Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort and Spa Wins Sustainable Hotels Award At Hotel Investment Conference Asia-Pacific

Bethesda, MD .-The Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort & Spa was awarded the prestigious “Sustainable Hotels” award at the Hotel Investment Conference Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong today for demonstrating exemplary sustainable development practices. The Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort & Spa, Surfers Paradise, Australia was honored with one of only three awards in this category.

The award, new for HICAP (Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific) this year, was based on a comprehensive evaluation of the hotel’s efforts in the areas of site selection and sustainability, environmentally thoughtful architecture and design, operational efforts in the areas of water and energy consumption and ways in which the hotel operator seeks to be a good corporate citizen in respect to the environment and local community.

Celebrating 80 years of service, Marriott has a long history of community engagement and social responsibility. “We are incredibly honored to be awarded this recognition by HICAP,” said Peter Brampton, general manager of the Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort & Spa. “Our resort and our associates are strongly committed to preserving the environment, implementing best practices and striving to be socially responsible.”

The Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort & Spa implemented an internal “environmental committee” with representatives from all departments to educate associates and implement environmental initiatives. The resort has seen substantial savings of energy, gas and water by implementing initiatives including:

• Recycling of organic waste to use for composting
• Installation of water flow controllers to all rooms and kitchens
• Reuse of ozone cooling water in decorative water features
• Focus on leak prevention, including installing new expansion joints to swimming pool
• Installation of LED lighting in all garden lighting
• Air conditioning energy saving through installation of variable speed drives on the cooling tower motors and chilled water pumps

Recently, Marriott International branded and focused its “Spirit To Serve Our Communities” program to address five signature issues under the “SERVE” umbrella:

Shelter and Food
Environment
Readiness for Hotel Careers
Vitality of Children
Embracing Diversity and People with Disabilities

For a detailed summary of the company’s SERVE initiatives and results, visit www.marriott.com/socialresponsibility.