SPECIAL REPORT : CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
HEALTHY
RELATIONSHIP
In 2008 , before Aranwa Hotels Resorts & Spas even opened its first hotel — Aranwa Sacred Valley Hotel & Wellness , in Peru ’ s Urubamba Valley — the Lima-based company opened a small medical clinic in the nearby village of Urquillos . The remote community of about 5,000 had almost no access to health care , and Aranwa ’ s parent company — health care provider San Pablo Group — had the resources to provide help .
“ It was a perfect match ,”
efforts , “ green ” projects often are among the easiest to quantify . Take the Westin Michigan Avenue in Chicago , which began pursuit of its Green Seal certification in 2007 and today still maintains silver status under that program . “ We are trying to alleviate any negative impact on the planet by following positive , sustaining practices ,” says Sustainability Manager Laura Kane . “ It became our true passion .”
notes Aranwa Deputy General Manager Gabriel Alvarez Huiman . “ The clinic served as a tangible example that we were not there to exploit the town , but we were going to create something with them .”
The clinic offers free consultations in internal medicine , dermatology , pneumology , gynecology and urology . In 2010 , according to Alvarez Huiman , it averaged about 1,800 visits — a number that grew to 2,600 last year . Aranwa is on track to reach 4,000 consultations this year and perhaps introduce new specialties . “ This is not something you see in your EBITDA ,”
Aranwa is aiming to reach 4,000 consultations this year at its free medical clinic in the remote village of Urquillos , Peru .
Alvarez Huiman says of the clinic ’ s ROI . “ It is something that can be measured in how well the community reacts to your engagement .”
He offers an example : When flooding impacted the area a couple years ago and the town restricted most tour buses ’ access to a local bridge , it allowed Aranwa ’ s bus to pass through without a problem . “ It ’ s very anecdotal , but it ’ s those small details that show we ’ re building a strong relationship with the community ,” Alvarez Huiman notes . “ It is definitely a strong point that we work towards .”
That passion has taken the form of everything from vermicomposting — harvesting worm excrement as organic fertilizer for the hotel ’ s garden — to details of the recent US $ 7 million renovation of the property ’ s event spaces , during which 90 % of all construction debris was recycled .
The Westin Michigan Avenue ’ s green commitment has translated to real ROI as well . Kane points to the hotel ’ s switch from incandescent to CFL light bulbs , which helped reduce the property ’ s US $ 865,000 annual electric bill in 2007 to US $ 690,000 in 2011 . She also highlights the aerators installed in faucets in each of the hotel ’ s 752 guestrooms , which cost less than US $ 1 apiece but saved US $ 61,000 in water costs within the first year .
The Hong Kong-based Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels , owner and operator of The Peninsula Hotels , cites similar numbers . Natalie Chan , senior manager , corporate responsibility and sustainability , notes that over the past three years , the company ’ s environmental engineering projects have helped save more than 48,000 gigajoules of energy and 200,000 cubic meters of water — equivalent to 1 million bathtubs of water . “ We are convinced that sustainability and profitable business growth can go hand in hand ,” Chan adds .
“ It ’ s still common thinking that CSR programs cost money , when the opposite is true ,” Knop says . “ Another approach is to look at opportunity-cost models . I ’ ve seen firsthand how sizable corporate accounts can take their business elsewhere if hotels don ’ t have a CSR program in place .”
The Rezidor Hotel Group , Brussels , has boasted an environmental policy since 1989 and a comprehensive responsible business program since 2001 . Beyond statistics about green savings , however , Inge Huijbrechts , director , responsible business , cites employee satisfaction scores related to Rezidor ’ s CSR strategy . “ Our overall employee satisfaction is very high at 86.7 %, and similar scores are achieved for the detailed responsible businessrelated questions ,” Huijbrechts notes .
When viewing CSR through a broader lens , however , ROI becomes tougher to measure . Gass notes that events like The Armory Show certainly provide a bump in revenue , but concedes that when it comes to gauging emotional engagement , determining even the proper measurement tool is tricky . “ People are stumped ,” she says . “ They don ’ t know how to address how exposure to or engagement with arts
22 HOTELS May 2012 www . hotelsmag . com