Why hotels are showing such a great interest in the "Earth Hour"

The famous Hilton New York Waldorf Astoria encourages guests to switch off the room lights during "Earth Hour". (That will also prevent the guests from noticing other, less appealing "guests" in the room)


There may be several reasons why hotels are so interested in promoting "Earth Hour". However, the major reason is obvious: By turning lights and other electric equipment off they can save a few bucks while at the same time being able to pretend that they care about "sustainability" and the need to prevent "climate change".  It is a continuation of their traditional dishonest campaign asking people not to demand daily clean towels and bed sheets etc.

Hilton Worldwide is a fine example of this corporate hypocrisy:

Hotels Around the World Participate to Support Energy Conservation “We intend to make a big difference through our sustainable actions, and Earth Hour is a unique opportunity for the Hilton Worldwide portfolio of brands to show its continued commitment to this important effort.”
Hilton Worldwide and its portfolio of 10 distinct hotel brands announced its participation to celebrate Earth Hour 2011 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, March 26, 2011. As more than a billion people and organizations around the world turn off their lights in support of energy conservation, Earth Hour will be recognized at thousands of hotels in Hilton Worldwide’s portfolio of brands including Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations.
“As a global company with more than 3,600 hotels in 82 countries, Hilton Worldwide is always looking for ways to reduce energy consumption,” said Paul Brown, President of Global Brands & Commercial Services, Hilton Worldwide.

• Switching off main building exterior lighting and rooftop neon signage
• Shutting down business center equipment
• Dimming interior lights in lobby and reception area
• Encouraging guests to switch off their room lights
• Staging special candle-lit dinners and events to raise awareness

Hilton Worldwide has also encouraged properties within its portfolio to get creative with their Earth Hour celebrations. The Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu will encourage guests to turn off their lights and televisions and join in its second annual hour of storytelling titled “Ghost Stories, Myths & Legends of Hawaii” with one of Hawaii’s master storytellers, while the Mersin Hilton in Sokak, Turkey, is organizing a show for local students to increase their knowledge about the environment. Additional properties including the Hilton London Kensington, the Hilton Cartagena in Colombia and others around the world will recognize the initiative by creating special drinks and menus with a “green” theme, as well as preparing only cold menu items.

PS

Yes, I  believe Paul Brown, President of Global Brands & Commercial Services, when he says that "Hilton Worldwide is always looking for ways to reduce energy consumption” - everybody wants to cut costs. But he - and others in the hotel business - should cut out the dishonest crap about "sustainability". And Hilton Worldwide seems to take pride in announcing that they are "Shutting down business center equipment" during the earth hour. This is, of course, an outrage. Busy business excecutives paying a lot of money for staying at Hilton hotels are prevented from using the business centers because some stupid President of Global Brands & Commercial Services has decided to close the "equipment" during "Earth Hour".

No, Mr. Brown, this is not acceptable! There are fortunately other excellent - and even better - hotels, which have chosen not to join the fake "Earth Hour" bandwaggon. These hotels are not "Dimming interior lights in lobby and reception area" either. And they also offer decent hot meals!

And, Mr. Brown, here is some free advice for you to consider, if you are planning to add some new "sustainability" measures  at the Hilton hotels during next year´s "Earth Hour":

• No water in bathrooms (by reducing the use of water, we can surely fight global warming effectively)
• Toilet paper will be removed from the guest rooms during "Earth Hour" (good against gobal warming)
• Lifts in all hotels will be closed during " Earth Hour" (saves electricity and prevents global warming)
• Only vegetarian cold food is served (very good against global warming)
• No room service during "Earth Hour" (less phone calls and waiter activity prevents global warming)
• Cold water in all pools (very good in fight against global warming)
• Only people who believe in human induced global warming are allowed to stay in the hotels on that day (This would be the ultimate sustainability activity making Hilton Worldwide a global leader in the fight against global warming)

I wish you and the "Hilton Portfolio of Brands" the best of  luck with the planning of next year´s "Earth Hour"!

Oh, one additional piece of  free advice:
In light of what you are doing, you might want to change your slogan "Filling the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality" to e.g. "Replacing the light and warmth of hospitability with the darkness of North Korea"