Outside of the aviation sector, the hospitality business has long been one of the travel industry's worst offenders in terms of overall non-sustainability. The
Hilton Hotels Corporation, however, is currently in the midst of a multi-million dollar attempt to permanently alter that perception with a sweeping round of sustainable renovations. What's more, travelers staying at Hilton's
Inn at Penn property in West Philadelphia will soon have a chance to experience a number of the company's eco-friendly initiatives first-hand.
Probably the oddest and most attention-grabbing sustainable effort was a recent upgrade to the uniforms sported by the hotel's front-desk staff. Each uniform was manufactured from approximately 25 recycled plastic bottles, a process that reduces harmful air emissions. The housekeeping and food staff will be outfitted with the uniforms in the coming months.
Along with the hotel's staff, the 238 guestrooms and suites will also be undergoing sustainable improvements soon. An energy-saving system known as LightStay, for instance, will be installed; it calculates and analyzes heat and energy use in the hotel's guestrooms, thereby reducing carbon output, waste output and water use. According to Mark Ricci, a director of corporate communications for the hotel group, "All of this ties into Hilton Worldwide's commitment to environmental sustainability."
And although guestrooms and suites will also soon be fully renovated with everything from ergonomic chairs to luxury bathrooms with Euro-style showers, it's not unlikely that the new
iPads--one for every room--will ultimately prove to be among the most popular of the hotel's upcoming enhancements. Hilton's Inn at Penn will be the first hotel in the city to offer the popular tablet computers, which will be used as remote controls, and as a way to access hotel services and information.
Source: Mark Ricci, Hilton Worldwide
Writer: Dan Eldridge
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