BON Hotels, the recently established hotel management and marketing group, has announced that the new, eco-friendly Hotel Verde will open at Cape Town International Airport in May.
The hotel has been dubbed Africa’s greenest hotel and is the group’s first management and marketing contract.
Construction began over a year ago and the hotel will offer 145 rooms, conference facilities, a restaurant and fitness centre.
It is being constructed and will operate according to the standards of the US Green Building Council. The eco-friendly systems in place will include green landscaping, a grey water recycling plant, a vegetated roof, electric shuttles, a regenerative drive on elevators as well as wind turbines.
The hotel plans to incentivise guests with credit notes and bar tabs for those who use towels more than once, for example, or don’t use the air-conditioning, according to owner, Mario Delicio. “It’s about getting customers involved and making them a part of the whole green thinking philosophy,” he explains.
Guy Stehlik, founder of BON Hotels, says the value of being involved in a project of this nature, plus its learning in terms of future hotels, is invaluable. “The three cornerstones of BON Hotels are ‘Good people. Good thinking. Good feeling’. Hotel Verde and the philosophy behind it is where the Good thinking lies. This is definitely one of the most innovative hotels in the country and we are thrilled to be involved in a project of this nature.”
