The Southwest Florida Water Management District will observe National Tourism Week May 12-20 by promoting the award-winning Water Conservation Hotel And Motel Program (Water C.H.A.M.P.) to the hospitality industry. The goal is to show that by implementing the Water C.H.A.M.P. program, the savings can really add up for local businesses.
Water C.H.A.M.P. is the District’s linens and towel reuse program.
According to VISIT FLORIDA, the states official tourism marketing organization, approximately 83.6 million people visited the state in 2005. That translates to more than $62 billion added to Floridas economy, but it can also add up to a strain on Florida’s water resources.
“Depending on their size, hotels and motels can use up to 20,000 gallons of water per day,” said Samantha Sieber, Water C.H.A.M.P. coordinator. “By becoming a Water C.H.A.M.P. property, hotels can save an average of 50 gallons per occupied room per day.”
Water C.H.A.M.P. facts and figures:
271 of the 995 hotels and motels throughout the District’s 16-county region participate in Water C.H.A.M.P.
The participating hotels and motels account for more than 27,000 rooms, reaching nearly 6.7 million people a year, based on a 68 percent occupancy rate.
Hotels and motels can use up to 300 gallons per occupied room per day, but most average 150 gallons per day. Becoming a Water C.H.A.M.P. property can save an average of 50 gallons per occupied room per day.
Based on these calculations, Water C.H.A.M.P. can save 918,000 gallons of water a day. In one year, Water C.H.A.M.P. can save nearly 335 million gallons of water.
So far in 2007, Water C.H.A.M.P. saved approximately 111 million gallons of water.
Since the program began in 2002, Water C.H.A.M.P. has saved approximately 979 million gallons of water.
By participating in this program, hotels can also benefit by saving up to $1 per occupied room per day.
By implementing the program, the hotel or motel management agrees to launder linens every third day of a guest’s stay unless requested otherwise by the guest. This practice has become highly popular in the hotel industry because it can save a significant amount of water, staff time and money as well as minimizing the amount of detergents that enter the environment.
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.
Water C.H.A.M.P. began in September 2002 as a pilot project in the Pinellas-Anclote River Basin and has now expanded to include every basin within the District.
In 2005, Water C.H.A.M.P. partnered with Progress Energy to provide an energy conservation message to hotel guests and staff. Through this partnership, the District created a “Please do not disturb- we are conserving our energy” sign for use in its Pinellas-Anclote River, Coastal Rivers and Withlacoochee River basins.
During National Tourism Week, the District will present information about Water C.H.A.M.P. to tourism-industry representatives during the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and Greater Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce events.
For more information on Water C.H.A.M.P., or to add your hotel or motel, please contact Samantha Sieber at 1-800-423-1476, ext. 4782.