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Timeshare Strengthens Its Green Values
May 27, 2009 by Fractional & Shared Ownership Property News & Reviews · Leave a Comment
As fears over climate change increase we are all looking at ways to limit our impact on the environment and in timeshare too, resorts are working to cut carbon emissions, discovers Sarah Lee
In recent years we have all become more aware of the impact we have on the environment. From the home to the office and in every part of our lives we have embraced measures aimed at preserving the environment – be it recycling, reducing car use, using low-energy light bulbs, or carbon offsetting our flights.
Earlier this year a report highlighted that 61 per cent of UK consumers are planning to find out more about the social and environmental impact of their holiday.
But hotels haven’t always been at the forefront of environmental stewardship and timeshare has perhaps lagged even further behind.
However there has been a positive shift in practices within timeshare with more and more resorts now working hard to introduce green initiatives.
One new RCI Gold Crown resort, Hacienda Tres Rios, in Mexico’s Mayan Riviera is leading the way in sustainability. The resort only opened in November 2008 and yet it has received accolades from the Mexican government and RCI’s chief executive Geoff Ballotti, who hailed it as the world’s first timeshare resort built from the outset on green principles. It has affiliated a number of its vacation owner’s club suites to RCI
and its fractional Herencia Villas to The Registry Collection.
Hacienda Tres Rios was built on sustainable initiatives, pic: Sarah Lee
The Tres Rios way
The resort has been developed by the Arroyo family, whose 326 acre nature park on the site, suffered large scale damage after hurricane Wilma, in 2005, the most ferocious hurricane recorded in the Atlantic Basin.
The family decided to build five resorts on the site, clearing 150 acres of the eco-park of hurricane damage, re-planting trees and mangroves where necessary, and leaving it free of development for guests and locals to enjoy.
Where some resorts talk about introducing environmental sustainability, Hacienda Tres Rios has really invested in it. Before starting construction the resort carried out a two-year environmental study, including a satellite assessment to discover the areas of poor land quality and an examination of every ecosystem across the site to ensure their building would not negatively impact local flora and fauna.
The 150 acre nature park at Tres Rios
Where plant species were at risk of being affected by the resort’s development they were relocated to a specially constructed greenhouse, within the eco-park where they were preserved, before being replanted when the resort was finished. The greenhouse also grows plants for the resort and provides mangroves for local reforestation – supplying over 50,000 in 2007 alone.
Three rivers converge at Tres Rios, the name of the eco-park from which the new resort takes its name and as they open to the Caribbean Sea these rivers support an extensive network of mangroves.
As in much of the Yucatán Peninsula, the rivers flow for many miles underground, so to ensure the unhindered flow of ground water Hacienda Tres Rios was built on specially designed porous foundations. And to reduce building work contamination to the rivers and other ecosystems, the majority of the 273-luxury suite resort was constructed in prefabricated units away from the site before being set in place.
Inside the resort too sustainable initiatives are at the fore. Every suite is fitted with motion sensors which turn down the lighting and air conditioning system when guests are out of their rooms. Water from the showers is mixed with oxygen so it uses less water while still providing guests with an invigorating shower.
But it’s behind the scenes where Hacienda Tres Rios’ initiatives are at their most ingenious. The resort extracts water from underground sources and uses it to pre-chill the air conditioning units. Heat expelled by the air conditioning is then captured and reused to warm the resort’s water, while recycled water from on-site treatment plants is used to irrigate green areas, saving countless amounts of wasted energy.
Green resorts closer to home
Timeshare is becoming greener closer to home too. RCI Gold Crown resorts Kilconquhar Estate and Country Club and Trelowarren have been working hard to reduce their carbon footprint for years.
Just last year Kilconquhar received a silver rating by the Green Tourism Business Scheme, a sustainable tourism certification programme endorsed by Visit Scotland.
The 16th century castle located on Scotland’s East coast, near Fife, has been working to minimise energy and waste while also focussing on nature conservation on the estate. Once-derelict estate cottages were sympathetically restored to create accommodation combining modern touches with historic ambience.
Each unit also contains information to help guests make environmental choices during their stay, such as details about public transport, walking and cycling routes, farmers markets and other sustainable attractions.
Eco-friendly Trelowarren, in Cornwall, England is well-known for its award-winning environmental programme.
Trelowarren
The resort has already won 11 environmental awards and added The Times Best Place to Stay 2008 award, in part in recognition of its sustainable initiatives. It also started up Eco-Drive, an environmentally-friendly car rental service for guests.
The project allows visitors to the resort to book the use of an electric car, either as part of a train journey package for collection on arrival at the station, or have it waiting for them at the estate.
The resort also completed 31 new ‘greenbuild’ lodges last year, constructed using local and sustainable materials incorporating dishwashers and washing machines run on harvested rainwater.
The resort’s swimming pool is naturally filtered, the accommodation supplied with heat and hot water through pipes linked to a CHP boiler fired by coppicing from the estate.
Trelowarren aims to become carbon-neutral and self-sufficient in food and fuel – a green paradise for people and a magnet for wildlife.
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