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Educational
Interactive Seminar on How Energy and
Indoor Environmental Quality Affect Hospitality Operations.
The primary
purpose of the seminar was to review and analyze what is known
about the state of energy use and management and indoor
environmental quality (IEQ) and its economic importance to
hospitality operations. An effort was made to identify
opportunities for reduced energy consumption and improved indoor
environmental conditions, review a variety of proposed remedies,
and distill significant research and technology gaps. The
seminar focused on defining and discussing three major problem
areas and addressing a series of related questions:
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What is the importance of energy management and IEQ to the financial
success of various hospitality segments?
§
What is the impact of IEQ in day-to-day operations (i.e., does it
impact customer service and satisfaction? If so, to what
degree?)
§
What is the status of the current HVAC technologies with the
potential to meet the demands of various hospitality segments with
regard to energy, IEQ and operational performance? What are
the gaps?
There were five
general themes that reoccurred throughout the seminar and
discussions including:
1. There
is very little research documenting the scope and nature of some
of the most critical problems confronting the hospitality industry
especially on the adverse impact of poor environmental quality on
customer satisfaction and employee productivity.
2. The
dominant consideration of owners and managers is the upfront,
short-term economic costs of hospitality facility repair,
renovation and replacement.
3. Energy
consumption and conservation considerations have become integral
and preeminent factors in the cost equation for the industry and
often outweigh other considerations such as IEQ. Energy
management is now a key design parameter for new facilities and
major retrofits, but it is often poorly executed and remains
dependent on operations capabilities that largely do not exist in
the hospitality industry.
4. The
technological state of the art equipment, design, architecture and
professional education and training is such that many if not most
of the problems confronting the industry can be remedied and
controlled.
5. The key
to addressing and resolving the problems confronting the industry
is effective education and communication between the technical
professionals and the owners on the need and long term benefits of
improvements in energy management and IEQ.
The findings of
this seminar have been published in the National Center report
NCEMBT-041215, which is available for
download. |
