Hilton Worldwide underlined its commitment to improving the environment by marking the recently held Earth Hour across its hotels in Egypt and Levant. As part of the company’s Travel With Purpose environmental program and working together with both staff and guests, the main theme for Earth Hour this year was energy conservation.
“Sustainability is one of Hilton Worldwide’s focus areas and we aim to make Earth Hour a key calendar event for our Egypt & Levant properties,” said Christian Grage, Vice President of operations, Hilton Worldwide, Egypt & Levant. “Energy conservation of the scale advocated by Earth Hour not only promotes environmentally friendly practices, but also helps hotels becoming more energy efficient in the long term. In one hour, by minimizing our electricity usage, we were able to save energy, reduce CO2 emissions and even make savings on costs; which is testament to how a serious commitment to simple sustainable practices can make a significant impact in the long-term.”
Hilton Worldwide organized a number of innovative activities throughout their hotels in Egypt to make the guests’ stay both comfortable and environmentally friendly. Some hotels offered candle-lit dinners at restaurants and planting trees on the hotel grounds. Others took to pedal power and used bicycles around the hotel grounds instead of electric power golf cars. While all of the hotels refrained from using electricity in the main buildings and passed out candles to guests to encourage their participation in the symbolic earth hour.
The company’s world-class chefs were also creative in designing impressive menus for Earth Hour, including low-carb cuisine and bonfire barbeques while some breakfast buffets were prepared using solar ovens for frying eggs and pancakes. Keeping food fresh is part of being green, so one hotel adopted a do-it-yourself approach and setup a team to catch fish from the Nile for seafood enthusiasts. In addition some hotels were inspired to serve green colored cocktails made with mint syrup, orange juice and fresh lemon alongside green colored foods such as pea soup; symbolical to the environmental cause.
Other imaginative examples included a return to a time of traditional transport with hotels across the country using Nubian style horse drawn carriages to collect guests from the airport and, in some cases, camels were even hired to enhance the authentic experience.
Participating hotels included: Ramses Hilton, Hilton Marsa AlamNubian Resort, DoubleTree by Hilton Aqaba, Hilton Luxor Resort & Spa, Hilton Hurghada Plaza, King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre, Hilton Cairo World Trade Center Residence, Hilton Sharm Dreams Resort, Hilton Sharm El Sheikh Fayrouz Resort, Hilton Hurghada Long Beach Resort, Hilton Hurghada Resort, Hilton Sharm Sharks Bay, Hilton Sharm Waterfalls Resort, Hilton Cairo Zamalek Residences, Hilton Pyramids Golf Resort. As a result of the immense Earth Hour efforts, a total of 240 KW\H of electricity was collectively saved by the hotels
As well as Earth Hour, three Hilton Worldwide hotels took part in Earth Day. Team members from Hilton Hurghada Long Beach Resort took to the beach with HEPCA, a Hurghada-based environmental protection NGO, for a major cleanup campaign on Magawish Island which resulted in filling a total of 25 giant bags. .Another beach cleanup, this time on the shores of the Dead Sea in Jordan, was organized by Hilton Worldwide team members at King Hussain Bin Talal Convention Centre with the help and support of the Royal Department for Environmental Protection. Hilton Dahab, meanwhile, invited guests to their candlelit beach to enjoy a fire show and a specially created Sea Sound of Silence cocktail.
Hilton Worldwide
Hilton Worldwide is the leading global hospitality company, spanning the lodging sector from luxurious full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and mid-priced hotels. For 93 years, Hilton Worldwide has been offering business and leisure travelers the finest in accommodations, service, amenities and value. The company is dedicated to continuing its tradition of providing exceptional guest experiences across its global brands. Its brands are comprised of more than 3,750 hotels and 615,000 rooms in 85 countries and include Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Double Tree by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations. The company also manages the world-class guest reward program Hilton HHonors®.
Hilton Middle East & Africa
Hilton Worldwide currently operates 54 hotels and one convention centre in the Middle East & Africa, totaling more than 15,500 rooms across 17 countries. There are 18 hotels in Egypt, one hotel and one convention centre in Jordan, 11 hotels in the UAE, six in Saudi Arabia and one each in Oman and Kuwait, plus another 12 hotels in Africa and 3 hotels in the Indian Ocean. Hilton Worldwide has a signed development pipeline of an additional 40 properties across Middle East & Africa in the U.A.E, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Uganda, Nigeria and Cape Verde.
