Hometown Hospitality: Caring for Our Communities

Responsible corporate citizenship recognizes the strong interplay between a healthy and vibrant community and the health and well-being of a company and its employees.  That is why Chaminade Resort & Spa is an active participant in Benchmark Hospitality International’s company-wide initiative called Hometown Hospitality Caring for Our Communities.  Hometown Hospitality formalizes many active community involvement programs and offers tools for properties to become engaged as vital contributors in their home communities.

Chaminade Resort & Spa’s staff, through Hometown Hospitality, has led beach clean-ups, hosted CASA fundraisers, conducted toy drives, held holiday events for the Boys & Girls Club, and has a Relay for Life Team each year.  These are just a few of the initiatives Chaminade does to reach out to the community and to support their hometown.

EverGreen Initiative: Commitment to Environmental Sustainability

Chaminade Resort & Spa, along with its parent company Benchmark Hospitality International, is dedicated to the evergreen initiative in every aspect of operating its property. Besides resource and environmental conservation, the resort’s primary objective for its green business model is to show leadership in the hospitality industry. Chaminade is Green Business Certified and is the only resort in Santa Cruz County to hold this distinction. 

Property Operations

From the outside, you can observe the green spa experience, the use of electric vehicles on the property and the shuttle bus services that reduce the number of cars on the road.  However, it is the efforts being made behind the scenes that make the property truly evergreen. Chaminade has reduced energy consumption by utilizing compact florescent lighting and a co-generation unit which generates 40% of electrical demand and produces 100% of the property’s heating demand.  Most heating and air conditioning are on energy management system and the hotel uses energy star appliances whenever possible.

To achieve water conservation, Chaminade Resort & Spa has installed low flow tanks, provides optional linen service, serves water only upon request and makes use of drip irrigation controls.

Dining

In food preparation, Chaminade maintains a relationship with and buys produce from local growers and serves seafood from sustainable sources and locally sourced, all-natural meats. Many of the wines served in Chaminade’s restaurants are from wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  Local sourcing and menus based on in-season produce makes it possible for our guests to enjoy fresh foods year round.

 The pinnacle of Chaminade Resort & Spa’s commitment to sustainability is through dining its Farm-to-Table Dinner Series, which enable guests to enjoy locally grown, locally-sourced foods from the Santa Cruz area, and to experience a meal with complete traceability. Vintners and growers whose products are featured in the meals also attend so that diners can have any questions answered about the foods being served.

To mitigate its environmental impact off-property as much as it does on site, to-go containers and utensils are biodegradable or compostable and made of corn and potato starches.  

 Green Events

For business and other groups visiting Chaminade, special arrangements can be made to incorporate any other environmentally conscious event materials- special organic menus can be offered, water can be served in pitchers instead of bottled and paper products for the event can be made of recycled paper.   For more information on Green Meetings, click here.

Environmental Certifications/Awards