Marriott gets first LEED green hotel prototype
The new Courtyard hotel will open in early 2012 as a part of a joint venture
The Courtyard Charleston/Summerville in South Carolina will be the first hotel built using Marriott International’s green hotel prototype, in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC.) This will dramatically accelerate the company’s goal to have 300 LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) hotels by 2015.
Marriott is the first in the hospitality industry to launch a green hotel prototype that has been pre-approved by USGBC as part of its LEED Volume program, meaning that any Marriott hotel that follows these plans will earn basic LEED certification, or possibly higher, upon USGBC final approval.
The new Courtyard hotel will open in early 2012 as a part of a joint venture between Blanchard & Calhoun Commercial of Augusta, Ga., and MeadWestvaco of Summerville, S.C. The hotel will introduce the first phase of The Parks of Berkley, a community consisting of 5,000 acres and one of the largest planned developments in the Southeastern United States.
“This new program packages all the basic requirements for LEED certification in a prototype,” said Karim Khalifa, senior vice president, architecture and construction for Marriott International. “It saves our owners valuable time and money in the planning process and allows us to provide a greener portfolio of hotels for our guests.”
Last year, Marriott announced plans to develop a green hotel prototype for its Courtyard brand that will save roughly $100,000, six months in design time, and up to 25 percent energy and water savings for its owners.
To develop the green hotel prototype, Marriott was guided by the Courtyard Pittsburgh Settlers Ridge in Pennsylvania, which will open this autumn and is registered for LEED certification. The company partnered with the USGBC and Marriott suppliers—Kohler Company and Philips Lighting – to test fixtures that save energy and water and measure results.
Based on the results of the Courtyard brand, Marriott has plans to create similar green hotel prototypes for Residence Inn by Marriott, TownePlace Suites by Marriott, SpringHill Suites by Marriott and Fairfield Inn by Marriott.
Valere Tjolle
Valere Tjolle is editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite and Masterclasses current details and special offers at: www.travelmole.com/stories/1142003.php
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