Hotel Der Brabander in Winterberg attaches great importance to saving energy. This is why the Dutch-German family business has invested in many areas. In this interview, Management Director Danny Meurs explains how the sustainable transformation is being achieved step by step.
Mr. Meurs, your hotel is located in Winterberg. If it gets warmer due to climate change, winter sports resorts in the low mountain ranges will also have to adapt - despite all the successes in technical snow production. How do you see this transformation?
It is already underway. Winterberg has long been a year-round destination for bikers, hikers and families. We have a Winterberg Card Plus in the village, which allows you to use more than 50 offers free of charge from April to October. And in the hotel we offer our guests a large wellness area, among other things. Last year, we also converted the ski hut belonging to the hotel so that we can use it all year round.
As a hotel, you attach great importance to sustainability. When did you set out on the path of sustainable transformation?
The funny thing is that sustainability has always been very important to us. It's just that we didn't used to call it sustainable, but energy-efficient. One example: when we were planning to build a large pool nine years ago, we asked ourselves how we could heat it cost-effectively. We came up with the idea of building two combined heat and power units - and that's what we did. Today, this can be seen as a sustainable transformation, but the first step was the idea of saving energy.
Let's get specific: what fuel do you use for the combined heat and power plants - gas, wood pellets, vegetable oil?
The combined heat and power plants run on gas. The costs are about the same as if we were to buy in the electricity, but the big advantage is the heat that is generated. We can then use it.
Is the energy from the combined heat and power units sufficient for the pool and sauna? Or do you have to tap into other - fossil - energy sources to generate heat?
Of course, it's not quite enough to heat the pool, but we can manage for most of the months.
Have you ever considered a heat pump as a supplement?
As we have grown historically and we don't just have one house, but eight “old” buildings, it's almost not feasible.
They have a program in the house to explain to guests what they are doing in terms of sustainability. It's called “Wat wij doe met groen” in Dutch, or “What we do with green” in German. What are you doing - apart from the combined heat and power plants?
For example, we switched our lighting concept to LEDs back in 2006, partly to save energy and partly because we wanted to create a nice ambience for our guests with the colored light. And we purchased a combined cooling system.
What is behind it?
All the cooling circuits in the hotel are connected to the system. We bundle the heat generated and use it to heat the water that our guests shower with, for example. We have also purchased intelligent thermostat knobs in all rooms and smart window contacts. Both are connected to our reservation system: When guests check in, the heating in the reserved room now automatically goes on, and as soon as they check out, it goes off again. It's the same with the window: we no longer have the problem of “heating on 5, window open”. As soon as a window is open, the heating goes off automatically.
Let's stay with ecological sustainability. What else plays a role in your hotel business?
A major investment in ecological sustainability was our huge photovoltaic system: we now produce green electricity with 90 panels on our various roofs.
How much energy do you generate with it? And do you also have an electricity storage unit?
If the weather conditions are right, we can generate around 40 kWh with it. However, we also need 40 kWh in a quiet phase - at night when everything is off - so we don't have a storage unit, but everything flows directly into the house.
Can you say how self-sufficient the hotel has become in terms of electricity generation? In other words, what percentage of the electricity do you still have to draw from the grid?
We do a lot, but we also generate an enormous amount. We need an additional 550,000 kWh of electricity from the grid every year.
In a hotel with a restaurant, there are other levers for sustainability. How do you deal with food waste, for example?
When we wanted to completely renovate the kitchen in 2018, we looked for a sustainable solution - and found one. We built a large organic tank: Our organic waste now goes into this tank underground via a pipe. A company empties it regularly and recycles the waste in a biogas plant in the region. An entire village is heated with biogas from our waste! So we make sure that everything we do is sustainable.
What opportunities do you see in the sustainable transformation? Is that also a plus when it comes to attracting guests?
I clearly see opportunities for us when it comes to saving energy. I don't know whether our guests appreciate our commitment. When it comes to vacations, other things are often decisive. Personally, I think every step towards sustainability is important. However, there is one restriction: it must never be at the expense of the guest. For example, our outdoor pool is heated to 30 degrees. You could also swim at 28 degrees, and that would save us a lot of energy. But that wouldn't be pleasant for our guests, so we don't do it.
How does your company finance investments in sustainable transformation?
So far, we have been able to finance everything with equity. One exception was the renovation of the ski hut last year. We needed a loan from the bank for that - but the conversion was more of an extension. Every now and then we get a loan from the bank when we do major renovations. But the investments we have made in sustainability in recent years - such as the PV system - have so far been made with equity.
Did the bank also ask about sustainability?
Yes, we completed a report on this together with our advisor. Our sustainability efforts have had a positive impact on the conditions.
What does that mean in concrete terms - was there a lower interest rate or did it increase the chances of approval?
So far, we have never had anything not approved. However, this is not due to sustainability, but to the other figures. There is a kind of rating in which many things play a role - including sustainability.
Have you ever benefited from subsidies when investing in sustainability?
Of course we try to take advantage of subsidies. But the details are sometimes complicated. For example, we have invested in six wall boxes for our guests' electric cars. However, the subsidy is only available if the wallboxes are powered 100 percent by green electricity. We couldn't prove that: We have a broker who buys a mix of electricity for us - including a lot, but not all, green electricity. And although the wallboxes only make up a small part of our consumption, we would not have received the subsidy.
We have talked a lot about environmental sustainability. What are your goals for the other ESG criteria - social and governance?
Social is about our employees. We are very committed to diversity and integration here. We currently employ people of 16 different nationalities - not just because of the shortage of skilled workers, but out of conviction. We all want immigrants to integrate with us. The obstacle that someone has to learn German first does not apply to us: I am convinced that the best way to learn a language is often on the job. That's why we help our employees to communicate in everyday life and also provide them with financial support for language courses.
What sustainable business model is your company aiming for and what are the steps to get there?
We don't have a concrete strategy that we have planned on the drawing board. Instead, we look at every step to see whether we can make it sustainable. This was the case with the conversion of the ski hut and the purchase of the interconnected system. I would also recommend this to other companies: Look step by step - what is possible? And: get informed! We already have a very good basis. But there are certainly still a lot of adjustments that I don't know about. That's why I go to trade fairs, for example, to find out what's new.
About the company
The vacation hotel Der Brabander is a family business in Winterberg in the Sauerland. Founded in 1986 by Dutchmen Rob and Marja Meurs, it is now run by their son Danny Meurs together with his brother Roy and the rest of the family in the second generation. The company not only has 380 guest beds, but also an après-ski hut, a pancake house and its own ski school. The business has long been committed to sustainability during the winter season: Since 2018, Der Brabander has held the “Sustainable Destination” certificate from Tourcert.
