hotel sustainable practices of tenorio lodge, costa rica
DESCRIPTION
An overview of the Sustainable Practices of Tenorio Lodge in Costa Rica. I visited this eco-lodge as part of my Hospitality Tour through Latin America, follow me online: www.thehospitalitytour.com and hopineo.org.TRANSCRIPT
SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES
Social Responsibility
Local Development
Travelers’ awareness
Local Heritage & Biodiversity
Transport & Green Mobility
Energy
Waste
Water
Agriculture and Catering
Construction
ENERGY MANAGEMENT
• Tenor io Lodge was des igned in a way that does not require a i r -condit ioning uni ts
in the rooms and publ ic area.
• Hot water i s produced wi th so lar heated water w i th e lectr ic i ty back up.
• Guests and employees are constant ly reminded to save energy, by swi tching of f
the l ight when necessar y for example.
• 90% of compact f luorescent bulb and replaced now by LEDs.
• Use of laundr y dr yer minimized, b io -c l imat ic room bui l t to dr y c lothes natural ly.
• Projects : Pass ive so lar water heater.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
• Three “R’s” (Reducing , Reusing and Recycl ing) so l id waste program is respected.
• Garbage is careful ly sor ted, in order to recyclable mater ia ls such as cans, p last ic
bot t les , t ins , paper, etc .
• To avo id the waste , most of the food is bought in bulk and reusable packaging
when avai lable (beer, sodas, etc . ) .
• Encourage staf f and guests not to use d isposable p last ics .
• More than 70% of the waste goes to the compost , to be used then as nut r ients for
plants, avo iding the use of any chemical fer t i l i zer, pest ic ides or herb ic ides .
WATER MANAGEMENT
• Water system and p ipes are per iodical ly monitored to avo id any sor t o f leaks .
• Local heat - res istant p lants p lanted, no need to spr inkle the garden.
• Towels reus ing program.
• Strong ef for t to avo id products that negat ively inf luence wastewater, for example
detergents and products for guests (shampoo, etc . ) used are b iodegradable .
• Wastewater i s co l lected in sept ic tank and then f i l tered into dra in - f ie lds .
• Guests and staf f are reminded to use water responsibly.
AGRICULTURE & CATERING
• Local ingredients for the k i tchen , not only to suppor t the local economy but a lso
as par t of the cul tural exper ience of local cu is ine for our guests .
• Homemade jam and bread.
CONSTRUCTION
• Tenor io Lodge was bui l t to be smal l as a 12 bungalows (+4 in the future) pro ject
providing protect ion and reforestat ion to seven hectares in the middle of t ropical
vegetat ion sur rounding by two natura l ponds.
• Visual impact minimized: a l l bu i ld ings are s ing le s tore and rooms are on st i l ts .
• Large openings windows to get a max imum of natura l l ight and g ive to Guests a
d i rect v iew to the nature whi le preser v ing thei r pr ivacy.
• Wood f rom plantat ion wood such as local teak or p ine.
• Lodge bui l t w i th local workers of the community.
• More than 50% of the mater ials and furn i ture f rom local s tores .
• Local s taf f and d i rect employment to over 8 famil ies in the area.
• Al l the employees are under the scheme of soc ial secur i ty and paid according to
law wage in Costa Rica. Qual i f icat ion and exper ience of each one is taken in
account . No employee is or w i l l be paid below the minimum wage. W ages are
h igher f rom 5 to 10% on those charged general ly.
• Insurance to cover work -re lated acc idents .
• Some of the employees at tend t ra in ing courses and work schedules are adjusted
accordingly to them.
• One room adapted to d isabled guests was bui l t .
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
LOCAL DEVELOPMENT
• Local owned tours operators are suppor ted.
• Smal l g i f t shop which of fers exc lusively ar t -craf ts made by local ar t i sans , the
store i s intent ional ly kept ver y smal l to encourage guests to buy at local g i f t shops
in B i jagua d i rec lty. Local Ornaments and ar t -c raf t made by local women for hote l
rooms and restaurant decorat ion.
• Tenor io Lodge is member of the chamber of tour ism of : Costa Rica (CANATUR) ,
eco - tour ism (CANAECO) , and Nor th Costa Rica(CATUZON) .
TRAVELERS’ AWARENESS
• Tenor io Lodge provides information to the guests about the measures to protect
the env i ronment who are developed in the reg ion, information, on soc io -cul tural
act iv i t ies taking p lace in the reg ion.
• Local p lants and t rees a l l around the garden to at t ract w i ld l i fe . Guests are asked
to respect the local f lo ra and fauna, to not walk of f - t ra i ls or to t r y to feed any
wi ld l i fe .
LOCAL HERITAGE & BIODIVERSITY
• Tenor io Lodge encourages and guide customers to v is i t d i f ferent Nat ional Park or
other natural at t ract ions . D etai led information on natural areas of tour ist interest
are mainta ined.
• Protect ion of the ra inforest and i ts inhabitants i s one of the most impor tant par ts
of Tenor io Lodge miss ion. In co l laborat ion wi th the students f rom Upala h igh
school , than a thousand of nat ives ’ t rees have been p lanted, some endangered.
The vast garden´s vegetat ion cons ists w i th predominant spec ies nat ive f rom the
area.
TRANSPORT & GREEN MOBILITY
• Of fer h ik ing t racks , horse back r id ing tours (and b ike renta l soon) .
• Quads rental i s not par t of the suggest ion of act iv i t ies made to the guests.
