One of the Toronto skyline’s most prominent neon signs will go dark for sixty minutes on March 29. The occasion will mark the unification of The Fairmont Royal York with an expected 30 million people worldwide as they take a public stand on climate change. The hour of action entitled Earth Hour, is a global event created by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Hotel guests will have the opportunity to be carbon responsible as they check in by candlelight during Earth Hour, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 28, 2009.
In 2008, The Fairmont Royal York was the first Toronto hotel to register its Earth Hour participation. The Library Bar served a capacity crowd of patrons seeking a lounge experience by candlelight. A year later, the lights out experience continues to be so popular that the lounge has gone on to serve cocktails by candlelight every Saturday night. The hotel will again demonstrate its leadership and commitment to environmental responsibility through a series of interior and exterior energy saving initiatives.
Hotel engineer Brian Mosher will extinguish power to The Fairmont Royal York’s signature rooftop sign as the first signal to the team of more than 30 hotel colleagues who will be on duty to ensure that the building’s exterior lights, sconces, display, awning and canopy lights will dim in unison with the other Toronto landmarks participating in Earth Hour. Inside, members of the hotel’s “Green Team” will dim the lobby lights and quickly light the grand candelabras and tea lights that will be on display throughout the hotel. Hotel guests are also encouraged to join in by turning the lights out in their rooms by way of a book mark accompanying their key cards and at the evening “turn down.”
During Earth Hour, The Fairmont Royal York’s Library Bar welcomes lounging guests to candlelight service and a special Earth Hour drink menu. On the menu are three new limited-edition cocktails, created just for this year’s cause: the Polar Cap, a cool drink in a birdbath snifter; the Organic Globe, an icewine martini; and the controversial Carbon Footprint.
“Lounging by candlelight is a social way to toast the Earth Hour movement,” says Library Bar Manager, Jeff Steen.
The Fairmont Royal York also invites guests to the hotel’s health club where they may swim lengths of the 15 meter pool or unwind in the whirlpool by candlelight. The entire pool area will be illuminated by 100 floating candles. The candlelight swim is offered exclusively to hotel guests from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, March 28, 2009.
Instituting the highest possible standards of environmental stewardship is at the heart of the measurable goals The Fairmont Royal York sets for itself. In a company wide challenge the hotel was recently named runner up to The Fairmont Lake Louise as Environmental Hotel of the Year for 2008. As such, the hotel is continually working to find new ways to reduce their energy consumption.
While most Toronto homes draw approximately 24,000 kwh per year, The Fairmont Royal York measures a draw of nearly 2.5 mwh a day to power all of its 34,000 lights. In an effort to reduce energy consumption the hotel has changed its east entrance canopy lights to 3 watt bulbs. The bulbs will now last 4000 hours and save 32,236 kwh a year. The hotel has switched over 7000 incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs, saving 712,500 kwh annually. Over 75% of the 1,365 rooms have compact fluorescent bulbs. All of the hotel’s meeting rooms have dimmers and many have motion sensors. Lighting now accounts for only 5% of the hotel’s energy draw. Increasing the energy efficiency of hotel lights is just one portion of the hotel’s environmental efforts. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has an ongoing commitment to energy conservation, waste management, water conservation and responsible purchasing.
On Saturday March 28, 2009 at 8:30 p.m., all 56 of Fairmont’s world-class hotels and resorts from Dallas to Dubai will go dark by turning off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour – and in doing so will reinforce the company’s pioneering commitment to operational sustainability and help draw further attention to one of the world’s single largest environmental issues: climate change.
