When Barcelona’s Hotel Arts began a €220 million renovation of its 437 rooms, it faced a familiar problem for the hotel industry: what to do with thousands of beds, mattresses, lamps, wardrobes and minibars that were no longer wanted. Its answer was to give as much as possible away.
Emptying 31 floors
The 18-month project required the removal of 8,793 items of furniture and equipment. From the start, the hotel’s management decided that everything reusable should be donated to social organisations, according to Paula Pont, the hotel’s head of public relations.
Who received it
The hotel worked with the Migranodearena Foundation’s Dónalo project and three other non-profit organisations: Banc de Recursos, Reto a la Esperanza and Andròmines. Around 2,800 pieces were passed on to 186 organisations in the Barcelona metropolitan area and Lleida, furnishing social housing, day centres and residences. Even minibar fridges found new uses in charity offices.
A complicated operation
Removing the furniture while parts of the hotel remained open required careful coordination with the construction teams to avoid disturbing guests. The project cost more than simply sending everything to a waste site, but the organisers say that cost was partly offset by savings on waste fees — and the social value was far greater.
Around 69 tonnes of potential waste were kept out of landfill.
A guide for the industry
The hotel and its partners have drawn up a protocol for reusing bulky items in the hotel sector, which they have submitted to Catalonia’s Waste Agency. They say it could be applied to other renovations and to items beyond furniture, such as doors and window frames.
Other chains
Other hotel groups have taken similar steps. Meliá gives priority to donations to social organisations, while chains such as Barceló and Riu move good-quality furniture between their own hotels. Lamps, cushions and decorative items are the easiest to reuse; large beds are often the hardest because of their size.
Relevance for the Balearics
Hotels in the Balearics renovate rooms constantly, particularly in winter, as the islands’ hotel stock moves upmarket. Each refurbishment produces large amounts of used furniture. Initiatives like the Hotel Arts project show that, with some planning, much of it could furnish homes and social services for people who need it.
