Cairns Harbourside Hotel has reduced water usage in their laundry by half, saving about 3.6 million litres of water a year as part of its commitment to reducing water use and is implementing an AI program to further reduce consumption.
Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen said the Cairns Harbourside Hotel was one of the first to volunteer to participate in the Waterwise Hotels Accord as part of the tourism industry's commitment to reduce pressure on the region's water supply.
"Despite our high annual rainfall, water is a precious resource in Tropical North Queensland especially this summer as Cairns Regional Council works to upgrade the city's water storage infrastructure," he said.
"As part of our industry's commitment to a sustainable visitor economy, Tourism Tropical North Queensland launched the Waterwise Hotels Accord in partnership with Cairns Regional Council to ensure visitors are aware of the need to conserve water.
"Several hotels quickly jumped onboard with many introducing clever initiatives that go beyond simply asking guests to be mindful of reducing laundry requirements.
"Cairns Harbourside Hotel is an independent hotel that is achieving great outcomes in the reduction of water use thanks to the passion of their team."
Big savings in the laundry
Cairns Harbourside Hotel general manager Glen Macdonald said his team had looked closely at the hotel's water consumption throughout the property to determine how they could improve on initiatives such as timed garden irrigation and encouraging guests to have their linen laundered every three days instead of daily.
"Our greatest success to date has been cutting the use of water in our laundry by half simply by re-setting scheduling times and reducing the duration of washing cycles, saving a minimum of 10,000 litres a day," he said.
"We are very excited about introducing the Water Optimisation Pilot with Water Alive which uses AI to help hotels and commercial facilities to reduce their water usage by 30 per cent and look forward to seeing the results once it is underway.
"Our guests are visiting Tropical North Queensland to experience two extraordinary World Heritage areas, and they are pleased to play a role in minimising their impact on our unique environment."
Praise for hotel's initiatives
Cairns Regional Council's Director - Cairns Infrastructure and Assets, Mark Wuth, applauded the water efficiency work undertaken by Cairns Harbourside Hotel as an example of what can be done to both reduce pressure on the city's water network while also saving costs for the business.
"Everyone has a role to play in conserving our most precious resource, from individuals and families at home through to large businesses and organisations, including Council," Mr Wuth said.
"We are grateful to hotels like Cairns Harbourside who have made significant progress on reducing their water usage and for jumping onboard the new Waterwise Hotels Accord.
"Water efficiency is important at all times but particularly during this wet season when we are managing a range of challenges with our reservoir network.
"Council encourages more hotels to join the Accord and we look forward to working with TTNQ and the tourism sector more broadly on water efficiency measures into the future."
