Shephard’s Beach Resort has signed up to become the 400th establishment to participate in the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s award-winning Water Conservation Hotel And Motel Program (Water CHAMP).
As a Water CHAMP property, the popular Clearwater Beach resort agrees to participate in the District’s linen and towel reuse program. By implementing the program, the hotel or motel management agrees to launder linens every third day of a guest’s stay unless the guest requests otherwise.
Paul Andrews, general manager of Shephard’s Beach Resort, said they were using their own linen and towel reuse program but joined Water CHAMP because the materials were easier for customers and staff to understand.
“The materials provided through Water CHAMP are very well done and our staff appreciated the bilingual training video,” said Andrews. “Switching to the District’s program was effortless. It is very easy to implement.”
Linen and towel reuse programs have become highly popular in the hotel industry because they can save a significant amount of water, staff time and money as well as minimize the amount of detergents that enter the environment.
“We’re excited to have another well known resort take part in the program,” said Robin Grantham, Water CHAMP coordinator. “More and more hotel managers recognize the value of protecting our water resources.”
There are 921 hotels and motels throughout the District’s 16-county region, of which 400 are Water CHAMP properties. The participating hotels and motels account for more than 62 percent of the available hotel rooms within the District.
Hotels and motels can use up to 300 gallons per occupied room per day, but most average 150 gallons per day. Becoming a Water CHAMP property can save up to 50 gallons per occupied room per day.
“Depending on their size, hotels and motels can use more than 20,000 gallons of water per day,” said Grantham.
Based on these calculations, Water CHAMP can save more than 600,000 gallons of water a day. In one year, Water CHAMP can save more than 229 million gallons of water.
Water CHAMP began in September 2002 as a pilot project and has now expanded to include the entire District.
The District works with cooperators to supply free educational materials for guest rooms and employees. The District also provides the hotels and motels with educational workshops on additional ways to save water.
The District also began a companion program, the Water Program for Restaurant Outreach (Water PRO), for restaurants in May. Water PRO is a free program that helps restaurants conserve water by educating staff and guests. As part of the program, restaurant management agrees to serve water only upon request, display water conservation materials on tables, conduct self-audits and train staff.
For more information on Water CHAMP or Water PRO, please contact Robin Grantham at 1-800-423-1476, ext. 4782. To find a hotel or motel that participates in the program, visit the District’s web site atWaterMatters.org/conservation/waterchamp/.