Day on the Job - Orchard Garden Hotel

On Friday, November 9^th, 2007 six UC Davis GSMers joined USF’s Net Impact Chapter for a Day on the Job at the Orchard Garden Hotel, San Francisco’s only LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified hotel. We met with Stefan Mühle, General Manager for both the Orchard Garden and its sister property, The Orchard Hotel, who graciously took time out of his busy schedule to discuss the background behind the construction of this “green” hotel and giving us a back-of-the-house and guest room tour.

The concept for the hotel was born through Stefan’s planning meeting with a Swinerton Construction representative who happened to be from their “green” division, Swinerton Green. Pitching it to the owner, Mrs. S.C. Huang, was simple as she is a strong believer in enjoying a healthy lifestyle within a clean, fresh environment. She lost her father, husband and daughter to cancer or cancer-related illnesses and built this “green” hotel in their honor.

Unique to other hotels in San Francisco, the Orchard Garden Hotel was built with sustainability in mind, literally from the ground up. The foundation consists of fly ash concrete, a by-product of recycling coal and many of the decorative walls throughout the hotel and restaurant are made with formaldehyde-free particleboard and non-toxic glues. Beyond the framework and construction practices, there are many in-room and public space sustainability features such as an in-room recycling system, compact fluorescent light bulbs, furniture made of wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as harvested in a sustainable way from non-virgin rainforests and San Francisco’s first guestroom key card energy control system.

One of the most remarkable incorporations of environmental sustainability practices was born through collaboration with the housekeeping staff. Both hotels share staff and to generate buy-in from the housekeeping staff - who traditionally believed that only their cleaning products with harsh chemicals would be effective in keeping hotel rooms clean and sanitary - the hotel implemented a three month testing period at the original Orchard Hotel and, afterwards the staff was converted. Truly an example of developing an idea organically, the housekeeping staff was separated into two cohorts, one group continuing to use the chemical-laden products for six weeks while the other began using the chemical-free cleaning products; after six weeks, the groups switched for another six weeks. At the end of the trial period, there was overwhelming support for the new chemical-free products – no more dry hands, no more teary-eyes from the chemicals and no more respiratory problems. The housekeeping staff was able to feel as if they were a part of the decision making process and continue to be strong supporters of the chemical-free products.

Many hotels are following suit and have come to inquire about the Orchard Garden’s environmentally sustainable business practices and hopefully, some day in the not too distant future, the rest of the hospitality industry will be able to follow the lead of this innovative hotel.

Mananya Chansanchai, GSM '09