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Denver gets their first LEED Gold status hotel

By Chloe Tse, June 6, 2014 at 6:12 pm

University-owned hotel in downtown Denver is generating a green buzz for being the first LEED Gold certified hotel in the city.

SpringHill Suites, owned by the Metropolitan State University of Denver and apart of the Marriott brand portfolio is promoting eco-friendly hotels as energy efficiency and sustainability has been built into its design.

“The public-private partnership between MSU Denver and Sage Hospitality created a vibrant hotel that opened in 2012, as well as the state-of-the-art Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center (HLC), the first of its kind in the Rocky Mountain region and one of only 11 in the United States,” reports the Marriott News Center.

The 150-suite hotel and learning center combined managed to score 62 LEED points earning the title as the first LEED Gold status hotel in Denver with their green features, according to Commercial Property Executive.

There are some exciting green, energy-efficient features

SpringHill Suites is making excellent use of daylighting in 90 per cent of regularly occupied areas — which cuts down on the demand for artificial light (energy-efficient or otherwise) and is using only high efficiency plumbing fixtures as this hotel also maximizes water efficiency.

To ensure optimal energy performance, these folks installed efficient mechanical and electrical equipment throughout the building that’s reduced the energy costs by 22 per cent, according to the SpringHill Suites website.

With low VOC paints and flooring, it’s also important to point out that 25 per cent of the total building materials was locally sourced while almost 20 per cent of the building was constructed with recycled materials. When it came to managing the waste of the construction, more than 78 per cent of the material waste got recycled.

Denver’s first LEED Gold hotel offers full recycling in guest rooms, classrooms and offices as well as having a compost program for food waste. When it comes to keeping things clean, only green cleaning products for housekeeping and food and beverage departments.

Also? There’s bike storage. This hotel encourages public transportation and the riding of bicycles as they understand where carbon emissions come from and want to encourage the reduction of that.