In a one-of-a-kind initiative in the tourist town of Westport, one hotel is helping the environment as well as helping keep some money in the pockets of its guests.
Westport Woods Hotel and Spa has changed its heating from oil fuelled to wood pellet (stored in an energy cabin on the grounds of the hotel ) and solar power as part of its environmental programme which it has been developing over the past five years.
“Our interest in the environment goes through every aspect of the hotel,” Michael Lennon, general manager, explained. He said he was very proud of the hotel achieving this goal and said that guests will benefit from the reduction in energy prices as energy costs are lower than competitors and the hotel are “happy to pass that reduction on to our guests.”
Guests are also invited to take part in the programme by using a green bin in the hotel bedrooms and staff are always keen to show guests the eco-friendly systems which are now in place. All the individual TV sets have also been replaced with low energy flat panel screens and a new and more efficient control system has been introduced for the air handling.
In the leisure centre the pool is heated by wood pellets and a pool blanket has also been installed which retains heat and reduces energy use. Natural light coming through large windows in both the gym and pool areas means less need for artificial light and exercise machines are dynamo driven, literally powering themselves. An insulation programme for the fabric of the building itself is currently being implemented.
From these advantageous developments the hotel has reduced its waste going to landfill from 240 tonnes to less than 40 tonnes and CO2 emissions have been reduced by 14 per cent since 2004 and the hotel hopes to continue to reduce their carbon footprint. The hotel has also won the Environmental section of the Mayo Business Awards for the last two years running and received a prestigious Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI ) award.
