The Courier-Mail
By: Graham Readfearn
Most people stepping out for a day at the beach wouldn't leave their home airconditioner running and the lights on all day.
But when people go on holiday, many tend to leave their eco-senses at home.
"It can be a bit frustrating for us when guests leave their rooms at 9am and come back at six and they leave their airconditioners on all day,'' says Robin Ross, 54, who runs the Comfort Inn Mermaid Beach Motel on the Gold Coast.
The 19-room motel is the fifth and final entrant in The Courier-Mail's One Degree Challenge to combat climate change.
Mr Ross, who runs the motel with wife Anne, 46, says he wanted his business to be part of the challenge "because it fits well with where we'd like the business to go''.
The Courier-Mail received almost 100 applications to be part of the One Degree Challenge and, as a thank you, each applicant will soon receive an eco-homepack with six low-energy light bulbs and a water-efficient shower head.
Mrs Ross said: "I think that suddenly we are all becoming much more aware of what we could be doing.''
Energy company Origin conducted an energy audit of the motel this week.
Anne Armansin, Origin's retail energy adviser, said: "When people go away to a motel, they tend to forget all the energy efficiency measures that they have at home.''
Next week The Courier-Mail will reveal the full details of each or our challengers' carbon footprints, which will help the groups decide how best to spend their $2000 campaign prize.
Mr Ross said: "We really want to be able to move towards giving our customers a greener experience. Yes, we want lower costs but, as much as we can, we also want to give people an eco-friendly experience.''
The motel has already replaced 19 electric tanks, which supplied each room with hot water, with five energy-efficient heat pumps.
Work also has started on replacing some of the older wall-mounted airconditioning units and bar fridges.