CORONA, CA— When Pete Patel decided to upgrade his Dynasty Suites Hotel here this year, the 56-room property’s outdated HVAC system was one of the first things on which he focused. Not only was the 10-year-old system not energy efficient, but it wasn’t aesthetically pleasing and inadvertently created noise levels in guestrooms that customers found to be unacceptable. Energy efficiency was paramount, said Patel. “You want to monitor your ongoing costs and be sure you’re operating in the most cost-efficient way,” he explained. But the previous system was noisy. Ironically, most of the noise pollution wasn’t due to the system itself. Rather, the underlying problem was the hotel’s location overlooking California’s busy Highway 91. “The existing unit was installed under the guestroom window and allowed a high volume of noise to spill into the room,” Patel said. Moving Forward Only if he could fix the HVAC problem to his guests’ satisfaction would Patel proceed with his planned guest-room refurbishment. Bedding and carpets would be replaced as part of the renovation and 42-inch plasma screen televisions were installed. The total cost of the work— HVAC replacement included— is expected to be about $1 million. Interior work is scheduled to be completed by the end of the summer, exterior work by year-end. At that time, the property will be re-branded Hotel Paseo. “The property upgrade only made sense financially, if we could then attract a more sophisticated level of traveler, one who was willing to pay a higher ADR,” Patel said. Given Corona’s location east of Los Angeles at the doorstep of Orange County and the upscale Inland Empire, demand for higher-level hotel rooms was there. “It was the only way we could justify making a capital investment of that size.” According to the Arlington, VA-based Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute, a trade association, people become uncomfortable when noise levels reach about 43 decibels. Patel learned that the noise levels created by the hotel’s existing HVAC units reached considerably above 50 decibels. Once the noise related to spillover from the freeway was factored in, noise levels jumped to in excess of 80 decibels. As a hotel owner, Patel places an especially high value on having an energy-efficient, smoothly running HVAC system in place. “Air quality is what dictates comfort. It’s the feel of the air, even the smell of the air. You can have the most stylish FF&E and the most lovely finishes, but if the indoor air quality in the room is poor, the body senses it and guests will leave unhappy,” he explained. People want air quality in a hotel to be comparable to what they experience in their homes. “People in this area are living in million-dollar homes. That’s the level of expectation they bring with them when they check into a hotel in this market,” he said. In deciding to replace the below-window units, Patel opted for an indoor wall-mounted air-conditioner and heat pump combination. The units sit high on the wall above an in-room desk. Set on its lowest setting, the new units create a noise level of only 25 decibels and they come with an energy-saving motion sensor that turns the unit on only when guests enter the room and the door closes. To save energy, the housekeeping staff makes sure the door is left open when the room is being cleaned, thereby deactivating the system. Asked about specific cost savings, Patel said it was still too soon to know what the exact dollar amounts will be. Freeway-related noise, meanwhile, has been eliminated entirely since the new units require only a small opening in the exterior wall for refrigerant piping and electrical lines to pass through. Patel compares the size of the opening to a tennis ball. “Guests report they don’t even know the unit is operating. They tell us they have to check to see that the red ‘on’ button is on, that’s how quiet it is,” Patel said. At The Ground Level The product connects to an outdoor compressor that sits on the ground beside the hotel in the midst of landscaping. The system selected by Patel is the Mr. Slim model manufactured by the HVAC advanced products division of Mitsubishi Electric. Retrofitting the new units into the hotel, which was originally built in the early-1980s, was a complicated process, Patel reported. For the interior work, four rooms were taken out of service at a time, allowing the hotel to remain open while the work was underway. Once all interior work was completed, construction crews sealed the large openings under guestroom windows where the old units had been and refinished the exterior. “So by the time we’re all done, not only will we have a more energy efficient, comfortable, and quieter hotel, but we’ll have one that’s more aesthetically pleasing,” Patel said.
