Hotel Delta To Launch A Sustainable Initiative In UAE

The UAE has the highest per capita water consumption in the world.

The UAE has the highest per capita water consumption in the world, according to a report from the Emirates Industrial Bank.

In the area, the water table has dropped by about one metre per year over the past thirty years. This means that the UAE is on track to use up all of its natural freshwater resources in just fifty years.

Delta Hotels by Marriott in Dubai Investment Park has started a green initiative to help solve the problem. The goal is to turn the humidity in the air into safe drinking water for hotel guests.

The technology, built by India-based AirOWater, is designed to target the global shortage of clean drinking water and replace plastic by providing an innovative and sustainable solution to the increasing demand for fresh drinking water, as highlighted in the report.

The hotel's partnership with AirOWater is in line with the brand's commitment to sustainability and its core value of giving guests free bottled water.

As a result of this collaboration, Delta Hotels by Marriott at Dubai Investment Park will be the first Marriott International property in the Middle East to work with AirOWater.

The hotel currently has two AirOWater Atmospheric Water Generators (AWG) units, which produce a range of 500 to 1,000 litres of water in one day, enough to cover all of the property’s drinking water requirements.

According to the report, Airowater utilises moisture content in the air to create drinking water through a four-step filtration process. The machine’s optimum performance ideally requires a minimum humidity level of approximately 50 percent. However, the Airowater is designed to produce sufficient amounts of water in conditions of lower humidity as well.

All 246 guestrooms, restaurants, meeting facilities, spas, and gyms feature refrigerators that are stocked with filtered AirOWater glass bottles.

The hotel is plastic-free in terms of water bottles, with no plastic water bottles used in any public or staff areas, including back-of-house offices.

When compared to desalination or traditional reverse osmosis water treatment systems, the hotel saves approximately 11,000 kg of plastic for every 1000 litres of water produced by the AWG units and further reduces its carbon footprint because there is no water waste.

"All of us in hospitality need to focus more on sustainability and look for solutions together to eliminate plastic bottles from our properties," said Raja Zeidan, the general manager of Delta Hotels by Marriott.

"The consideration of how we use water and the containers in which water is stored is a good starting point; however, we plan to invest a lot of time and energy into sustainable initiatives for the future of our hotels,"  Raja Zeidan added.

The hotel’s initiative is a step forward in terms of sustainability and will hopefully serve as an inspiration for other hotels to follow suit.