What is the value to the hospitality industry (hotels, motels, bars, restaurants, and casinos) of increased revenue, increased employee productivity and retention, and fewer guest complaints? Are you willing to lose almost $4 on every square foot of space? Would you be willing to invest if you received 80% of that investment back each year for the life of the property?
It is all possible, and the changes are simple.
Focus on maintaining a healthy indoor environment, and you will see your revenue and occupancy rates increase due to guest satisfaction and repeat business, improved employee retention and productivity as they enjoy the work environment, and less out-of-pocket expense to resolve guest complaints. With over $757 billion in sales and over 60% of the facilities classified as having poor IAQ, there is immense opportunity for easily achieving these savings.
An article by Chad B. Dorgan, P.E., Ph.D., presents how this can be attained by reviewing the unique challenges the hospitality industry faces in achieving good IAQ, evaluating the current state of IAQ in the hospitality industry, detailing how to improve IAQ, and reviewing the costs and benefits of such an improvement. The following summarizes some of Dr. Dorgan's findings.
Restaurants
Typically, restaurants face poor maintenance of exhaust hoods, leaky sink pipes, spilled food particles on the floor, and inadequate makeup air, resulting in more frequent breakdowns of systems than in other building types.
Bars
Bars typically experience a higher level of pollutants and occupancy density, and the conditioning systems are often not sufficient and in poor condition. Consequently, the wellness of these buildings is generally worse than that of restaurants.
Lodging (humid climate)
Lodging establishments in humid climates have their own challenges due to the high latent load that systems must overcome.Most lodging facilities do not have the proper type of cooling system to be able to control indoor humidity which leads to an environment conducive to the growth of fungi, mold, and microorganisms.Poor maintenance, improper air balancing, and improper control strategies aggravate the situation. The maintenance personnel frequently cannot keep up with the system breakdowns or units requiring service.
Lodging (non-humid climate)
While there are fewer problems in the general lodging industry than those located in humid climates, there are still problems due to poor maintenance, high traffic in the space, and poor supply and distribution of outdoor air to the occupied spaces.
Casinos
Casinos fall between bars and restaurants, in that they have greater pollutant generation than restaurants, but they typically have better conditioning systems and maintenance than most bars.
How to Improve IAQ
There are multiple opportunities to improve the IAQ in hospitality facilities. These opportunities can be divided into two categories of upgrade opportunities:
1. Meet or exceed the requirements of ASHRAE Standard 62-1999.
2. Improve space control to meet the health needs of Standard 62-1999 and meet or exceed the generally accepted requirements of AS HRAE Standard 55-1992.
Maintaining IAQ and comfort
We have the ability to improve the health and lifestyle of close to 9.5 million workers in the United States and scores of hospitality facilities. This can be accomplished through the implementation of procedures to maintain the IAQ and comfort to ASHRAE standards. For a one-time investment with a year payback, the savings of over $250 billion dollars net present value for 20 years is staggering.
Related Links
www.grainger.com/energy
www.nemionline.org
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