Getting it right from the start

As Ecos Hotels works to make its green budget hotel concept a reality, group director Ralph Noblet says it's essential for the industry to consider the environment right from the planning stages.

It is important to understand how the concept for Ecos Hotels came about, and in order to do that it is necessary to talk a little bit about the history of the brand.

In 2003 we created an international hotel management company - Coral International - and in doing so its founders committed to the following three points: respect of the local culture; care and attention; and innovation.

Ecos Hotels is in part the result of these commitments. I can tell you concretely that there are three dominant phases in the development of this brand: elaboration of the concept; designs; and construction of the first hotel - with this hotel to be used as a benchmark for future Ecos properties.

For this project we allowed ourselves no limitations. The idea was to create a chain of hotels that were both economical and ecological, recognising firstly the need to change attitudes within the hotel industry towards the environment and secondly the gap in the Middle East market for high quality budget hotels.

Building the property from scratch has, and will continue to, enable us to create freely and mould this project as we want. With our other brands, since we have mostly taken over existing properties and worked in an array of different segments, such as resorts and city hotels, it has made it difficult to go all out as far as ‘green' measures are concerned.

With this hotel we have had the opportunity to work together with the architect and the environmental consultant to make sure that everything is right from the start and the properties are as sustainable as possible. This is an opportunity that so many hotel developers, especially in Dubai, also have.

However, and this is the interesting aspect, we will ultimately come full circle and the lessons we learn from building Ecos Hotels, as well as the standards we put in place, will in turn come to be incorporated slowly and efficiently within the other brands.

We have been determined since day one in 2003, and never let go of our dream. The property that we envisioned then was not a reality at the time, but we found a way to develop a realistic concept - where there is a will, there is a way and every hotel developer needs to realise that concern for the environment is not a choice, it is a necessity.

The other aspect of the project is that everyone has known for the past five years that there was a huge gap in the market for budget hotels. With 95% of the travelling population flying economy class, people expect to get what they want without having to pay for the things they do not need.

Within this region the pyramid is upside down, with more luxury five- and four-star properties than budget hotels. Proportionally it is not correct. Therefore there is a huge gap in the market for budget brands.

We saw this as an opportunity to develop a new generation of hotels offering a fresh perspective, achieving and maintaining good environmental and social practices whilst delivering maximum benefit to all interested parties. We do not stand alone in this, we want other developers to learn from what we are doing and implement best practices when designing and building their future properties.

Today we are no longer only judged by the consumers, owners, press, competition, government and private entities on our bottom line. We have to focus on what is called the triple bottom line - environmental, social and economic concerns. Ecos Hotels will contribute to fill the gap in the market by answering a demand and offering choice.

Today's reality is that our world is being broken, soiled and damaged. It is important that you understand my personal position on that matter. I do not believe in cleaning up after other people - I believe in educating them and leading by example.

My belief is that in destroying the world, we are not only annihilating our own resources - the Earth was here long before us, and should we disappear it will still be here and life will spring from it once more in millions of years as it has in the past, just without us.

Progress is natural and necessary. Furthermore we all need to live and work, and we are working within the biggest industry in the world - the tourism and service industry. We are not pretending that we are saving the world.

But I am convinced, and out to prove, that not only do we - the hotel industry - have an obligation to protect the environment, but we can develop our businesses in a way that will have very little or no negative impact on our surroundings.

Hopefully we can help others in the process. Yes, we are in competition with other brands, fighting for market share and positioning, but that is where it ends. Best practices are shared daily within our trade. So if some of our techniques are applicable to others, by all means use them, we encourage it.

Ralph Noblet is the director of Ecos Hotels. For more information email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Print | Email | Discuss this article

| Share |

READERS' COMMENTS

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Arabian Business would like to point out that only comments relevant to the story will be published. Any containing personal insults or inappropriate language will not be approved.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Enter the words above *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM