remote control are an essential addition to energy-saving equipment. Energy harvesting wireless sensors, thermostats, and other products help collect data that later is processed by IBM Watson, which applies predictive analytics to guest behavior to drive greater energy efficiency of HVAC and other equipment. Wireless networking in energy management enables the hotels to create customized profiles for different rooms depending on their exposure, season, occupancy, etc. based on historical data. Furthermore, satellite technology that tracks the weather and ground moisture helps limit excess irrigation. Computer technologies are meant to substitute guest's active efforts in resource savings. Yet sometimes the sustainability technologies become the selling point for hotels. For instance, guests, especially millennials, might be attracted by the hotel's energy panel that demonstrates how the power generated while using fitness equipment immediately adds to the hotel energy grid.

In an effort to cut expenses the Renaissance Club Sport Hotel installed the Pelican Wireless HVAC Thermostat. This saved them $41,160 a year on energy related costs giving them an ROI of 8.5 months. Through research presented by Pelican Wireless it was discovered that HVAC energy consumption drives over 60% of most hotel energy bills each month. The Renaissance Hotel discovered that by implementing the Pelican Wireless technology they could save substantially each month on energy costs. The previous room configuration had basic thermostats installed in the rooms which were left running even when the rooms had no checked in guests. They also had no way to monitor the health of their existing HVAC units and their facilities department was being called upon by the front desk to regularly check the AC. Installation took only 3 days with 2 installers in a sold out hotel consisting of 175 hotel rooms, conference center, spa and workout facility. Pelican's technology interfaces with the Hotel's PMS and to the internet to access the Pelican Site Manager. Initial setup is done via an easy to understand graphical user interface accessible on any Web Browser. Cloud based servers allow access to resources and have control of information from anywhere there is an internet connection.

The Seagate Hotel&Spa in Delray has implemented advanced hotel environmental technology which ensures not only guests can enjoy their comfortable stay, but also hotel uses less energy than before. Seagate installed Honeywell's INNCOM guestroom energy management system solutions in OCT 2009. And it turns out that their energy used is almost 20% lower than similar properties. The INNCOM system would lowers the temperature to conserve energy, and also will detect guests' entry and reinstates the previous temperature. The reason why this system can conserve energy is the vast majority of guests do not adjust the thermostat temperature during their stay. Besides, there are also other room automation controls such as Bell System, lighting controls and so on.

This article emphasizes the positive and negative aspects of the hospitality industry adopting to sustainable practices. It recognizes that this industry is in the business of making money, while appoints the importance of doing so conscientiously, respecting the environment. It shows the steps that the organizations should take on its journey to action. I believe that sustainability should be a business imperative and not a lifestyle choice, as the sustained interest among consumers in tourism products and services are continuously increasing. That should be beneficial for the organization, positively affecting the operating revenue.

The article discusses the many ways the IT world is finding new ways to be sustainable in the hospitality industry. Changing the way a hotel runs by introducing e-mails to guest and other companies to reduce the paper flow or allowing guest to do mobile check-ins can reduce a lot of paper waste. Also, having guest use their phones as key cards for their rooms can aid in avoiding wasting and needing to create key cards. By hotels having an energy saving system, they reduce electrical waste by having computers on low power consumption mode. One main thing the article mentioned that I personally see a lot of hotels doing is digital advertising. Instead of relying on paper advertisement, hotels rely heavily on ads on social medias, facebook, google, and third party vendors.

This article discusses the IT green movement that has been in action since the rise of technology and ways on how IT can go green. Some opportunities in the green IT movement include the following: - Using IT responsibly and effectively to reduce water, energy, and paper consumption. This gives IT teams to take advantage of a few technical enhancements within their hotels to provide key cards available on smart phones, email to reduce paper, and digital signage. - Deploying effective technology practices such as Energy Star compliance to shut down computers automatically after periods of inactivity and server virtualization. This would mean for everything to be on one common server, and companies can save money on computer hardware and power consumption. - Tackling e-waste and deploying recycling technologies to reduce environmental waste and impacts. This could be implementing by introducing a safe recycling system for used hardware. - Digital marketing practices. This could be like using digital media to save money or using social media to encourage guests about the green practices that the hotel is implementing. - Marketing strategies to report and promote green practices. This could be having the business properly use marketing strategies to target these environmentally conscious market and find ways to promote green practices to this market segment. These are all very effective ways for IT teams to go green within their hospitality businesses. These green IT projects will need approval from top management and investment in time and resources.

The financial crisis of 2007-2008 is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. It resulted in the threat of total collapse of large financial institutions, the bailout of banks, and downturns in stock markets around the world. The bursting of the U.S. real estate bubble, which peaked in 2006, caused the values of securities tied to U.S. real estate pricing to plummet, damaging financial institutions. Prior to this crisis strategies to develop new hotels or acquire existing assets with a small percentage of cash out of pocket were plentiful. Today to secure funding it may take 30%-40% of hard cash to move a deal forward. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering a way to leverage funds at well below market rates for major renovations and new construction with as low as 10% cash down. The catch? Some money-saving energy efficiency or renewable energy measures must be in the mix. Millions of dollars in SBA 504 loans have been available for decades to help small businesses grow. The greening of the program began when the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 added 3 public policy goals that could qualify businesses for a loan for construction, renovation, or refinance to: 1.Build a new facility (or retrofit an existing building) that consumes at least 10% less energy. 2.Incorporate sustainable design such as LEED into the new construction or renovation projects or building purchases. 3.Incorporate the production and use of renewable energy onsite for the business and/or for the local utility. Another area the 504 green loan program can assist the hospitality industry is to bring cash to the table for major renovations. Hotel franchise companies have been lenient over the past several years on product improvement, as not many hoteliers have had the financial ability to perform major renovations. In the past several months the need for franchise companies to protect their brand have

This article makes me proud to work in the hotel industry. Of course, there's financial motivation for being energy efficient, but hey, we can pretend we also do it because it's the right thing to do. As long as owners and operators see opportunities to continue to reduce energy costs, they won't stop. I have to believe that hotels will continue to look for ways to become even more efficient to the point of eliminating their carbon footprint. The hotel business is one of the few industries that have a strong incentive to dramatically reduce energy costs. The fact that the EPA's ENERGY STAR program is working on a new, hospitality-specific scoring system in response to the industry's specific needs and growing demand is pretty cool. I can see such a system becoming measurements for bonus payouts like market share is with Smith Travel Research and further accelerating the work around sustainability in hotels. A great point is also made regarding the retention of employees. The article argues that employees will feel that management cares about their health and well-being. But I would also say that employees want to work for hotels that do what's good and right for our world. You want to work for the good guys. Individual travelers, companies and meeting planners are more and more looking to stay or do business with hotels that are eco-friendly. Thirty six percent more travelers are expected to choose more eco-friendly travel options than they did in 2016. That statistic should definitely get the attention of owners currently in the process of planning a new hotel. If you want a competitive advantage from the day you open your doors, fill up that building with green initiates and let the green slide right down to the bottom line.

The article points to the fact that energy is a major issue for hotels, which can be solved by going green and by implementing 3 energy-saving factors. 1. Using low energy devices and replacing all incandescent bulbs with LED-based lightning. 2. Adopting renewable source of energy. 3. Using connected devices, which make it possible for managers to monitor the power consumption. So today going green it's the long-term option for companies who want to save their prosperity.

This is a great article that discusses the upcoming technology that restaurants are looking into (and starting to use). There are five trends when it comes to the industry's technology: Energy Reduction, "Smart Operations", Multiuse equipment, Custom Equipment, and Mobile Ordering. This article shows how technology can help on reducing waste, but even the technology itself is smarter and greener, using less energy and recycling the energy it has already used (reclaiming steam from a dishwasher to use in future washes-an example of energy efficient equipment ). Mobile ordering saves wait time for consumers and reduces waste from tickets/receipts being printed. "Smart" equipment is assisting in reducing food waste in kitchens. And Multiuse equipment is reducing energy use/costs. This article is a perfect example of how technology is helping to reduce waste and energy.

According to the results of "2012 Energy Efficiency IT report", based on 760 IT professionals' view, on cutting energy costs, buy greener gear than to get high-ROI green initiatives. Implementing Energy-star-qualifying equipment got more potential ROI. Server consolidation and virtualization also ranked high among already deployed green-tech projects. And the 8 popular green-technology projects are: server/storage virtualization, consolidating servers, implementing hardware with more efficient processors, implementing energy star-qualifying equipment, deploying more energy-efficient networking equipment, employing energy-efficient ups, employing new cooling approaches,  increased use of hosted services.

Energy management systems provide a number of benefits to a hotel property: - better tracking and targeting of preventative maintenance programs - extend the life of equipment through better maintenance - auto-off climate controls - direct interface with the PMS system All these factors add up to provide cost savings in energy usage, improvement in engineer efficiency and effectiveness and increased equipment longevity. An energy management system brings value to the property and likely pays for itself over time through these benefits.

This article discusses the push that is happening for hotels to "go green" and "tech-friendly". Travelers have more of a preference for eco-friendly/tech friendly hotels when booking. For example, guests now prefer wifi more than complimentary breakfast. Another example that guests are searching for sustainability usage was important to them. In a survey done one in five woule stay in a boutique hotel if it used renewable energy sources. The article examines the desires for guests and their preferences for hotels and how hotels can adjust to this change. To meet these demands, hotels can address what are easy fixes such minimizing wasted heat or light. Another way hotels can hop on in this movement is by investing in systems that are eco-friendly such as waste heat-recovery systems. Investing in energy solutions will meet customer demands and help save the environment.