Under Stage 2, guests staying for more than one night at hotel will have to use towels and sheets more than once before washing.
RALEIGH -- The average occupied hotel room uses 218 gallons of water per day. Hotel managers in Wake County want to cut down on that amount.
“It's just one of the ways that being responsible and being as green as we possibly can,” said Hilton North Raleigh spokesman Derrick Brown.
Going green was on the agenda when hotel managers came together Wednesday for the Greater Raleigh Hospitality Conservation Summit. They heard from experts who had a clear message for them.
“You're going to have to embrace this concept of water conservation,” said Keyes McGee of the NC Drought Advisory Council.
Raleigh hotels and restaurants say they want to do their part to save more water. Industry leaders came together Wednesday for the first ever Greater Hospitality Conservation Summit.
Suggestions included low-flow bathroom and kitchen fixtures, point-of-use hot water heaters that prevent hotel guests from having to wait for the shower to warm up and low-irrigation plants.
“We're in a very vulnerable position here in Raleigh,” McGee continued.
Raleigh's water source, Falls Lake, is almost as low as it's ever been. The supply is now just more than 100 days.
Raleigh moves to its toughest water restrictions to date when Stage 2 restrictions take effect on Friday. If the drought worsens, Stage 3 restrictions could follow. Stage 3 measures could impact the way hotels and restaurants do business.
“We wish it didn't have to be like this but we're in the worst drought we've ever seen,” said water conservation specialist Ed Buchan.
Under Stage 2 measures, restaurants will only serve water upon request and, at hotels, guests staying for more than one night will have to use towels and sheets more than once before washing.
That's something the Hilton North Raleigh has already been doing.
“It just makes sense,” Brown added. “We want to be a responsible business, and it just makes sense to do it.”
It makes sense to save water, especially when it's good business.
Under current water restrictions, no Raleigh water customers, including hotels, will be able to refill their pools this spring. City officials say topping off pools is OK but no one will be able to fill a pool that's been drained.