The Courtyard by Marriott at Settlers Ridge outside of Pittsburgh is slated to open late this summer.

Green building, as measured by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, has been slow to advance in the hotel industry. That could soon change.

Marriot International is about to offer a new green Courtyard prototype, which if built to specification, would automatically qualify for LEED certification. It’s part of the USGBC’s Portfolio Program, a pilot created to increase sustainable design by streamlining the cost and complication of the LEED process. The volume build certification, as it’s called, gives developers a route to certification without having to custom design the building or deal with the USGBC and the tedious application process.

Marriott believes franchisees will save $100,000 and six months of design time using the new prototype, compared to what a developer would spend to custom design and build a LEED-certified Courtyard. There is still a three- to four-percent premium to build the new prototype, but Marriott estimates a payback in three to four years with a 25-percent reduction in the hotel’s energy and water consumption, and as soon as two years with added incentives available in many jurisdictions.

The new prototype doesn’t include any site-specific LEED credits, so if it’s built as specified in Anchorage or Atlanta, or anywhere in between, it will be certified. Developers can, and likely will, add site-specific credits to earn the higher Silver, Gold or Platinum ratings.

The volume build prototype could be available as soon as this month and for Marriott, it further enhances its global reputation as an industry leader. For developers, it offers an easier route to LEED certification, which many believe can boost occupancy and drive rate. The Portfolio Program gives the USGBC a vehicle to increase sustainable design, especially in an industry that has been slow to adopt. Marriott plans to offer similar prototypes for its other select-service brands by the end of the year, and two other hotel companies are also a part of the USGBC’s pilot program

TURNING UP THE VOLUME
The USGBC created the pilot program for volume build certification in late 2006 to help spur green building. Custom-designed projects were slowly adding up, but by offering a bulk program the USGBC has already seen a massive increase in LEED-certified buildings in other industries. PNC Bank, the first company to join the pilot program, has built more than 60 LEED-certified banks with its volume build program. Stop & Shop has more than 50 locations certified through its LEED Existing Buildings volume certification.

Hospitality has lagged behind other industries with green building, in large part because of unique challenges specific to hotels, like the often-complex owner/management arrangements and operational issues such as varying occupancy levels. “This takes green building to a scale that is new to the hospitality industry,” Marc Heisterkamp, the former USGBC director of commercial real estate, said before leaving last month for a position with Bank of America. “Certainly we have far more projects—(approximately) 1,000 pursuing LEED—which is far more than two years ago. It’s a big change over that period of time, but this is what will actually change that to a larger degree. This will become what they do, versus the exception.”