The Hindu Business Line : Ceebros to enter hospitality sector with `ecotel'

The Rs 40-crore, 105-room five star business hotel, which is scheduled to open by July-end, has been positioned as an environment-friendly "ecotel,'' Mr C. Subba Reddy, Managing Director, Ceebros Property Development Pvt Ltd, said.

The hotel will have three food and beverages outlets - a coffee shop, a lounge bar and a speciality restaurant. The hotel is on St Mary's Road, an upmarket area in South Chennai.

So, what makes an ecotel different from other hotels of the same category?

The cement used for an environment-friendly building is generally Portland Pozzalana cement that contains 15-20 per cent of fly ash, compared to ordinary Portland cement.

Mr Reddy said the hotel practices the three R theory of `reduce, reuse and recycle'. He said, since water is the most precious resource today, the company has taken care to conserve it through carefully planned techniques.

All taps contain special aerators that increase water flow and reduce outflow, thus saving water. These aerators save up to 50 per cent of water. There are also taps operating on timers.

The hotel has also installed a water saving device called the George Fisher concealed cistern, which uses only six litres of water per flush compared to the 15-20 litres in a conventional flush.

The George Fisher urinal flush valves' infrared detector ensures a definite flush after every use while preventing unwanted flushing of the timer set systems.

Mr Reddy said, at Raintree, waste water is recycled and used for air-conditioning and gardening. Systems to harvest rainwater are also in place.

Rubber wood has been used for the furniture. Mr Reddy said, after the rubber sap is tapped, the tree is cut down and cannot be used for anything, as the wood is soft. The rubber wood is then processed, vacuum impregnated and kiln seasoned to ensure dimensional stability.

The interiors of the hotel have be done up usingmedium density fibre wood from cotton stalks. Natural bamboo wood has been used for flooring.

Mr Reddy said energy-efficient PL lamps have also been installed in the hotel.

The mini-bars save up to 40 per cent energy, as they are equipped with fuzzy logic, which senses the load inside the refrigerator and cools accordingly. The added benefit is that these mini-bars are CFC-free, he said.

Mr Reddy said a deSuperHeater (heat exchanger) has been installed in the hotel. The heat generated from the air-conditioner provides hot water to the guestrooms, laundry, toilets and kitchen.

The master control panel in the guestrooms incorporates a feature called green button. On pressing the green button, the thermostat of the air-conditioning unit is stepped up by two degrees.

In keeping with the environment theme, only herbal products are used. These products are not tested on animals and do not contain any animal fat.

Cloth laundry bags are used instead of the standard paper or plastic bags as in other hotels. Newspapers and fruits are served in the room only on request to reduce waste.

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