Special Features
International Hotel Brands to Pull the Plug for an Hour
For an hour, 8:30pm to 9:30pm, on March 27, guests of two international hotels along Shaikh Zayed Road in Dubai will be groping in the dark for a good cause. Hotels Four Points Sheraton and Fairmont Hotels and Resorts in the Middle East and Africa will turn off the lights to observe the Earth Hour 2010, a global event which sends a strong message of an all-out fight agaist global warming.Four Points by Sheraton will observe it on 43rd floor Rooftop, together with its more than 130 hotels in Starwood’s Europe, Africa and Middle East region.
To underscore parent Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc.’s (NYSE: HOT)dedication to environmental sustainability, Four Points will also share other energy-saving measures during Earth Hour at 8:30pm on Saturday.
Among these are: turn off exterior signage lighting, dimming or turning off of non-essential interior lighting, using candlelight in appropriate public areas such as restaurants and bars, and using in-room voicemail messages and in-room television messages, lobby and elevator television messages to inform guests about Earth Hour celebration.
Similarly, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts across the MENA region comprising 60 hotels will join other properties in participating in the event. "Fairmont has been dedicated to preserving the places in which we live, work and play through its Green Partnership Programme for the last 20 years and this initiative furthers our ongoing support of environmental awareness in the Middle East and beyond," Kent Cooper, Vice-President, Regional Hotel Sales MENA, said.
He said that all Fairmont Hotels and Resorts in MENA will turn off principal lighting with a number of Fairmont’s properties observing this eco-friendly event by involving hotel guests. For instance, he said, at Fairmont Nile City, Cairo, two expert speakers will give tips on how individuals can help the environment and guests can enjoy a candlelight dinner at its restaurants.
Organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to raise awareness about climate change, the hour-long darkness in these hotels is part of the biggest-ever global event in the fight against climate change, and to demonstrate to associates and guests just how important simple actions can be towards saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
