| In the late 1970's and early 1980's energy management became crucial when our Nation
encountered, along with the most of rest of the world, an oil embargo. The Executive Committee
of what was then called the American Hotel & Motel Association (AH&MA) worked through
the Hospitality, Lodging, and Travel Research Foundation (HLTRF) to confront the problem.
Under a $615,000 grant from the Department of Energy (DoE) the Engineers Committee and the
industry worked through Honeywell under a directed grant to substantially sub-meter energy use
in six different properties throughout the United States.
Based upon lessons learned in those years, the following suggestions are being offered as a
strategy for controlling energy costs in the present situation.
MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT
The strong support of management is necessary for the energy conservation efforts to succeed. It
must be more than "lip service." The following points should be understood from the start:
A. Accountability is the name of the game. All staff members should be expected to be
measured, in part, by how well energy conservation assignments are carried out.
B. Forever is how long the program will last. It is wrong to be wasteful when sources are
plentiful. It is positively self-destructive when those sources are not frugally accessed.
So, there must be a continuing effort to:
1. avert financial disaster for the owner, the manager, and the employees,
2. help the nation's efforts to reduce our reliance on foreign energy sources, and
3. slow down the depletion of our non-renewable resources through wasteful
practices.
To implement the program and to establish accountability, an Energy Action Group should be
organized, Such a Group might include the following persons:
The owner (corporate headquarters)
General Manager
Energy Action Coordinator
Human Resources Director and the Accountant or Controller
Front Office Department Head
Rooms Division
Executive Housekeeper
Director of Food & Beverages
Director of Security
Laundry Manager
Manager-Banquet and Function Rooms
Executive Engineer or Head of Maintenance
Since energy is consumed in every department, the Energy Action Group must include every
department head or an appointed representative.
The program will involve regular and sustained checking for compliance, a job for which the
manager will rarely have the time. An Energy Action Coordinator should be appointed to report
directly to the manager. This post might be assigned on a rotating basis to the department heads
or other responsible persons. It is desirable to have a single coordinator on a continuing basis, if
at all possible. This permits continuity in direction of the group without each new coordinator
losing time to become acquainted with the total program.
Call a meeting of the Energy Action Group. In large organizations, this first session would
involve only members of the group. In small operations, it might be useful to try to assemble the
entire staff.
The manager should be well prepared for this meeting by:
reviewing the energy "facts of life" in the introduction,
being able to describe specifically by means of actual cases how the property has been
affected by rising heat, light, and power costs related to the present state f the economy,
and
carefully studying the information gained by a "walk through" of the property.
(Discussed below.)
The purposes of the meeting are to:
1. Explain the seriousness of the situation, and let the entire staff know that the failure to
control rising prices and to effectively control energy usage could have serious
implications. Be direct and use forthright language to make the point.
2. Make it clear that energy conservation is a critical element in facing the economic
downturn.
3. Describe the actions that are being planned to implement the program.
4. Define responsibilities.
5. Indicate a preliminary objective stated in terms of a percent reduction of energy
consumption (At least 15%). |
Article
Review Energy Management Strategies to Assist the Bottom Line in the Economic Crisis