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The 208-room Westin Resort Macau passed a milestone last month that would be
the envy of many much larger hotels - two million US dollars in net savings
from its energy management efforts.
Not only have these savings accrued net of costs, and adjusted for changing
weather and business levels; they have also accumulated despite the addition
of significant energy-consuming actions undertaken to enhance the guest experience, the
most significant of which was to commence cooling the outdoor swimming pool through Macau's long hot summer.
"This two million dollars did not pile up overnight", commented Akram
Touma, the General Manager of The Westin Resort Macau. It required consistent
effort, target-setting, measurement, and attention to detail. "Effective
energy management formed part of our strategies to improve guest satisfaction
since the mid 90s. It all began in 1995, when The Westin Resort Macau appointed a Hong Kong firm, Energy Resources Management, to carry out a
detailed energy audit and to advise what technical, operational, and financial
opportunities existed" he explained.
Using that firm as its energy management
coach ever since, the hotel has been able to average $235,000 a year in savings, and to dramatically reduce its environmental footprint at the same
time. Fifteen million kilograms of carbon dioxide less, just for starters.
And since Macau electricity is generated by burning fuel oil, the quantity of
sulphurous and nitrous oxides and mercury reduced is also no small matter.
This hotel's approach to energy management has not been the simplistic "cut,
cut, cut" so commonly seen when firms launch their energy management efforts.
Instead, their battle cry is "manage, manage, manage". The Westin Resort
Macau decision-makers did not buy a few black boxes and then move onto something else. Instead, they acknowledged energy
management as a hotel-wide challenge, requiring the concerted efforts of human resources, purchasing,
rooms, food and beverage, engineering, accounting, and many others to fashion
a truly optimal energy consumption profile for the benefit of shareholders,
guests, staff, and the environment.
Their goal was not simply to save energy, but rather to gain the maximum
possible value from their use of this expensive and multifaceted resource.
Guest satisfaction, staff productivity, corporate reputation, plant longevity,
risk management and environmental footprint are just a few of the areas where
they identified potential to enhance shareholder value. The hotel's management and staff developed plans to find and capture this value to its
full measure.
The pool cooling mentioned is just one example. Guest satisfaction index
results, a key performance indicator for all Westin Hotels & Resorts,
indicated that the pool water temperature from April to November was an area
of opportunity. Chief Engineer Romulo Estrada and his team devised a way to
employ the hotel's chiller plant to bring down the pool temperature and bring
up the guest satisfaction index.
Another example of 'guests first' was the upgrading of lobby and lobby lounge
air conditioning, since both these areas had been difficult to keep well
dehumidified from the hotel's opening day. Bigger electricity bills resulted,
but so did happier guests (to say nothing of the staff who worked in those
areas).
Productivity and product quality decisions led to higher energy use in another
area - the main kitchen, where gas convection ovens were replaced with electric powered units.
The multi-million dollar savings came to fruition despite all these changes.
At the same time as more energy was being used in order to meet specific
business goals, energy conserving measures were also possible - and steadily
harvested. A revolving door was installed to reduce the amount of hot, unfiltered air coming in at the
hotel's main entrance. Heating of the jacuzzi was switched from electric to steam (fuel switching is a strategy many large
energy users fail to recognise). Shading was installed over the Chinese
restaurant's east-facing windows.
Excellence in managing any resource requires consistent effort. It requires a
clear and accurate understanding of the current situation, a plan to achieve
specific goals, and the means to measure progress along a series of milestones. The Westin Resort
Macau has risen to this challenge and produced measured, verifiable outcomes. Their efforts are set to continue. "Energy
management excellence is one of many Westin Resort Macau competitive advantages" stated Akram. "It is our commitment to
our customers; it is one of our means to enhance guests' satisfaction. Enhancing guests' satisfaction is
not a pet project, but a way of doing business," he promised.
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