Hammons property receives conservation award

The 359-room Holiday Inn Sacramento Capitol Plaza Hotel and Convention Center was recognized as the largest conserver of natural gas energy out of the 7,200 hotels in its service territory.

Among the hotel’s special features is an ozone laundry system, which reduces the hotel’s annual energy usage by 10 percent by shortening wash cycles, increasing disinfection and reducing wear on linens.

An average 300-room hotel uses 150,000 therms of energy annually. The Sacramento property saved more than 11,000 therms, equal to 1.1 million cubic feet of natural gas – enough to heat 30 households for a year.

“As a country, we are becoming more conscious of energy management at home and modifying our behaviors accordingly,” said Barry Erickson, director of facilities management for Springfield-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, in a company news release. “We encourage staff to apply this same approach to energy consumption at the workplace. We provide the equipment and procedures to help with compliance and the forums to encourage discussion of the importance of conservation and ideal techniques.”

Erickson added that behavioral changes in the company’s 73 hotels, combined with energy-saving technology, have reduced energy usage for the chain by 7 percent to 10 percent.