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Only three properties in Colorado have been certified by the International Association of Conference Centers. And the Sheraton Denver West Hotel and Conference Center is one of them.
A growing number of companies seek out hotels with IACC designation for their meetings. "People who attend conferences in IACC-certified facilities retain four to five times more information than at non-certified ones," says Timothy (Tim) Wolfe, general manager of the Sheraton Denver West. "Companies will pay for added productivity."
To become IACC-certified, conference rooms must meet a number of requirements, including glare-resistant tables, ergonomic chairs, sound-proofed rooms and minimum spacing at the tables of 32 inches per attendee. The required table design ensures that no one will smash their knees on table support bars.
Although the Sheraton Denver West became certified less than two years ago, it already has had a great impact on the local community. "We're bringing business in from the outside," Wolfe says. "This is good for restaurants, shops and area tourism."
In addition to contributing to the economic well-being of the local community, the hotel endeavors to be ecologically green. Through a gradual process, it is transforming the older building into a green one. For example, when they burn out incandescent bulbs are replaced with CFL bulbs. And, when the property needs to replace the HVAC system, the best technology will be installed.
"The challenge is balancing going green with guests' expectations for pampering," Wolfe says. Guests want high pressure showers, clean sheets every day and thermostats that maintain the temperature they set. Among the hotel's property-wide initiatives are green thermostats, which fade to an energy-saving temperature until they detect motion in the room. "People get frustrated when they return to their room and it's not the temperature they set," Wolfe says about the on-going challenge of communicating to guests what the hotel is trying to achieve.
Besides his active involvement in the hotel industry and Jefferson County, Wolfe is the 2009 chair of the West Chamber board of directors. He wants to see the chamber help foster tourism for the benefit of the community and as a seed for economic development that draws new companies here.
Wolfe concludes: "The West Chamber is an incredible value." And he hopes to make it even more so.
Published in the West Chamber Resource Guide 2009 Best of Business Directory & Magazine, an annual publication of The West Chamber Serving Jefferson County.
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