Hospitality Development Update: Moving Towards LEED

Jefferson Thomas, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
Sr. Design Manager (LEED Advocate)
Marriott International

Green construction starts have increased by 50% in the past two years, and now represent 25% of all new construction today, according to a study by McGraw Hill. Green and sustainable construction initially had a slow start for the hospitality industry, but now seem to be gaining momentum. Today, there are 141 LEED-certified hotels and nearly 1,200 more that are registered with the intent to certify upon completion.

Because there are wide misperceptions about the cost of building green, hotel owners have been hesitant to embrace green practices. However, it has been proven that green building does not have to cost more. In some cases, where projects target higher or more complex levels of green building, there may be added upfront costs of 1-4% - but these costs can be recouped relatively quickly, often within the first few years. Investing in high energy performance equipment and high insulated building materials has the shortest pay back from a cost standpoint, and generally, high-performance buildings and building green reduce operating costs and increase the net operating income for the life of the building.

Courtyard Marriott in Portland, Ore.

Green hotels are catching on in a number of ways. For one, there is a new generation of hotel owners who put a higher asset value on their investments, and are realizing the benefits of green building practices. Many hotels are taking advantage of the federal, state and local incentives that can help pay for half to all of the additional cost to construct LEED-certified buildings: Attaining LEED certification, which is third-party verified, signifies a true green hotel. Marketing advantages, permit expediting, obtaining building approvals and reduced county fees are just a few other reasons why more owners are now turning towards building LEED. On the corporate sustainability front, major Fortune 500 corporations are changing their travel preferences to book green hotels, in order to boost their own company-wide green efforts.

LEED 2012 and Hospitality: One More Reason to Party at the Holiday Inn

Kal Wellman
Associate, LEED
U.S. Green Building Council

Nothing makes for a good old fashioned hotel party quite like the efficient use of cooling tower water and improved outdoor air intake flow rates. Not enough to quench your party-going thirst? How about some building-level energy and water meters to liven up the occasion?

Nerdy LEED jokes (which are commonplace here at the USGBC office) aside, consumer demand for green hotels is driving hotel owners to rethink the way they do business, leading to an increase in LEED certifications for both new and existing hotels around the world. Major companies like Marriott, Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), and Starwood are leading this effort and setting the bar high by participating in USGBC’s LEED Volume Program.

LEED-certified Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, NC

While this growing momentum could signal a coming paradigm shift in the hospitality industry, hotels still face a number of key challenges due to their uniqueness as a space type. For example, a hotel’s occupancy can vary daily as people check-in and out of their rooms, and they usually operate around the clock in order to provide the best level of service for their guests. Hotels also typically include a variety of on-site amenities like restaurants, bars, gyms and pools. These amenities, partnered with the need to supply energy and water to every individual guest room, result in drastically different water and energy needs compared to a typical commercial office building.