On 27th December 2019, students from countries such as Russia, France, England, Thailand, U.S. and Taiwan – studying the course ‘Organizational Politics’ visited ‘Green Hotel’. There are two Green hotels in Taichung city. One is in the Fengjia district and the other is in the West district of Taichung. We visited both locations.
Students received a warm welcome by Ms. Kerry Chang, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Green Hotel. With enthusiasm, she gave us an excellent tour and an insight of the hotel business, innovative ideas, and how to implement inspirational sustainability strategies.
Green Hotel is dedicated to run a business that emphasizes on the environment and long-term sustainability. In the lobbies of the hotels, the visitor can see in the main atrium lights the sunlight from the glass rooftop. One of the very interesting environmental details of Green Hotel is the card given to the guest, which is multi-purpose, because it can be used for the room cardholder, postcard, as well as a bookmark. It also eliminates plastic bottle usage by offering accessible water dispensers at every floor.
Apart from its environmental approach, the hotel also helps local businesses by providing guests a “Food Passport”, which consists of different local restaurants worth visiting.
Ms. Chang noted that the hotel business in recent years has declined. Only Taipei has not been affected. Green Hotel has successfully tried to standout with its environmentally friendly approach. It attracts guests from Taiwan as well as from abroad. It is popular with young backpackers, families and businesspeople. Ms Chang pointed out that ‘20 to 30 percent of our guests choose our hotel because it is environmentally focused. Our guests appreciate our effort in putting all our energy towards the environment. Our designs and service makes as very different and competitive in this tough business’.
This fieldtrip visit helped students reflect on the topics discussed in the Lecture: ‘Is the Environment a New Middle-Class Trend?’, which is part of the ‘Organizational Politics’ course taught by Dr. Ryan Brading. It showed in real-life how an environmental business in the hotel industry operates, and what it means to be “Green” in the 21st Century.
