Beaver Hollow Setting the Pace in Green Meetings

"Many hotels and resorts are now going the extra mile to become ?greener" in how they operate.

One innovative property, Beaver Hollow, located between Rochester and Buffalo, New York, is literally going ?miles" to improve its environmental profile. That?s because this resort is literally miles wide, with 300 acres of property.

From its inception, the resort has been dedicated to preserving the natural beauty of its surroundings. But now it is going a step further.

?We are going green," declares Kathy Snyder Egan, Executive Vice President of Sales, ?and we?re really excited about it!"

The resort is registered through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

Because of the location and size of the property, Beaver Hollow has an opportunity to implement green initiatives that others in more urban settings may not. Egan says the resort is determined to take advantage of all the ways it can become more environmentally friendly.

Some examples include:
? No use of pesticides to control insects. ?We have bat houses and Purple Martin birds, which eat many times their weight in flying insects, and they are much more effective," Egan says.
? The resort is looking at setting up organic farming to supply much of its own produce.
? The resort uses water from its own property and is finding environmentally friendly ways to treat it. It is also looking into generating renewable sustainable energy on our property using water from streams.
? The property includes natural gas reserves and the resort is looking at ways it might use that for sustainable energy.
? Butterfly gardens on the property provide a way for guests to connect with nature.
? The resort has an active composting program.
? Planning a Center for Agricultural Excellence that the whole community will partner in.

Other measures that Beaver Hollow undertakes, which many types of properties can easily implement, include:

? Provide guests with paper shredders free upon request .
? Give guests the option of not having sheets and towels washed every day or have toiletries replaced every day.
? Eliminate phosphates from detergents used for washing linens and dishes.
? Provide large coolers of water throughout the resort with glassware (except for outdoor locations) instead of providing bottled water, which generates plastic bottle waste.
? Recommend a local tour company with a commitment to being as green as possible, including offering hybrid vehicles.
? Provide meeting planners with tips for being green with their meetings.

?It?s a multi-level approach and it has been very successful," Egan says. ?Everybody cares about it and our employees embrace it because they feel part of it. A lot of our employees come from farming families and they love the land. They take a personal interest in it. So they can talk about it and become our advocates."

She adds that resort management regularly participates in industry seminars on green meetings to stay current on ways the property can do more.

?We?re also having architects look at our buildings to be more efficient from an energy standpoint," Egan explains, including revamping the heating and cooling system. Architects will also play a key role in designing environmentally friendly features in any new construction.

?It is usually expensive to do this stuff," she notes, ?and sometimes you get resistance from above. But we have buy-in for these programs. The best time to do it is when you are building new facilities or getting ready to renovate because then you can put the systems in place."

Beaver Hollow clients include naturalists from National Geographic and others who share a strong commitment to protecting the environment. Some have even had meetings on the lake in kayaks!

?What we try to do is engage our guests in our passion for the environment," Egan says. ?We are a work in progress and we are going to keep doing it as much as we can."

Find out more on Beaver Hollow by viewing their Diamond listing on ConventionPlanit.com!"