Starwood’s Eco-Innovations

Regardless of how well an initiative is planned, implementing new programs and operations procedures in a hospitality environment typically requires a period of trial and error. This makes pilot programs essential, especially when a chain hopes to roll out a new agenda brand-wide. With the opportunity to test new equipment and procedures in a real, operating hotel, bugs can be worked out on a small scale, preparing for a bigger launch down the line.

Starwood’s Element hotels, a brand focused on delivering a balanced, healthy, and natural hotel stay, are also home to some extremely technologically advanced eco-friendly initiatives. The first major brand to mandate that all properties pursue LEED certification, Element introduces groundbreaking new technologies on a regular basis, including a one-of-a-kind solar canopy that was rolled out earlier this year at the Element Dallas Fort Worth Airport North.

Made of a material called SolarSkin, the solar canopy, which was created in collaboration with Sistine Solar and designed in partnership with Brooklyn-based architect Ajmal Aqtash, allows guests to charge their devices with solar power generated by the canopy’s solar panels. Piloting the SolarSkin canopy at the Element Dallas Fort Worth Airport North was an easy decision for Brian McGuinness, senior vice president of Starwood’s specialty select brands. “The Element brand functions as Starwood’s eco-innovation laboratory. It’s where we pilot, and often roll out, the latest sustainable technologies,” he explains. Beyond generating usable power, Sistine Solar’s technology also allows the company to create SolarSkin panels that display color, patterns, or an image, which greatly appealed to Starwood’s esthetic. “Showcasing beautifully designed solar panels and weaving them into the guest experience is a great way to change people’s perception of renewable energy and goes hand-in-hand with Element’s ‘green without compromise’ mantra,” adds McGuinness.

The Element Dallas Fort Worth Airport North’s SolarSkin Canopy offers guests a shaded and comfortable place to relax while charging their devices with renewable, solar energy. Additionally, the canopy has integrated LED lights that allow it to be used anytime of the day or night. A stand-alone entity that exists entirely off the electrical grid, the canopy did not require the hotel to change its energy infrastructure in any way.

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While the SolarSkin canopy is initially being piloted at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport North property, the ultimate goal is to introduce this new technology in Element hotels all over the world.

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Kate Hughes, Editor, LODGING Magazine