Seattle hotel relies on pipe restoration technology

 

At The Fairmont Olympic, Seattle’s premier luxury hotel, everything is secondary to its exceptional levels of guest service. So when faced with the disruptive problem of recurrent pinhole leaks in their domestic water system, hotel operations and management agreed that a problem so serious required the best possible solution. David Gault, director of engineering, was charged with the responsibility of finding a solution to the problem. That solution led him to ACE DuraFlo’s technology, referred to as ePIPE®, which covers application to metallic and non-metallic pipes as small as 3/8" in diameter. The patented ePIPE method restores pipes “in-place” avoiding the typical destruction, interruption and a host of other inconveniences that are often associated with a traditional rePIPE. The types of pipes that can be restored include those carrying potable water, natural gas, heating and cooling systems and fire suppression systems.

 

Gault’s research included the extraction of pipe samples, which were sent for metallurgical examination by a corrosion engineer. “We were trying to understand the nature of the problem, but the only certainty seemed to be that the problem was getting worse.”

 

Gault was familiar with past ePIPE projects completed by ACE DuraFlo. “Based on our evaluation, ACE was the only company with the certifications, solid references and past hotel experience to give Fairmont the confidence to move forward with the ePIPE project.” Once the decision was made to go with ePIPE, the challenge became how to complete the work with a minimum impact on guest services, on a very tight time-line, and without a significant effect on revenue.   

 

Project tailored to fit

 

The Fairmont, as Seattle’s home-away-from-home to royalty, dignitaries and celebrities, only the very best will do. To tailor this project to a 5 Diamond level, ACE went to great lengths to disguise the evidence that a major renovation project was taking place in the midst of occupied guest areas. Outside, a sound deflecting wall was built and painted to hide the compressor and to minimize noise for the street level boutiques. Inside, “decorative hose socks and hangers” were manufactured to match corridor wallpaper so that air hoses could be hung like a scalloped work of art.

 

Operationally, the restoration schedule was set for the winter low season and was developed on a Thursday to Tuesday cycle so that the Olympic could actually sell out 100% of their rooms on their two busiest (and most valuable) nights of the week. As well, the ePIPE project had to be scheduled around special holiday events, holiday street use restrictions and a bathroom renovation that was also taking place.

 

The best laid plans

 

Adding an element of difficulty to the project was some of the worst winter weather that Seattle had ever seen. A December storm knocked out power for days to more than one million residents in Washington and the downtown core of Seattle was one of the few areas to remain operational. “Mid-December is typically a lower occupancy period and we had scheduled to restore a block of 60 rooms over that period,” explained Gault. “But when the power went out, the city’s hotels immediately sold out. The ACE crew instantly went into overtime mode and quickly returned 30 of those rooms to our inventory for an unexpected four night sellout.”

 

This would not be the last schedule adjustment for the project. With software giant Microsoft hosting their mammoth Comdex conference in Seattle, the city was once again oversold. With the certainty of a week-long sellout, every additional room-night sold makes a significant contribution to the bottom line. Fairmont contacted ACE management to discuss an adjustment to the schedule for the 30 rooms to be restored that week, without an option to extend the completion date! With some collaboration and a few creative adjustments the schedule was revised to return those rooms to inventory. Altogether, ACE DuraFlo was able to adjust and give back a total of some 250 room-nights during unscheduled sellouts over the course of the project.

 

A job well done

 

The flexibility of the ePIPE technology allowed ACE to successfully complete the project with no extensions to the original schedule. As a token of appreciation, Fairmont management hosted an appreciation luncheon for the ACE crew and management at the end of the project. According to general manager Dennis Clark, “With a project of this magnitude, we try plan for every conceivable problem, and then prepare to handle the inevitable guest complaints — but the phone never rang! We truly appreciate the care and commitment which the ACE DuraFlo crew showed to complete this important project.”