With a commitment towards environmental preservation, The Merchant House Hotel Manama has embarked on a journey to lead key initiatives that work towards sustainability across the hotel. This unique property has set out to plant and place several indoor and outdoor green spaces to complement the ambiance at the hotel and nurture a value of sustainability across the board. This heralds a new wave of interest and conscious planning within the hospitality sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Justin Kim, General Manager of The Merchant House said “We at The Merchant House seek to offer our guests an understanded luxurious and consciously eco-friendly experience. We embrace nature in every aspect of the hotel, from the decor to the services that we provide, and we look forward to moving to a greener future together as a community by placing sustainability at the top of our guest experience.”
In light of COVID-19, The Merchant House has taken over more sustainable sanitization measures over and above their already international standard safety and hygiene measures. The hotel has incorporated the ROX Machine, which is a new chemical-free approach to clean and sanitize food, kitchen equipment, guest luggage and areas such as the lobby, guest rooms and food and beverage venues. The ROX machine requires a limited amount of standard tap water supply to wash away the germs and keep the areas sanitized and clean thus, reducing water consumption at the property. The property has been embracing technology at a fast pace to complement both in-bound tourism to the island and the within borders tourism that people are being encouraged to experience as they explore their own country as citizens/residents.
Besides the property’s ongoing efforts to minimise plastic usage, they have implemented initiatives to use paper straws and linens in all of their food and beverage venues including Indigo and Cafe Gray. The usage of plastic is minimal and when and if it is necessary to do so, the hotel uses biodegradable and compostable grade plastic. With the intention to curate the ultimate eco-friendly experience, The Merchant House has further incorporated REN face and body care into the bathroom amenities. A brand that has been chosen specifically by the hotel due to their environmental approach of using sustainable sources and packages globally. Their bottles are made with ocean plastic and tubes from recycled plastic sourced by TerraCycle®, raising awareness of a larger climate waste problem.
Other initiatives being undertaken by the hotel include installing chlorine-free pool water by using the Hayward Aqua Rite Salt Chlorine Generator, providing clear and soft sanitized pool water to the guests. As for the hotel’s energy-saving initiatives, The Merchant House utilizes Messerschmitt energy-saving system. It provides contactless room management features as well as avoids the unnecessary energy waste when the room is unoccupied. This hotel’s initiatives serve as a light at the end of the tunnel in year that has shed a spotlight on the impact we have had on the environment and climate change and places action to words with the hope of encouraging the community to join in and do the same.