Our old friend Carl Samuelson, Energy Strategy Facilitator with Michaels Energy, recently brought to our attention the great energy efficiency work by management and staff at the Hilton Garden Inn Minneapolis Maple Grove. To learn more, we interviewed Carl and the hotel’s General Manager, Mike Severson.
Joel Haskard: How does Hilton Garden Inn Minneapolis Maple Grove compare to other hotels?
Carl Samuelson: They are the most efficient out of 27 hotels in their management group here in the Midwest. They also scored an 80 on ENERGY STAR portfolio manager – so that means that we’re working with them to pursue ENERGY STAR certification. The impressive part is that their equipment is generally pretty standard – so most of their efficiency comes from very good staff engagement. They do have some LED lights in the lobby and they have been retrofitting some other lighting areas on an ongoing basis, so that’s a plus, but on its own not enough to put them ahead of the pack.
Joel Haskard: So how do their management and staff pull it off?
Carl Samuelson: Their cleaning staff adjusts each room’s thermostat after cleaning to make sure it uses less energy (up in the summer, down in the winter). They shut off lights and close windows and blinds. Their maintenance staff is very thorough with their PMs and repairs equipment regularly. Their kitchen staff shuts off their exhaust hood between the breakfast service and the dinner service. I was speaking with the maintenance manager about an LED replacement they were planning in the pool area and asked him why he was excited about the retrofit. I figured his answer would be that it was going to save money or reduce his work load replacing lamps, but instead he said “it’s the right thing to do”. It reminded me that energy efficiency is a great way to add meaning to your employees life.
Joel Haskard: Tell me a little bit about the Hilton Garden Inn.
Mike Severson: Hilton Garden Inn Minneapolis Maple Grove opened its doors in April 2003. The Hilton Garden Inn brand is part of Hilton Hotels Corporation; recognized internationally as a preeminent hospitality company. The company develops, owns, manages or franchises more than 2,800 hotels, resorts and vacation ownership properties.
Joel Haskard: I understand you have achieved some pretty significant energy savings. What is your secret?
Mike Severson:
- Everything starts with the top. Our Management team is very conscientious about being green. We are also trying to come up with what projects we can do next to help us become more Energy Efficient.
- Total team backing. If we roll out a program and we haven’t let our team have a say, buy in becomes very difficult. You also have to have to make sure you give them the tools to succeed. Finally you have to give them the results of their success.
- Trust but verify. We train our staff for example to set the thermostat to 68 Heat in the winter and 72 Cool in the summer. We trust in them to do this, train them the importance of this, but we also have our supervisor checking each room to ensure it is done.
- The conversion to LED’s throughout the hotel has been a big savings for us.
- Corporate backing. Both Hilton and North Central Group (Our Management Company) have programs in place to help us monitor. North Central Group uses a Green Scorecard with about 150 conservation items on it and we measure our hotels based on this Scorecard. We also have Green Committee and one representative for each hotel is on this committee. They even send out a Green Newsletter going over some fresh ideas.
Joel Haskard: Tell me a bit more about your staff. What is their motivation? What are some of the conservation actions that they take?
Mike Severson: This starts with the hiring process. You have to surround yourself with people that care about their job, have a great personality, and want to be at work each and every day. Once you find those special people, you have to focus on the positive and reward them for their actions. We have a program in place here at the Hilton Garden Inn Minneapolis-Maple Grove that anyone can recognize another person based on the book “Fish!” There are four values of a person that we recognize, Making Someone’s Day, Being Playful, Being Present, and Choosing a Great Attitude. Management and Staff can catch anyone and recognize them for their great work. We utilize this program to the fullest, especially when it comes to conservation programs.
Joel Haskard: CERTs says, Hats off to the awesome staff at the Hilton Garden Inn Minneapolis Maple Grove!
Learn more in a great article in the Hotel-Online newsletter >>
Photos from the Hilton Garden Inn:
Classy LED lighting in the lobby
An energy-efficient guest room
The pool at the Hilton Garden Inn
Their clean, efficient boiler room
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