Millennium and Copthorne has signed a management agreement with Wu Xi Xin Chang Property for the Millennium Wuxi Hotel in China. The hotel is planned to open mid-2008. (The illustration is of a Millenium property in Xiamen.)

Wuxi is at the heart of Yangtze River Delta Region on the southeast coast of China, close to Shanghai. It is sometimes referred to as ‘little Shanghai’ due to its developed industry and flourishing economy.

Catering to a predominantly Japanese market, the new purpose-built Millennium Wuxi Hotel is situated in the Court of Eastern Peace, which is in the heart of Wuxi New Development District.

Millennium Wuxi Hotel is furnished with classical Japanese inspired interiors. It is an ecological and energy-conservation designed business hotel, in the center of 12,000 square-meters Japanese Garden, with extensive room and room-leasing services to all the guests.

In the hotel, besides the multi-function rooms, VIP rooms, all-day dining restaurants and Japanese restaurant, is the Japanese spa, indoor swimming pool, indoor golf driving range, hot yoga studio, Chinese restaurant, two wine bars and one Executive Lounge.
Source: Asia Travel Tips

Hotels use a lot of energy. In Beijing they used one fifth of the total power consumed by the service sector. Now Beijing’s hotels have been told to adopt new energy-conservation measures to make them more eco-friendly.

Hotel should maintain temperatures of no cooler than 26 C in summer and no warmer than 20 C in the winter. And all hotels with more than three stars that have been in business for two years or more should clean out their air-conditioning systems before May.

The cleaning idea is sensible and enforceable. The temperature control may be more difficult. Yet Beijing Vice-Mayor Ding Xiangyang said at a conference the moves are mandatory. Before they were suggestions. Now they are orders.

He said, ‘Enforcement officials will be sent around to make sure these measures have been implemented.’

Hotels have also been told to clean their air-conditioning and ventilation systems before the end of the year. Du Jiang, head of the Beijing tourism administration said, ‘This is to ensure the health of visitors and spectators during the 2008 Summer Olympics.’

Beijing’s consumption of power is increasing every year. Though hotels on average consumed less energy last year than in the year before, experts believe there is still room for further savings.

All hotels with BOCOG contracts were urged to meet State standards for ‘green hotels’ before the end of this year.

The standards require hotels to use water-saving equipment, install power-saving light bulbs and wash their linens less frequently. By the end of last year, only 192 hotels, including some non-rated hotels, had been approved as eco-friendly. As a percentage that is pretty poor. Beijing has about 700 starred hotels and is expected to have 800 by the time the 2008 Olympic Games is held.

Our illustration is of the splendid Raffles Hotel in Beijing. We are quite sure it does not waste electricity. It would not be in the tradition of the man after which it is named: Sir Stamford Raffles. Mark you, in his day electricity had not been invented.
Source: China Daily

There is a list of criteria a hotel must meet to be classified as a ‘green hotel’ in time for the Olympics. The environmental norms issued by China National Tourism Administration in early 2006 say that ‘green hotels’ need to set up eco-friendly managerial systems and facilities and adopt technologies that conserve water and reduce energy consumption and waste generation.

Deputy director of BOCOG’s Services Department Xiang Ping said, ‘BOCOG will invite experts to survey the hotels early next year. And hotels that fail to meet the standards will be told to do so.’ Failing that they will be dropped from the list.

Thirty-eight of these hotels are five-star facilities, 40 are four-star, and the rest three-star.

The Beijing Tourism Bureau put the ‘green seal’ on 52 of the 112 hotels, including Beijing Hotel and Kempinski Hotel, last year.

Kempinski public relations manager Li Shuang said, said, ‘We put in great efforts over the past year to raise our green standards and make our hotel more environment friendly.’ For instance, the hotel now uses recycled water to flush toilets.

Upgraded electrical tools and structural changes have helped these hotels reduce air and noise pollution and cut their energy consumption.

The listed hotels are expected to urge guests, through their services and suggestions, to lead a lifestyle that is environment friendly. These hotels will provide about 30,000 rooms to Olympic guests. The combined capacity of Beijing hotels is about 260,000 rooms. At least 1,500 mainland hotels had met the green criteria by the end 2006.
Source: China Daily