Dispensing Savings

Floating 1,000 miles northeast of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean is a patch of plastic pieces swirling in a gigantic whirlpool. Colloquially called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the debris field is filled with bits of old light bulbs, bottle caps, tooth brushes, plastic bottles and other tiny pieces of broken down plastic. And though the pieces are individually tiny, their impact is enormous. This ball of garbage is now estimated to be twice the size of Texas...and growing.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is gaining notoriety, as Captain Charles Moore, founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, has been spreading his mission of reducing pollution and plastic waste across college campuses, in national publications such as National Geographic and the Los Angeles Times, and even recently on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report. His research, which is available at www.algalita.org, demonstrates how what we do on land affects even the most remote parts of our planet, including our oceans.

It should be a wakeup call to everyone, but particularly those in the hospitality industry, where thousands of pounds of plastic waste are created each day from tiny plastic amenity containers that are used once and discarded into the trash.

Amenities are often singled out as being one of the most wasteful components to a hotel's operations. On the other hand, amenities are also a key component to guest satisfaction. So even though it's clear that the packaging, the plastic wrappings and the all-around waste is not efficient and cost-effective, many hotels are resistant to change.

But that mindset is finally starting to change. Economically, hotels are finding that providing amenities in dispensers can save up to 70 percent compared to traditional amenity costs. Maybe more importantly, hotels are also finding that the dispensed amenities now available rival or surpass traditional amenities in quality.

'In the past couple of years, certainly there has been a proliferation of brands of liquids and 'designer' liquids. There has also been an awakening of the traveling public and the hotel industry about the huge waste created by individually packaged amenities,' says Ian Wallace, president of Dispenser Amenities. 'The recession has also led the hoteliers to think about the reduced cost of buying liquids in bulk. Ten billion tiny bottles going to landfills every year from the hotel industry is the definition of 'not sustainable!''

For those hotels looking to bulk package their amenity program, Pineapple Hospitality - the premier distributor of "Green" Hotel Products and Marketing Programs for the Hospitality Industry - now offers a selection of the cleanest, greenest and most stylish amenity dispensers on the market. Pineapple's green hospitality product line includes:

• GreenSpa Amenites and Dispensers

• Sonoma Soap Co. Amenities and Dispensers

• Earth Perfect Amenities and Dispensers

'Dispensers had an initial hurdle of overcoming the 'locker room' image that many people had,' says Ray Burger, President of Pineapple Hospitality. 'Now, hotels and guests have caught on that the environmental benefits of dispensers can co-exist with luxury. Hotels such as The Gaia Hotel in Napa Valley, The Q Hotel in Kansas City, The Lodge at Cliff Castle in Arizona and the New England Center Hotel on the campus of the University of New Hampshire are just a few of the high-end hotels that provide amenities in dispensers.'

'And not only do guests appreciate the dispensers from an environmental perspective, they often find dispensers are actually much simpler and more convenient to use than locating and then fumbling around with tiny bottles in the shower,' Burger adds.

Dispenser acceptance grows

There are a number of reasons that more hotels are turning to dispenser amenity programs for their bathrooms and showers. Some of the benefits of using liquid amenity dispensers over individual amenities include:

• Saving money.

• Saving storage space.

• Saving housekeeping time.

• Wider choice of quality products.

• Saving counter space in guest bathrooms.

• An ever-ready supply of soap and shampoo.

• A growing awareness regarding the vast amount of oil used to manufacture and transport all of these plastic bottles.

• Increased concern for our planet and its precious resources, as well as the significant environmental impact of annually landfilling 10 million-plus little plastic hotel amenity bottles.

'Acceptance of the dispenser concept has happened because the early pioneer hoteliers have embraced the idea and that passion has spread to every eco-caring hotelier in the world,' says Wallace. 'What was once a completely 'foreign' idea is now becoming part of the thinking of every hotel chain because they are beginning to grasp the waste problem and are paying attention to the cost issues. Guest surveys have, for many years, been hugely supportive of the delivery of high quality liquids in high quality dispensers.'

Dispenser Amenities estimates that the world's hotels must dispose of over 10 billion pieces of packaging from shower amenities each year, the majority of them only partially used.

Pineapple Hospitality has found much success with its GreenSpa branded amenity dispensers. Pineapple's line of GreenSpa amenities include liquid hand soaps, lotions, body wash, shampoo and conditioner.

GreenSpa products are available in gallon sizes making it a cost effective solution to bottled amenities. The products are biodegradable and hypoallergenic, using no animal by-products and no animal testing. The GreenSpa dispensers are durable and re-fillable and sure to enhance bath, shower, vanity and sink applications.

John Hunter of Hunter Amenities says, 'By upgrading to an amenity dispenser program, 'going green' can be very affordable and doable for any hospitality property. Making the switch to dispensed amenities is an easy move for hotel owner/operators because it saves significant time, space and money, while guests feel zero negative impact from a satisfaction standpoint. In fact, most guests applaud the move.

'Many hospitality clients are looking for more green formulas and recycled packaging,' Hunter says. 'We also have developed clean formulas that are paraben-free, mineral oil free and gentle on the environment.'

Best Practices

Switching to dispensed amenities to eliminate packaging waste is a best practice recommended by the California Green Lodging Program and several of the most prominent Green Certification programs encourage the use of Amenities from Dispensers.

Also, according to Mary Ann Pettorini, Executive Vice President for Power Brands Corp. - creators of the Earth Perfect amenities - a hotel's amenity program is a great opportunity to develop a custom brand that resonates with guests and creates value for your hotel.

'Expectations regarding amenity product quality and brand sophistication have risen and will continue to do so on a global basis,' Pettorini says. 'Amenity programs reflect the values and aesthetic viewpoints of a hotel and guests are receptive to positive experiences and relevant branding. Creating a strategic custom brand, or utilizing a retail brand that aligns with the branding of a property is smart marketing on the part of hoteliers.'

The Earth Perfect Amenity Dispenser program merges luxurious advanced formulations with an environmentally conscious mindset. Earth Perfect incorporates the benefits of an advanced, luxury product collection with organic extracts and is sulfate and paraben free. The product line includes Yarrow Shampoo, Jojoba Conditioner and Bayberry Bodywash, available in a one-gallon size to use with the stylish Earth Perfect Dispensers.

'While the luxury category will likely become more segmented, 'green' is a concept that can be interpreted in every price range,' says Pettorini. 'It's unusual to meet a hotelier that is not implementing an eco-conscious initiative or to meet a guest that does not appreciate the effort.'

'We are in the business of creating experiences that build brand value. Providing guests with a quality amenity product and experience is at the very core of hospitality,' she adds.

A luxury hotels can't afford to miss

Wallace agrees that there is no barrier between luxury and the environment.

'Luxury brands are certainly slower to adopt the dispenser approach but the luxury guest 'gets it' too,' he says. 'It's the luxury brand management that is slower to adopt the concept. They want superior hardware to match the superior liquids that they provide. But that doesn't mean a dispenser cannot be a viable delivery system.'

Wallace's Dispensers are distributed by Pineapple Hospitality and offer the world's largest assortment of guest-room shower amenities dispensers, with a variety of looks, designs, finishes, numbers of chambers and price-points. But each dispenser, regardless of cost, uses the same patented pump and valve system that delivers an identical amount of the liquid with every push of the button.

'Our products look like what the guest would choose to use at home. Our designs are not 'commercial' or 'institutional' looking. They are completely reliable and easy to look after, from a housekeeping perspective,' Wallace says.

The Sonoma Soap Company also recently began offering its high-quality, health-conscious amenity collection in bulk sizes.

'Sonoma Soap products can help hotels maintain a greener business because each product is made domestically using natural, organic and environmentally sensitive ingredients,' says Cynthia Guy, Brand Manager for Marietta Corporation, the developer and manufacturer of the Sonoma Soap Company amenity line. 'It's important to make amenity lines that benefit the customer and environment. We want to reduce our carbon footprint by focusing on how we manufacture, transport and conduct business.'

Sonoma Soap products available through Pineapple Hospitality include the eco-friendly Citrus Medley shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion and hand soaps. The products contain natural and organic ingredients and leave guests with a clean body, hair and conscience; and go perfectly with Sonoma's three-chamber and two-chamber amenity dispensers.

'Dispensed amenities offer a greener method to deliver the same amenity to guests,' says Guy. 'It eliminates disposal of partially used bottles or soaps and the need to recycle the bottles and caps. The product is dispensed and used as needed and the dispenser refilled only when needed.'

'We're proud to offer all of these high-quality amenities and dispensers through Pineapple Hospitality,' says Burger. 'Together, we are changing the way hotels and their guests are looking at their amenities. We can no longer sit back while our landfills and our oceans fill up with waste that could have been prevented with a little foresight.'

'When people are at home, they don't use a bar of soap once and then throw it away. And they know it's a waste in a hotel. We just have to offer them an high-quality alternative that makes sense, which is what we have in GreenSpa, Sonoma Soap Co. and Earth Perfect dispensers.'

About Pineapple Hospitality
Headquartered in Saint Charles, Missouri, Pineapple Hospitality(TM) is an EPA ENERGY STAR(TM) partner bringing fresh ideas to hospitality guests' doors and owner/operators' bottom lines - including FreshStay(R) (www.freshstay.com), EcoRooms(R) & EcoSuites(TM) (www.EcoRooms.com) Environmentally Sensitive Amenities(TM), EO(R), Neutrogena(R), Earth Perfect, Earth Simple, ecossential elements and greenSPA(TM) amenities, AVIVA and WAVE dispensers, Energy Efficient Lighting and Controls, Custom Linen & Towel Re-Use Programs, Green Earth Key Cards, Sleeves and Folders, Energy Management Systems and Controls, High Performance showerheads, the Nature's Mist(TM) deodorization system, Zero Odor, and dozens of other products and programs. For more information, please visit www.pineapplehospitality.net, or call us at 636-922-2285.

America's Dirty Little Oil Secret: Plastic Bottles & Bags

Following are just a few of the many points made by businessshrink.biz's recent article, 'America's Dirty Little Oil Secret: Plastic Bottles & Bags':

• The annual production of 31.2 billion liters of water for the U.S. bottled water market requires 17.6 million barrels of oil - enough to run 1.5 million cars for an entire year.

• America and the world's addiction to plastic doesn't end there. Plastic bags have become commonplace all over the world for their ease of production and cheapness (2 cents per plastic bag vs. 4 cents to 6 cents for paper bags). The U.S. consumes 100 billion plastic shopping bags per year and worldwide consumption is estimated at up to 1 trillion plastic bags a year. That is roughly 1 million plastic bags a minute being consumed and less than 1% is recycled. That's up to 120 million barrels of oil used each year to produce plastic bags for worldwide consumption.

• Nearly 80% of PET bottles and 97% or more of plastic bags used in the U.S. are sent to landfills, where they typically will sit for 1,000 or more years.

America's dirty little oil secret is that while we are unhappy with the recent volatility in oil prices, we haven't changed our plastic consumption or recycling behaviors much.

Time to call Pineapple and make the move to bulk amenity dispensers stylishly designed for the hospitality market - planet- and guest-friendly solutions proven to help owner/operators cut related costs up to 70%!!!

Visit www.pineapplehospitality.net or call Ray at 636-922-2285 today.

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