Rising energy costs have prompted some hotels here and elsewhere to add energy surcharges to their room rates.


Last month, Spokanes WestCoast Hospitality Corp., instituted a daily surcharge of $2.75 per room, at many of its hotels, says Ron Anderson, regional manager for WestCoast and general manager of the WestCoast Grand Hotel at the Park here.


Hilton Hotels Corp., which operates two DoubleTree hotels in the Spokane area, began charging a $3 per room, per day energy surcharge at most of its properties nationwide on April 1, says Jeff Fox, general manager at the DoubleTree Hotel Spokane Valley.


Other hotels here simply have raised their rates to counter increasing energy costs, while some hope to curb costs through energy-conservation measures.


Labor and energy are the biggest costs for us, Anderson says. This (energy) crisis blindsided the hospitality industry.


WestCoasts natural-gas costs jumped about 94 percent this past winter, compared with a year earlier, he says. We have to offset those natural-gas price increases or cut back in services or something.


WestCoasts energy surcharge has met with little resistance from hotel guests, Anderson says, adding, People understand.


Before convention groups arrive to check in, WestCoast hotel employees call meeting planners who have booked blocks of rooms to tell them of the surcharge. At the front desk of each hotel, managers have posted a letter that says while the hotel chain has undertaken conservation measures, the energy crisis has necessitated a surcharge until costs return to normal.


By calling out the (energy) expense rather than just increasing our rates, it will be on peoples minds to practice energy conservation while they are here, Anderson says.


Spokane-based Luxury Hospitality Corp., which manages Hotel Lusso, Kempis Hotel Suites, and Hannahs Garden Inn here, decided against adding an energy surcharge to guests bills and opted instead to increase room rates by about $4, says Doug Griepp, the companys vice president of sales and marketing. We werent planning on increasing rates this spring and summer, but we dont want to nickel and dime people to death. We want to make things as simple and smooth as possible for our clients.


Prices for entrees at Fugazzi, the restaurant at Hotel Lusso, also have been increased to help cover energy costs.


Seeking efficiencies


Other hoteliers here have chosen not to add surcharges or to raise rates. Hospitality Associates Inc., a Spokane-based hotel management company, has discussed adding fees to help meet energy costs, but instead chose to focus on making its 45 hotels in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Hawaii more energy efficient, says Mike Metcalf, the companys vice president of human resources. Theres the irritation of another fee and the impact of that on guests, he says.


About 18 months ago, Hospitality Associates took advantage of an Avista Utilities program that evaluated energy use at all of its properties and made suggestions for improving efficiency, says Jeff Lyman, Hospitality Associates chief operating officer. Since the evaluation, the company has installed more-efficient fluorescent lighting in guest rooms, hallways, and public areas; has replaced exit signs with versions that use less energy; and has installed guest energy-monitoring systems, which employ sensors that monitor whether a room is unoccupied and automatically adjust temperatures and turn out lights.


Thus far, about a third of the companys hotels have been upgraded to conserve energy, Lyman says. The upgrades cost between $20,000 and $40,000 per hotel.


Metcalf says Hospitality Associates also has stepped up a program that gives guests who are staying at a hotel for several days the option of using the same towels and sheets more than one day to save energy and water. He says managers at some of the companys hotels had chosen to offer the program to guests in the past, and now all properties are promoting the choice. Hotels customarily change sheets and towels each day.


Meanwhile, Hampton Inn, which is under Hiltons corporate umbrella, hasnt added an energy surcharge and has avoided room rate increases, says Ralph Morgan, director of operations at the hotel division of Vandervert Development LLC, a Spokane company that owns the Hampton Inn here. Vandervert Development also operates the Quality Inn Oakwood on Spokanes North Side and Hampton Inns in the Tri-Cities, and in Kalispell, Mont.


The four Vandervert Development hotels have lowered the temperatures of their swimming pools to 82 degrees from 85 degrees, have installed energy-saving fluorescent lights, and have placed letters in all guest rooms asking customers to conserve energy, Morgan says. The company also is considering starting a program to encourage the re-use of sheets and towels on multi-day stays.


Rita Santillanes, co-owner of the Best Western PepperTree Airport Inn and Liberty Lake Inn, says she doesnt want to add an energy surcharge to pay for something the guest thinks is included in the room rate. She also thinks the market for hotel stays here is too soft to handle a room-rate increase. Its kind of a Catch-22 for us, she says, adding that her hotels will focus on energy efficiency.


Hotels that have instituted additional charges to cover rising energy costs have stepped up conservation efforts, too.


The DoubleTrees Fox says the hotel keeps its pool covered longer, has housekeepers adjust thermostats in unoccupied guest rooms, and has installed more efficient lighting.


Anderson says WestCoast has replaced light bulbs with more efficient models, stepped up maintenance on its rooftop air-conditioning units to cut energy use, and installed motion sensors at its pop-vending machines that turn off display lights when no one is near the machines. The company also offers guests the option of re-using their sheets and towels. In the hotel restaurants kitchens, employees now turn off ranges except when theyre in use, thaw frozen foods in coolers rather than under running water, and some restaurants in the chain use chemical rinses in dishwashers so less hot water is needed, he says.