By: Deborah Johnson Wood
The former Days Inn Hotel, now the Days Hotel, on Grand Rapids west side is in the midst of a major interior overhaul that will not only revamp all 175 guest rooms, the lobby, and meeting spaces. It will set the hotel on a course to become the state's first zero-waste hotel.
"Before the renovation, we planned to buy a lot of new things, and then we asked, 'is this really being true to our green goals,'" says Ellen Markel, general manager. "Our zero waste goal is something very new. It's going to take some time."
In January, hotel staff started recycling papers and cardboard. In May, they added plastics, cans, and bottles. They add a new recyclable every few weeks. By spring, the hotel will add recycle bins to every guest room, and glasses and china coffee mugs will replace Styrofoam.
One floor at a time, crews have gutted each guest room and rebuilt it with a custom Tuscan décor that includes granite countertops and sinks, high-efficiency lighting, and new furniture.
The former sports lounge on the main floor is now 1,300 square feet of meeting space for small weddings and corporate meetings that offer audio/visual, Internet, and web conferencing capabilities. The expanded lobby opens to a state-of-the-art fitness facility and a business center.
"The hotel is open during renovation," Markel says. "This summer was a challenge when there was just cement flooring, but our customers are real excited about the progress."
Source: Ellen Markel, Days Hotel; Dianna Stampfler, Promote Michigan
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Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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