Trane High Performance Building Solutions for Hotels Deliver Bottom Line Savings and Increased Customer Comfort and Loyalty

November 17, 2011 — From luxury hotels offering home-away-from-home amenities and plush accommodations to discount hotels catering to the economy market, maximizing the customer experience is critical to earning repeat business for hoteliers.

Around the world, hotels are facing challenging operating realities, including rising energy and food costs and a struggling global economy that has reduced travel and occupancy rates. With these factors eating away at the bottom line, hotels must find ways to reduce costs to stay profitable and competitive.

Trane, a leading global provider of indoor comfort systems and a brand of Ingersoll Rand, works around the world with hotel owners to take a holistic look at their buildings and create high performance solutions that maximize their energy efficiency and maintain a comfortable environment for patrons and hotel staff alike. Trane experts work with each customer to understand their mission, goals and objectives and create a solution that is specific to their needs.

Hotels Face Unique Operating Challenges

Maintaining a comfortable environment and ensuring the best possible customer experience is a complex task in hotel buildings, which range in size from dozens to hundreds of rooms. Adding to the challenge, hotel buildings often have special use spaces such as restaurants, conference rooms, business centers, exercise facilities, pools, bars and lounges and ornate lobbies with high ceilings and large windows and doors.

As experts in high performance buildings, Trane professionals work with owners of new and existing hotels to assess and improve the performance of their facilities to make sure they are safe, comfortable and efficient while contributing to the owners’ business mission. The Trane high performance buildings approach combines financial, operating and energy analysis to address a facility’s critical performance elements and apply economic values in order to quantify improvements and deliver results.

Example: The LIM Center/Warsaw Marriott Hotel

The LIM Center/Warsaw Marriott Hotel was an A-Class office building and five-star hotel in need of efficiency upgrades and infrastructure improvements to be environmentally responsible, save energy and most importantly, provide the hotel guests, tenants and visitors with impeccable indoor comfort.

High operating and maintenance costs caused by the aging infrastructure of the 20-year old city landmark, along with the requirements of stable indoor air quality and comfort conditions for the guests and tenants, were just a few of the challenges the LIM Center/Warsaw Marriott Hotel building faced.

To identify potential solutions, the leaders at LIM Center/Warsaw Marriott Hotel commissioned a site survey to determine the measures that would best meet their needs. They decided to proceed with a complete, tailor made and turnkey upgrade of the building’s heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system which resulted in a complete, reliable and efficiency-oriented solution.

The modernization efforts of the HVAC system included new chilled water plants with energy saving features like Variable Frequency Drives, chiller plant management system and “Free Cooling” towers along with predictive maintenance agreements. Additionally the chiller plant management system linked to the overall building management system (BMS) offers reliability, efficiency and convenience optimizing HVAC component operation for maximum efficiency while assuring the comfort of guests and tenants.

The energy efficiency upgrades at the Warsaw Marriott resulted in a 30 percent reduction in energy consumption, lowered operating noise levels and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Improved Comfort + Energy Cost Savings = Increased Profitability

Adopting a the High Performance Buildings approach is the best way to enhance an organization's operational effectiveness. Because the HVAC needs of hotel buildings are as unique and varied as the markets they serve, the Trane customized, comprehensive approach offers ideal customer solutions that deliver a comfortable and productive working environment and improve guest comfort and customer loyalty while increasing energy savings with an eye towards hotel profitability.

Trane experts are available for bylined articles or interviews to provide insights about how high performance buildings solutions improve energy efficiency and reduce the operating costs of hotels.

Reporters may contact: Joan Schimml, (651) 260-4983, .

About Ingersoll Rand

Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR) is a world leader in creating and sustaining safe, comfortable and efficient environments in commercial, residential and industrial markets. Our people and our family of brands — including Club Car®, Ingersoll Rand®, Schlage®, Thermo King® and Trane® — work together to enhance the quality and comfort of air in homes and buildings, transport and protect food and perishables, secure homes and commercial properties, and increase industrial productivity and efficiency. Trane solutions optimize indoor environments with a broad portfolio of energy efficient heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, building and contracting services, parts support and advanced control. Ingersoll Rand is a $14 billion global business committed to sustainable business practices within our company and for our customers. For more information, visit www.ingersollrand.com.