Park introduces towel program to augment eco-savings

Wilderness at the Smokies this month launched a new towel program “designed to give guests the high level of service and convenience they are accustomed to from the resort while significantly reducing the amount of washing and drying it does and the energy it consumes.”
 

The indoor and outdoor waterpark says it is doing “everything it can to preserve the environment and be an environmentally responsible business.”
 

The towel program works like this: With every waterpark pass, guests are issued a towel card which allows each visitor to have two towels at all times. As the towels become wet, guests simply trade them for dry towels.
 

“The new towel card system has already resulted in a huge reduction in energy use by the resort,” says a press release from the park in Tennessee.
 

Visitors to the park, primarily families, say that it feels like you’re outside on a beautiful summer day – even in the middle of winter.
 

The see-through Texlon™ roof that covers the indoor waterpark allows sunlight and UV rays into the 60,000 square-foot indoor waterpark.
 

The Texlon™ roof not only allows guests to tan year round, it allows real plants to thrive indoors and dramatically reduces the resort’s energy consumption.
 

According to John Regnerus, operations director at Wilderness at the Smokies, the resort uses 300 to 400 less therms of natural gas per day to heat the indoor waterpark during the colder winter months because of the Texlon™ roof.
 

One therm is the energy equivalent of burning about 100 cubic feet of natural gas and the average US household uses roughly 1,000 therms per year. “It significantly lowers our energy consumption,” Regnerus said. He added:

 “Over a three or four month period, we can reduce our natural gas usage by 30,000 to nearly 50,000 therms. That’s a considerable reduction in our use of fossil fuel.”
 

The natural lighting provided by the Texlon™ roof at Wilderness at the Smokies also allows the resort to lower its electric consumption by not using artificial lighting during daylight hours. The roof has a built-in ventilation system to circulate more air in the summertime and reduces the resort’s use of air conditioning when it’s warm outside.
 

“Because of the roof at Wilderness at the Smokies, guests can literally forget they are inside,” said Dave Keim of Aquatic Development Group, the company that supplied the Texlon™ roof. He added:
 

“In the middle of winter, guests are surrounded by live tropical plants, getting a suntan and splashing in the water attractions. The energy savings are important, but what the guests remember is the experience.”
 

Wilderness at the Smokies is a member of the Green Hotels Association.
 

By David Wilkening