Solar hotel is the first ecological, economical and activist hotel in Paris, and has a genuine environmental policy as part of its day-to-day strategy and management. The services offered by the hotel are completely in line with environmental concerns. Solar Hotel is wholly committed to an activist approach of ecotourism, sustainable development, and protection of the environment and of the health of its guests.
In order to be ecological, the hotel has taken the following steps:
1. Saving energy
The hallways, public areas and rooms are lit exclusively with energy saving Led and fluorescent compact bulbs. Lights on the landings are controlled by motion detectors. Some of the outdoor lighting is provided by solar photovoltaic panels.
2. Saving water
All the showers and sinks are equipped with water-saving faucets. The toilets use fewer than six liters. Rainwater is collected and used to water the plants and the garden and to wash the sidewalk. On each floor and at the hotel bar, glass, paper, plastic and batteries are collected. Organic wastes from breakfast are recycled in a mechanical composter in the garden. The guests and employees of the hotel are provided with the information necessary for optimizing recycling.
3. Carbon Footprint
In order to analyze its impact on the environment, Solar Hotel is the first economical hotel to measure its Carbon Footprint This will be published annually at the same time as its financial balance sheet.
4. Health and comfort of guests and employees
The hotel and all of its rooms have been non-smoking for six years. All the cleaning and dining products are biodegradable. The soap and shower gel offered in each room also respect the environment: they are natural, not tested on animals, contain no palm oil, and have no useless packaging.
Products used to renovate the rooms, such as paint and glue for carpeting, contain no solvents.
5. No electromagnetic waves while you sleep
Applying maximum precaution in matters of health, Solar Hotel provides WiFi only in the lobby of the hotel. There is no WiFi in the rooms. To compensate, PCs and internet sockets are freely available throughout the hotel.
6. Bicycles
Free bicycles are provided for hotel guests. Public transportation is promoted: maps, schedules and other information are available.
7. Organic Breakfast 100%
All of the food served for breakfast comes from organic agriculture: jam, bread, pastries, fruit juice, coffee.
B. The Ethical challenges this company is addressing.
Because of the heavy task it has taken on as the first ecological hotel in Paris, the Solar Hotel must maintain its high standard. As an advocate for more ecological living, it must be the example for not only the hotel industry but also the
In addition, the Solar Hotel has to balance ecological living with the comfort of its guest. It must not compromise the pursuit of ecological living for the primary purpose of its activity; provide comfort and shelter to its customers.
C. What makes you believe this company is really ethical and why you trust it?
The owner, decided to convert his old hotel into a virtual ecological marvel in the middle of Paris. The reason we are inspired by this company and the hotel it runs, is that it remains a low cost hotel despite all of the work put in to make it ecological. Ecological hotels have often been priced out of the range of ordinary travelers. With the prices it offers anyone wanting to support this type of endeavor can do so at the lowest cost. Another great aspect of the low cost is that it exposes people who would not necessarily know about ecological matters to an alternative way of life without compromising comfort.
The Solar Hotel is also a militant hotel. It has proclaimed that if the 25 000 hotels in France all adopted the same recycling practices, tens of thousands of tons of wastes would be recycled, eliminating the need for several incinerators and reducing by hundreds of tons the emission of dangerous dioxins into the air.
Despite the great improvements they have made to make their hotel more ecological, the Solar Hotel still pushes towards more far reching changes. For instance, the goal of the Solar hotel is to sort and recycle 90% of its trash, reduce its electricity usage by 75% and finally reduce its water usage by 50%.
It never stops wanting to improve despite its success and we find that inspiring.
D.The possible challenges facing the company in the future and how you think this company may improve.
Solar Hotel wants to expand and have more hotels in Europe and eventually Africa. Replicating the model of the Solar Hotel will be difficult and require a great deal of expertise and commitment. In addition, if the philosophy of the company is to be maintained, the company will be advocating for ecological living in places they are not familiar with.
Future Ethical Challenges
Solar Hotel is confronted with the following future ethical challenges.
1. Energy saving or cost control- The benefits of branding or promoting hotels as environmentally friendly are obvious especially when you look at conservation targets like 75% of electricity, 50% of water. The trap however is to play an ecological part while at the same time doing too much cost-control at the expense of the customers.
2. Enough is enough or it is not enough- Budget hotels are an attractive concept for travelers. This means that rooms are very much limited. This could lead to overbooking and turning down more customers than expected. Service, which is all-important in the hotel industry, could also suffer as a result.
3. It is to offer simple service or it is just simple to offer the service? The Solar Hotel believes in simple service such as regular and consistent breakfast. New customers would be happy with simpler service however regular guest might want more advantages.
How to Take the Challenges
Solar Hotel is the first ethical hotel in Paris. Its courage and spirit in the past several years set an example for those who are likely to take the same path.
In order to inspire more, Solar Hotel should be ready to take the challenges ahead as long as first, it continues to benefit customers; second, it promises not to serve the money; and finally it provides good and improving services.
All the above will help them deal with dilemmas that they are sure to face.
Start a new discussion
1 Discussion / 5 Messages