Earlier this week, Starwood announced that Element will double its portfolio by 2017 and revealed that it plans to launch a brand refresh later this year.

　　Biophilia. Biomimicry. Fractal designs. Natural shapes and forms.

　　These are some of the words and phrases pinned to a posting board at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide’s corporate headquarters, located in Stamford, Connecticut. The board, which includes accompanying images, is being used to brainstorm new ideas for the brand refresh of Element, Starwood’s select-service extended-stay brand.

　　Earlier this week, Starwood announced that Element will double its portfolio by 2017 and revealed that it plans to launch a brand refresh later this year. To find out more, HOTELS spoke with Brian McGuinness, Starwood’s senior vice president, specialty select brands, Aloft, Element, Four Points by Sheraton.

　　HOTELS: How is Starwood working to manage development costs for the Element refresh as the brand expands?

　　Brian McGuinness: Development costs remain US$105,000 to US$110,000 per room. The brand prototype 2.0 won’t be anymore expensive than the 1.0. To be cost-effective, you have to do a lot of sourcing, which takes a little longer.

　　All brands do a refresh in about the five-year mark of the brand, which is where we are at with Element. It will be finished in the fall of this year and roll out in 2015.

　　HOTELS: How are you working with owners on the refresh?

　　McGuinness: We have an owner’s advisory board that meets twice a year. We discuss everything, whether it is about brand 2.0 or the next generation of F&B. They share their operational stories and we get insights into the overall health of the brand.

　　HOTELS: How different will 2.0 be from 1.0?

　　McGuinness: Brand 2.0 has to live seamlessly with brand 1.0. We are selective about having our designs live together as opposed to an aggressive complete teardown. Owners appreciate that and frankly, there is not a lot of good design. There is a lot of fleeting design. Our designs are on trend, but not trendy. If you get design right, it does not need to be redone every five years and that is one of our principles here.

　　Generally the changes will be in materials used, the color palette and some of the lighting. The physical layout may be slightly different, too.

　　HOTELS: What are the regional differences?

　　McGuinness: It’s really the raw materials in the hotels. For example, we wouldn’t use wall covering in humid climates. Instead, we use a different paint. We use material that is indigenous to the region, and of course there is always nuance around F&B to make it locally relevant.

　　HOTELS: How eco-conscious are owners?

　　McGuinness: Usually for owners the return on investment on a high-performance building is 2.5 to 3 years. The savings are in the ongoing operational expenses. If you are saving a million gallons of potable water each year, your water bill is less. If you are using Energy Star appliances, your energy bill is less as HVAC expenses are reduced.

　　We are seeing two forces meeting. Owners and developers are interested in becoming more eco-friendly, and at the same time municipalities are increasingly requiring it, saying “we need you to be smart on potable water.” We are ahead of the curve on that.

　　HOTELS: What about the general public. What percentage of travelers are concerned enough about the environmental impact of their travels that it affects the choice of hotel they stay at?

　　McGuinness: We did a great study on this, where we asked consumers “How green are you?” on a scale of one to 10. The average was seven. When we asked what the do that is green, the answer was “we have the blue recycling bin.” That’s not really a seven. The point is that we found that being eco-friendly is aspirational. At cocktail parties for example, no one claims to be a gas-guzzler, but people do boast about have a Prius.

　　So do guests want to be eco-friendly? Yes. But will the customer pay a premium to be eco-friendly? No.