The Southwest Florida Water Management District is celebrating the signing of the 300th establishment to participate in the District’s award-winning Water Conservation Hotel And Motel Program (Water C.H.A.M.P.)
The Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites on North Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa became the 300th establishment to come on board with Water C.H.A.M.P., the District’s linens and towels reuse program. 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.
Debbie Grenier, general manager for the Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites and the Comfort Inn, had been looking for a program like Water C.H.A.M.P. to implement in her hotels when District staff called her about the program. Grenier says many hotel guests welcome the program.
“We have one customer who stays with us all the time and usually tells the front desk staff not to change his linens during the stay,” said Grenier. “He’s ecstatic that we’re a Water C.H.A.M.P. hotel.”
There are 959 hotels and motels throughout the District’s 16-county region. Currently, 309 are Water C.H.A.M.P. properties. The participating hotels and motels account for more than 30,000 rooms, reaching more than 7.4 million people a year, based on a 68 percent occupancy rate.
“Our region’s water resources are a major draw for tourists, so it’s important for hotels to take an active role in conserving them,” said Samantha Sieber Farkas, Water C.H.A.M.P. coordinator. “Reaching this milestone proves that hotel managers recognize the value of protecting water resources.”
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 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 Farkas.
Based on these calculations, Water C.H.A.M.P. can save more than 400,000 gallons of water a day. In one year, Water C.H.A.M.P. can save nearly 150 million gallons of water.
Water C.H.A.M.P. began in September 2002 as a pilot project and has now expanded to include every basin within the District. Water C.H.A.M.P. has saved approximately 979 million gallons of water since the program began.
Linens and towels reuse programs have 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.
For more information on Water C.H.A.M.P., or to add your hotel or motel, please contact Samantha Farkas at 1-800-423-1476, ext. 4782.