PROFILES IN GREEN

 
Club Intrawest Resort

If you ask James Winchester, GM of Club Intrawest Resort in Palm Desert to describe to you what efforts she and her staff have made to be eco-conscious, you will be impressed and inspired.  I sure was when I visited with Deb and her staff for a first hand look at their sustainability program.  Their efforts have been so successful, that Club Intrawest now evaluates its properties on their implementation of sustainability measures. 

Club Intrawest in Palm Desert started on their quest to reduce their energy consumption a few years back.  They installed lighting and power controls for their guestrooms that can sense when the occupants leave the room and actually shuts the TV's, lights and radios off.  Just that one measure saves them thousands of dollars per year and has paid for itself already.  Then, they installed motion sensors in their arcade and vending machine room to reduce the energy usage on those machines.  When someone's in the room, they start up, when the room is vacant, they are off.  Think how much in savings we would be racking up and the lower impact on the electrical grid if schools, airports and other public places had the same measures in place.  It's not hard, if you are interested in motion sensors for these types of machines, there's a couple on the market.  The most popular option and the one that Club Intrawest uses is Vendor Miser.  It's worth a look...go to: http://www.usatech.com/energy_management/energy_vm.php for more info.  They even have a handy calculator that will show your potential savings!

Club Intrawest has also installed solar heaters for their pools which has yielded big savings and reduced their dependency on carbon based fuels.  Deb's staff contribute greatly to the spirit of conservation by monitoring their energy usage and utilizing motion sensors and timers that shut off appliances when they're not in use. 

All in all, Club Intrawest is a thriving example of how little changes can yield big savings, not only on our environment, but on the bottom line as well.  Now that's a concept I think we can all get behind. 

If you would like more information on Club Intrawest's energy efficiency program, you may contact Angela Roman at aroman@clubintrawest.com