RockResorts to Remove Plastic Bottles from Guest Operations

RockResorts and Vail Resorts Hospitality are "tapping" into a new program to eliminate nearly all plastic water bottles from their guest operations. The "Water on the Rocks" initiative will be executed at RockResorts properties from Vail to St. Lucia and Vail Resorts Hospitality properties in all four Colorado mountain resorts— Vail, Keystone, Breckenridge, and Beaver Creek. Expectations remain to save an estimated 640,000 plastic water bottles from the waste stream by removing them from guest rooms and offering hotel guests reusable bottles with refilling stations.

Started at The Pines Lodge, A RockResort luxury property located in Beaver Creek, the program is being expanded to RockResorts' seven other properties and will be phased in at The Osprey in
Beaver Creek
; The Arrabelle at Vail Square; The Lodge at Vail; Snake River Lodge & Spa in Jackson Hole, WY; Hotel Jerome in Aspen; La Posada de Santa Fe in Santa Fe, NM; and The Landings in St. Lucia with plans to introduce this program at the new RockResorts properties in
Miami, the Dominican Republic and Breckenridge when they debut later this year.

As part of "Water on the Rocks," two pre-filled glass bottles are placed in each guest room daily and refreshed as needed during daily housekeeping or by request. These bottles are sanitized and replaced each night with filtered water as needed. Guests on the go will also have the option to purchase stylish, reusable RockResorts logoed water bottles (BPA-free plastic or stainless steel) for $4 at hotel front desks or spas that can be refilled at water refilling locations around each property. In many resort
locations, guests will be treated to filtered flavored water (such as cucumber or lemon).

The program was designed to eliminate 99 percent of plastic water bottles in both guest rooms and food and beverage operations, and is part of RockResorts Echo— the company's corporate stewardship program and also includes employee volunteerism, charitable giving and other environmental initiatives, such as a companywide sustainable cuisine program, a green guest rooms program, a voluntary guest donation program that benefits local conservation efforts, the introduction of green weddings and meetings, and one of the country's largest forest health restoration project with the Forest Service and volunteer groups.

According to Julie Klein, director of environmental affairs for Vail Resorts Hospitality, by eliminating 640,000 plastic bottles from resort operations, the program will save nearly 4,000 barrels of oil that would be required to manufacture and ship the plastic bottles.

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