Profitability is key to Willard InterContinental's far-reaching eco-friendly hotel environmental program.

Offering a detailed "road map" for sustainable operations, a new Green Hotel Industry White Paper from Cornell's Center for Hospitality Research details the comprehensive program implemented by the Willard InterContinental Washington Hotel.

The report, "Sustainable Hospitality©: Sustainable Development in the Hotel Industry," is written by Hervé Houdré, general manager of the Willard, and is available for download at no charge from the center's website at www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/pubs/perspective/. In addition to explaining the Willard's sustainable eco-friendly hotel development program, the Cornell Industry Perspectives paper outlines environmental efforts by several of the industry's major companies – including InterContinental, Marriott, and Taj – all of which are partners of the Center for Hospitality Research.

Houdré explains that the basis of sustainable hotel operation is a three-part balance, expressed as "profits, people, and planet." By taking those three elements into account, Houdré suggests, a sustainable green hotel development program becomes economically viable, as well as beneficial to the community and environment. As a result, the "road map" for the Willard InterContinental's eco-friendly hotel sustainability program extends far beyond conservation and recycling to conducting programs in the surrounding community and encouraging both guests and employees to consider a healthy lifestyle.

Sustainable Hotel Program Already Yields Dividends

As part of its sustainability program, the Willard InterContinental has switched its electricity source to 100-percent wind energy, encouraged employees to walk or run nearly 4,300 miles in 2007, and has begun a program of planting cherry trees near the National Mall and maintaining Pershing Park, which faces the hotel. In June 2008 the Willard hosted a Dean's Leadership Series event on sustainable "green hotel" practice that drew more than 150 industry and academic leaders and was chaired by Michael D. Johnson, dean of the School of Hotel Administration.

"Our hotel will demonstrate the way that sustainable development will be integral to future hotel operation," writes Houdré. "I see this as a long-term strategy." Given the length of time that the Willard has been in operation, Houdré believes that the long term is at least the next one hundred years.

The Willard InterContinental Washington Hotel is located in the heart of the nation's capital on Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House, the Smithsonian museums, and the downtown business and theatre districts. The Willard epitomizes world-class hospitality as the hotel of choice for heads of state and leaders of the world's business, cultural, social, and political elite. The hotel's 332 well-appointed large guestrooms include 40 elegant suites.

The classic Willard InterContinental combines heritage and luxury with contemporary comfort and the latest technology. An American institution, the Willard has hosted nearly every U.S. president since 1853. It was at the Willard that Julia Ward Howe wrote The Battle Hymn of the Republic, where President Ulysses S. Grant popularized the term "Lobbyist," and where Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King finished his renowned "I Have a Dream" speech.

Recently awarded the International Hotel & Restaurant Association's Environmental Award for Sustainability, the Willard has embarked on a green hotel sustainability program entitled, "Willard InterContinental - The Next 100 Years." The holistic plan is comprised of numerous interwoven sustainable projects designed for a luxurious urban hospitality experience in harmony with social and ecological consciousness. Please visit www.willarddc.com/sd, a useful guide to the Willard's eco-friendly hotel sustainability programs.

Thanks to the support of the Center for Hospitality Research partners listed below, all Cornell Hospitality Reports and Tools are made available free of charge from the center's website, www.chr.cornell.edu.

About The Center for Hospitality Research
A unit of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, The Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) sponsors research designed to improve practices in the hospitality industry. Under the lead of the center's 73 corporate affiliates, experienced scholars work closely with business executives to discover new insights into strategic, managerial and operating practices. The center also publishes the award-winning hospitality journal, the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly (formerly the Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly). To learn more about center and its projects, visit www.chr.cornell.edu.