Mr. Gabrielsen

Eco-Friendly Practices

Creating a Thread Between Team Members and Guests in our Green Efforts

By Rick Gabrielsen, President, Kupuna Hospitality, LLC

Saving pennies in a jar, the sports memorabilia from our youth or that favorite piece of clothing has always been a staple of our culture. By placing as much thought into the past or future, a thread is built that keeps us all connected. Creating a thread of “green” between our guests and team members is the lifeline to success in building relationships.

While determining the focus of our sustainable efforts recently at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Oakland - Waterfront, I was providing a glorious overview of the fun and exciting activities we will all be joining in and as I looked around the table, I noticed many blank looks. So, I asked the team a few questions:

• How many of you think what I have just proposed will work? • How many of you currently recycle paper, plastic or aluminum at their homes? • Are there items you have saved from the past? • What are you saving for in the future? • Do you recycle batteries or light bulbs at home? • Are there resources available for you to recycle easily? • If the program was at no cost to you, would you consider recycling? • Do you use recycle bags at the grocery store or paper or plastic bags? • Do you drink bottle water or tap water? • Have you seen items that are in a landfill? Where does it all go?

Not surprising the many responses ranged from. “It is too difficult to separate the trash”, “We do not have the time”, “The guests don’t care”, “Guests expect turndown with the lights turned on”, “Why close the drapes on the sunny side, it is too dark”, “Can the recycling bins be different colors”, “Our carts are to small”, “ I have always thrown away batteries”, etc. The enlightened side of the comments were: “My wedding dress”, “Pictures of my family”, “I save coins, because I do not think they will be used in the future”, “I want to buy a new car”, “I want to buy a house”, “I want to go back to school to get a degree and learn more”, “I have wondered where my old car parts and computers go when trashed?”

As I listened to the uproar of a lion, I decided I would become the lamb and listen. During the time of listening and note taking, it was evident that we needed to speak with guests to see their view of sustainability, also. Keeping an open mind to the change in the environment, guests were provided the same question. It was not surprising that all of the guests were accommodating in our efforts to improve our “”Green” hotel. Their only comment was, “if we are instructed and see it followed through, we all will follow the hotel team.” For example, leaving the towels on the rack or the card on the bed, we all want to conserve the elements, but be consistent. Ok, so if the guest wants us to be consistent and the team members wants the same, we need to complete small measures for each to develop a conversation. This is when we set forth 5 days when the team members and guests can bring in to the General Manager their old batteries and we will then provide them with new ones. In a short span of time we received 448 batteries. The next thread was to have the team members and guests bring to us old light bulbs that would be changed out to energy saving bulbs from incandescent ones. This time we purchased 400, one hundred watt replacement bulbs using only 23 watts, and in two days have provided 167 bulbs to team members and guests. As I noticed, each person now understood the impact on our environment because they were tied together with similar wants and needs. Quickly it became a culture of I can, because a thread was sewn between the provider and the processor.

The “green thread” is what we now refer to as our individual efforts bound together to create a visible and sustainable culture. “Our efforts combined with the team at EcoGreenHotel, Waste Management and our terrific owners at Oakland Hospitality have led the way to our recent recognition as an EnergyStar certified hotel”, says Jason Olivares, who has managed the hotel over the past three years. The opportunities for visibility, training and understanding of “creating a Green thread” is available to any individual or group through researching websites, speaking with city officials, networking with other businesses and becoming an advocate for a sustainable environment .

So we have now started the thread of relationship and being Green, but needed to continue to get at the heart of sustainability. Our next step was to remove all of the disposable beverage cups that we use for coffee, tea, water and soda each day. We purchased disposable hot or cold bottles and requested that each person customize their bottle with their name and whatever else they wanted on the bottle. Soon the thread was being sewn tighter and one guest and one team member were referencing the changes in our daily interactions. The thread continues to create a quilt of green! Oh, but we are not complete until we can build upon our actions to date as we need to look at composting and dishwasher usage, HVAC timers or sensors, vending machine energy monitors, solar panel covers for the pool and spa, light timers in laundry, environment friendly Green detergents, and the “AND’s” went on and on. But at this time the Green team took over and said these are items that we can plan on completing each week and going forward until we see that our sustainable efforts are wrapped into the threads of our relationships.

The most basic question of expense is always asked when talking about Green initiatives or sustainability, which is the first question we certainly asked. To our surprise, the costs of our seven different cleaning products were less in cost per ounce then our current products being used and the laundry earth friendly products were at considerable savings, also. I can hear the reader of this article, stop and say, hold on now, there has to be different measurements or the products that I have sampled do not meet the quality of cleanser and we need to double the substance so your numbers can not be accurate. Any doubts, Jason or Maryann or Nora or Rick or Rafiq, or Anthony or any other thread throughout the Green Team will answer the questions, provide suppliers and tell you about our commitment to sustainability and Green. We have not used a brush to create Green washing; instead we have sewn a thread in our relationships with team members and guests alike!

Quickly the discussions have come full circle in our efforts to lead sustainability efforts in our lives to a self driven organization that is bound by the threads of Green. Our family’s sustainability commitment, in the thread of green, was initially communicated by our daughter many years ago. I am so pleased today that she continued to share her wisdom & passion within our family and thus the “thread of Green” was sewn. Let us all sew the quilt of many threads, sustainable and certainly GREEN in our personal and professional environments!

Passionate involvement and infinite horizons are what defines Rick Gabrielsen — be it as an industry leader admired by his peers for a reputation of peak performance, a trusted advisor and loyal business partner, or a compassionate community volunteer. With 35 years experience in hospitality management for a variety of corporate, independent and bank owned hotels, he is one of the foremost experts in asset management and operations of boutique hotels and limited service properties. Prior to forming Kupuna Hospitality, Mr. Gabrielsen held the position of Area Vice President for Hilton Worldwide, managing company-owned and or managed brands of Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites and Embassy Suites hotels in the Mountain — West region and Mexico. Mr. Gabrielsen can be contacted at 303-376-6313 or rick@kupunahospitality.com Extended Bio...

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