Teacher Feature: How do we build sustainable hotels?

Meet Brittany Sampson, one of our Sustainability Superheroes! In her Economics class with seniors, at Lakeland High in Polk County, she recently adapted a very popular project she has been using with students for the past 10 years. The assignment was to incorporate what students learned about business organizations to create a model of a hotel; for the past two years, sustainability became a big part of the activity.  In the assignment, there were certain criteria students had to fulfill: 1) provide a reason people would come to the hotel based upon its location; 2) construct the prototype out of sustainable materials or up-cycled/repurposed goods; and 3) illustrate ways in which the hotel would be more sustainable than competitors. 

Brittany noted that the entire project takes place in the classroom, so she can control what is going on and that they weren't using purchased materials or receiving parental assistance. Brittany said, "This  project gave students a chance to work on engineering and entrepreneurship and allowed them to work together." ​

She further explained the assignment, "They had to create a powerpoint presentation to share business organization and marketing structure, where they also had to tell how their hotel was sustainable and how it was made with sustainable resources. Most of them used recycling. They had to provide the location with the reason they would visit. They had to create a chart with the employees required, job descriptions, and pay. They also had to explain how they would get financing for their projects. In addition, they had to find an environmental law to follow based on their location. Brittany shared some of the students' unique ideas!

For example, this first hotel was located on an island. The students named it the Wakiki Inn. Because it was located on a mountainous island with falls, they decided to use all hydroelectric power.  They used all recycled materials to create their hotel prototype. In addition, they created a cashless credit-based system for the hotel property

Another student group created a hotel to be located in Russia at a resort on the beach. Due to the cold, the planned double-pane glass to make the windows more energy efficient. In addition, they used recyclables to create their hotel model

This next design is out of this world. Literally. These students designed a hotel to be placed on the moon. It will be more sustainable by having staff living on property for year-long shifts because it is a far distance to travel. They planned to use solar energy and built the model out of recycled cans. 

This next hotel was planned for Washington DC. as a high-end space for ambassadors. Built out of sustainable materials, they planned to create transportation tunnels with direct routes to the airport that would reduce emissions and not interfere with the traffic flow on regular routes.

Part of the requirement of the assignment was that the students needed to have a generator for business. Why would someone come to this hotel? This group created a Ferris Wheel and Lazy River ride; instead of it being near an amusement park, they included the fun. In order to be more sustainable, they decided to use underground parking to use less land. In addition, they used solar panels and a wind turbine to power their hotel.