Event Preview: Sustainable Design & Operations

The Hotelier Middle East Sustainable Design and Operations Summit will focus on the importance of making
green practices a priority in the design and build stage of a hotel’s lifecycle

The Hotelier Middle East Sustainable Design and Operations Summit 2015 will bring together directors of development, directors of engineering, general managers, design directors, and consultants on June 3, 2015 at Grosvenor House Dubai.

In its second year, Hotelier’s sustainability-focused summit will zero-in on the importance of sustainable design and operations. From deciding on how many rooms to build and conceptualising the hotel’s theme, to selecting the right suppliers and ensuring ROI on technology investment, the event will focus on creating and operating the ‘hardware’ of a hotel.

Prior to the event, Hotelier Middle East gathered an advisory panel consisting of some of the event speakers, to talk through the various challenges and opportunities for operators and developers in the design and build stage of hotels, and to set the agenda for the summit.

A recurring theme during the meeting was the subject of incorporating sustainable practices and elements during the early stages of hotel development.

Ròya director — construction development Graham Stanley points to the problem of developers focusing on the bottom line in order to achieve the highest return on investment.

“We, from our company point of view, would very much target the developers and try to convey that from an ROI point of view, it’s good to be sustainable, good to minimise your energy and your staffing requirements. But even today, they all want the maximum return on capital investment, and we’ll look at tomorrow,” he says.

Cutting corners at the construction stage will only increase the need for retrofit projects soon after opening, Hilton Worldwide Middle East & Africa director of engineering operations Vinesh Hurrychurn says.

“Yes we look at the initial capital investment, but what about the lifecycle? After we open, we often find stages where the costs are high and we need to look at the cause, and then you opt for retrofit solutions, and these might not tie in with the existing design,” he asserts.

“So if you get that in the early stages, it makes a real difference. And also from a development point of view, coming from an operator point of view, if we show that we have a good base cost, it’s a better sell for the owner,” Hurrychurn adds.

Sofitel The Palm Dubai director of engineering Rohit Salunke also believes there isn’t enough information about the availability of retrofit solutions in the market.

“People really want to understand the best practice being followed and the products being used. Especially in new hotels, it’s up to the operators to face the challenges that come up,” he says.

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Hurrychurn also admits that while retrofit solutions aren’t always ideal, they are necessary, considering the constant innovation and new technology being offered each year.

“Retrofit is something you can’t help because technology is changing. If you are opening a hotel today, it was probably designed five years ago. And we always have new technology coming in,” he explains.

In addition to retrofit solutions, the panellists debated the relevance of green certifications. Stanley observes the necessity to strive for sustainable practices, especially when the bottom line is a priority.

“Attaining an LEED certification not only promotes hotels to their guests, but it’s just good common sense to do it,” he advises. “The operators have to look after the building, they are repaying that building, so don’t fill it with rubbish that burns energy and electricity.

“Insulate it properly, shade it properly, orientate the building properly, get the windows on the shaded side, and from day one have the hotel as energy-conscious as you can,” he advises.

Hurrychurn, however, critiques the “easy points” hotels can gather when trying to achieve a green stamp of approval.

“The issue I see with ratings systems is that when you have things like easy or cheap points to achieve, sometimes the intent of them can be lost.

“For example, bicycle racks — if you’re creating a hotel in a certain place, you can get two or three points by implementing that. How many people really cycle to a hotel to use the facilities?” He adds that certificates, such as LEED, are often designed by American organisations, and so are better suited to countries in North America or Europe, where the climate is cooler.

“In the UAE, 60- or 70% of your energy use is for cooling, and then you’ve also got the water to think about — whether it’s really high flow showers and sinks, and toilets which are not necessarily dual flush. So in many ways, we need to focus on water and energy consumption. That shouldn’t just be 50% of the rating system.”

AESG principal Scott Coombes points to Abu Dhabi-based rating system, Estidama as a more appropriate one.
“Estidama creates a stronger focus on water and energy — increases it to about 70% in terms of weighting in the rating system, whereas LEED is about 40%,” he says.

“The problem with Estidama again is you’re looking at a rating system, which is flexible for every type of new construction building, whether it is a commercial tower, residential, or hotel tower, so you still have options with things like bicycle racks.”

Hurrychurn also comments on the need to understand what drives hotels towards implementing sustainable standards.
He cites Expo 2020 as a key example of the UAE’s overall vision for greener practices.

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“The second driver is rising costs; we saw the subsidies being removed — Abu Dhabi is increasing the cost of water by 8-9%; electricity is increasing by 8% for hotels, and in other industries by more than 15% or 20%.

“Sharjah increased prices, so the government is now removing subsidies in places that previously had them.
“Another driver is private investment in power distribution,” he adds.

“If you look at South Africa or Nigeria, their electricity prices are not very attractive for investors to inject
money, so they are increasing the prices year-on-year. You have to step up your game to have the same base cost.”
Ultimately, the panellists agree that in an ideal world, operators would have standardised KPIs, which would force developers to invest in sustainable construction and design.

“These days the operators are becoming involved earlier, which is a good thing. But I don’t think they are involved in the concept of the building, in the concept of the MEP. And I think that’s why we need to target the developers,” Hurrychurn says.

“The hotel industry is the only industry that openly and competitively shares performance and standards; it’s a great system.

“If every hotelier standardised their KPIs, then the developer would have to build [hotels] to that standard. ” he asserts.