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Bask in Savings, Protect the Environment, and Generate a Buzz
With Use of Alternative Energy Sources
RESORTDEVELOPER.COM
vacation industry review
APRIL – JUNE 2016
GREEN SCENE
Soaking up Savings
Breckenridge Grand Vacations chose to underline its deep dedication to
sustainability by purchasing solar panels in two community-owned
photovoltaic arrays developed and maintained by the Clean Energy
Collective (CEC).
“The monetary credit that we receive for the solar energy has saved
us 66 percent on our electricity bills since January 2014,” says Jessica
Hoover, sustainability manager for Breckenridge Grand Vacations. The
784,102 kilowatt hours (kWh) generated by the developer’s solar panels
more than offset the electricity consumed by the 88-employee
corporate office in downtown Breckenridge, as well as the 35-room
Breck Inn, a boutique hotel the company manages a mile away.
Karisma Hotels & Resorts has installed more than 1,000 rooftop
solar panels at its resorts on Mexico’s Riviera Maya. Solar boosts the effi-
ciency of hybrid water heaters that run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
or propane, one of the most common alternative fuels used in the world.
“In the last few years, they have allowed us to reduce gas
Sunshine is a staple of the vacation business.
Few
luxury amenities are as reliable, while requiring no capital outlay and
zero maintenance. Fewer still can be enlisted to pay your electric bill.
When just one hour of sunlight produces more energy than the world
uses in a year, it makes no sense to surrender upward of 10 percent of
gross revenue to electricity and other fossil fuels.
So, while vacationers bask on the beaches of Mexico’s Riviera Maya
or the ski slopes of Breckenridge, Colorado, timeshare resorts are using
naturally recurring — or renewable — energy sources such as solar
power to whittle away at expenses in key operating areas.
By Joyce Hadley Copeland
22
ABOVE: The quieter inverter air conditioners used by Karisma reduce energy consumption by
30 percent. TOP: Breckenridge Grand Vacations’ solar energy investment offsets the electricity
consumed by its corporate offices and one of its properties.
Let the Sun Shine In