Facilities Management - Vail Resort in Vail, CO

Facilities Management - Vail Resort in Vail, CO

Challenges 1

As an environmental business leader in Colorado, Vail Resorts took another big leap in energy conservation in May 2008 with the announcement of mandatory energy "layoffs" of 10 percent over two years. Since then, The Company has reached a 6.1 percent reduction in its first year. Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz was invited to be part of the Governor of Colorado's Climate Action Plan announcement on Nov. 5, 2007. Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz accepted Governor Bill Ritter's challenge to reduce energy use and emissions by announcing that our Company would launch an internal program Use Less .. Do More, that'll become part of our everyday culture(Miller, 2010). 

This makes sense both because it's the right thing to do for the environment- reducing emissions and conserving natural resources- but also because it's the right thing to do for our shareholders.  With energy prices at all time highs, reducing our energy use saves money and improves our profitability.  While the environment and our shareholders are two critical stakeholders. 

The Company will begin offering incentives to our employees to carpool when driving for business. For each 400 miles that someone drives carpooling with other employees on company business, the Company will give you a free lift ticket to any one of our five resorts.  More details to come on this. 

Turn off those lights!  Sounds simple- and it is.  But lots of people forget.  Lets make a habit of getting those lights off whenever possible.  The Company will help as well- but purchasing signage and reminders where possible.  

For all “back of the house” and “service” areas- compact fluorescent or LED lighting will become the standard to use when replacing lighting.  These newer technologies can save a bundle on energy and still get the job done. 

Vail Resort will be looking at Energy Management Systems for each of our facilities.  These systems can control heating and lighting to make sure that it is using these precious resources (and costly resources) only when they really need to.  Clearly the right system and investment will be different for each facility- but this will become a priority- particularly when the financial returns are so clear.

Vail Resort will begin to rollout our Idlewise program company-wide.  Idlewise is a program launched at Beaver Creek that sets limits on the time that any of our company vehicles can be idling to 5 minutes or less.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the lodging industry, as part of its total energy usage, spends on average nearly 60% of its budget to heat water and light its facilities. This provides all hotels and resorts with prime opportunities to reduce demands.

Installation of low-flow faucets, showerheads, toilets, kitchen sprayers and water efficient laundry equipment, as well as integration of EPA EnergyStar™ rated appliances, electronics, and other service equipment, is becoming common practice throughout all of our properties.

Some resorts also feature automated energy management systems, including timers and motion sensors to power down in-room heating, ventilation and cooling systems, spa and health club equipment, kitchen appliances ...