| Property Profile
The Sports Club at Four Seasons offers full-service, European-style spa with fourteen private treatment rooms, a relaxation area, spa cuisine and an outdoor spa pool. The Salon provides aesthetic services for men and women. And, in the well-equipped locker areas, there are separate sauna, steam room, whirlpool and cold plunge pool facilities for each gender. The property boasts four swimming pools, including a 25-yard indoor heated pool and a spectacular 5,500-square-feet outdoor pool. The resort�s 357 guestrooms,15 suites and 50 rooms intimately grouped in private villas, are all richly appointed and offer a private balcony or patio overlooking the sprawling fairways of the golf course or the Cottonwood Valley. Property Challenge In 1997, the Four Seasons Resort & Club Dallas at Las Colinas recognized that the conditions were right for a potential mold concern. The fundamental problem was that the property did not have guestroom humidity controls, which allowed outdoor moisture to be brought in and become trapped between the drywall and vinyl wall covering. According to James W. Kimbrough, Doctor of Mycology in the Plant Department of the University of Florida, the biggest issue in hotels and resorts today is that the paint over interior drywall traps moisture, creating a perfect growth environment for mold. Vinyl-covered walls, required by most brand standards, are even worse. The cellulose backing of the drywall, along with the mucilage (organic) glues of wallpaper, are favorite nutrients of fungus. When the AC is on, the vinyl wall covering gets cold and blocks condensation on its underside�allowing moisture to accumulate and mold spores to germinate with their food supply right on site! Buck Raines, Four Seasons director of facilities, said mold created red "Kool-Aid-like" spots readily apparent at the top of the walls in several guestrooms that would run down the vinyl covering. Thankfully, the Four Seasons Resort & Club Dallas conducts regular and thorough preventative maintenance, so the property was able to catch the mold growth very early on. Scientists at the University of Florida, Gainesville, have defined the psychometric zone most favorable to the growth of mold and mildew as being above 72 degrees Fahrenheit and above 60 percent relative humidity. "With our hotels� outside bricks heating up to 120 degrees on some days, and our guestrooms set at say 68 degrees, we were creating a virtual rain forest of moisture for mold and mildew growth in-between our drywall and vinyl coverings, especially in guestrooms close to the exterior," Raines said. He called upon William Holder, president of Assured Indoor Air Quality L.P., a local company that has done considerable work in the hotel arena and which a few years back helped President George W. Bush breathe easier when he was governor of Texas and that governor�s mansion needed a mold remediation face-lift. "What we found was that mildew and mold had already eaten through some of our drywall, and was getting ready to head on to bigger and better things," Raines said. "One-and-a-half years later � after very carefully removing the sheet rock and vinyl coverings from about 30 guestrooms, and systematically remedying and renovating the affected rooms � we were able to recover to our typical rooms inventory." Raines said most hotels are unaware they have a mold and mildew problem and often take too long to get educated and take action. Property Solution
"It could have easily cost us 10 times that or more had we not been on guard, caught the problem and taken swift, appropriate action to remove the mold and mildew ridden walls and coverings, remedy the air and affected areas, and install the SensorStat® DDC to make sure that this never happens again," Raines said. "If we had never installed Onity�s SensorStat® DDC, the entire remediation project would have been for naught," he said. "Without built-in humidity controls, we would have been spending $50,000+ per year on remediation and related renovations," he said. "If we didn�t change the humidity in the environment, in actuality we would have been just spending $50,000 per year on new food for mold growth." Raines said SensorStat® DDC is a must for any new-build developer or current hotel owner/operator looking to protect its people and valuable assets, while minimizing vulnerability to increasingly common mold-related litigation. "SensorStat® DDC literally is a lifesaver," Raines said. "We learned quickly that mold and mildew damage could spread like wildfire in a hotel if undetected or untreated. The potential cost associated with replacing drywall or room inventory is minimal compared to the potential health risk presented to guests and employees, and the potential liability risk hotels could face down the road. As the saying goes: �An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.� " The SensorStat® DDC offers a patented
option that maintains room temperature and relative humidity outside the
mold-spore growth range, saving properties tens of thousands of dollars
every year in asset protection while reducing related guestroom energy
costs. The DDC typically pays for itself in two years or less. Further
adding to the ROI, the SensorStat®�s humidity controls give
guests the feeling that their guestrooms are several degrees lower than
actual temperatures, saving additional monies while rooms are occupied.
For more information on Onity�s EMS solutions,
their features and proven ROI, please contact: Larry Gomez, VP Sales/Senercomm
at +1-561-775-9889, Ext. 217, [email protected];
Laura R. Acuña, Director of Marketing
About Onity
�Turning on clients to the promises of progress, and unlocking the potential of partnering the very best minds and technologies. |
The
Four Seasons Resort & Club Dallas at Las Colinas is surrounded by 400
acres of North Texas hills. Located in Irving, it is just minutes from
downtown Dallas. The property offers polished interiors, a TPC Golf Course,
the finest Sports Club and Spa in the Dallas area and superb function space.
To
prevent its mold and mildew problem from recurring, the Four Seasons Resort
& Club Dallas called upon Atlanta-based Onity Inc. (formerly TESA Entry
Systems), which offers innovative technological hospitality solutions.
Using Onity�s SensorStat® DDC Energy Management System with
patented "5 Star Comfort" humidity and condensation control ensures that
the entire mold remediation project will not have to be repeated anytime
soon. The entire remediation project cost an estimated $50,000 to $60,000,
not including nearly 15,000 lost potential room nights.
Onity
Inc. (formerly TESA Entry Systems), the leading global provider of electronic
locking systems, offers innovative technological solutions and services
for the Hospitality, Corporate, Education, Government and Marine markets.
The company�s ever-expanding family of electronic solutions today includes
electronic locks, related smartcard technology, in-room safes, closed-circuit
television (CCTV) security surveillance and SensorStat energy management
systems. Onity has R&D and manufacturing operations in Spain, Mexico
and the U.S.,