Air pollution, water and energy shortages, climate change – the environment used to be much more balanced. For the German based Maritim Hotel chain the protection of the world around them has therefore become an important point on their agenda and is self-understood these days. In their hotels they have introduced a variety of measures which save energy, avoid unnecessary waste and protect nature.
Bad Salzuflen/Germany – All Maritim Hotels are first class regarding the efficient use of energy. They heat with energy friendly natural gas or district heating rather than wasting the limited resource of oil. Some even produce their own energy, they have their own thermal power station. In sun destinations such as Tenerife solar collectors on the roofs heat the water needed inside.
The natural resource water is used very carefully. Flow restrictors in the showers, water saving push buttons for flushing the toilets and delimiter water taps which let the water pearl out softly instead of splash guarantee that no drop is unnecessarily wasted. In the bathrooms signs remind the guests of the high amount of water and detergent consumed if towels are changed on a daily basis. The guests can then decide individually whether they really want new towels each day. About half of them opt for a multiple use.
The Maritim Hotel Gelsenkirchen in the West German Ruhr Area recently participated in a regional eco profit coaching and qualification programme which supports companies who want to save energy and raw materials. Thus firms learn to take care of the environment and at the same time save their budgets. The hotel was awarded the „Eco Profit Company 2006“ for its various eco friendly measures such as the construction of a collecting tank for unused pool water. Special filters clean the water and feed it back into the pool after processing. The hotel team also increased the temperature in the cold store for drinks by two degrees centigrade, a measure which saves 1,050 kilo watt hours of energy per annum.
In most hotels, such as in the new Maritim Hotel Berlin, Maritim uses energy saving lamps. Up to 80 percent of all lighting fixtures are equipped with such lamps. Conventional lighting is only used in places where a specific atmosphere cannot be achieved by the new technology. Time switches have been installed everywhere – from the bathrooms to the corridors. The air conditioning works with electronically steered by-air systems. All Maritim staff in all hotels are regularly instructed by their technical directors regarding all environmental issues. The Maritim Hotel Berlin could thus lower its electricity consumption by approximately 30 percent during the past two years.
Strict waste separation is a must in all Maritim hotels. Whether it is plastic packaging, bio waste, glass, paper or other waste – each recyclable item goes into a separate container. Thus glass can be processed into glass again and paper into paper, without the environment suffering.
With currently 48 hotels, Maritim Hotelgesellschaft is ranked among the leading German hotel chains. Eleven of the hotels are abroad in Belek, Marmaris and Alanya (all Turkey), Djerba and Yasmine Hammamet (Tunisia), Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), Malta, Mauritius, Riga (Latvia) and Tenerife. As the marketing and sales partner of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc Maritim is represented worldwide. The strong position of the Maritim Hotelgesellschaft within the European first class hotel market will be strengthened further by continual growth.
