A Hotel Where Guests Can Pedal For Their Dinner!

By - 293 words

Language

Reading Level

Listen to Article

While we have heard of people singing for their dinner, pedaling for one, is a new concept - Especially, when you are a guest at a four-star hotel. But that is apparently what guests at the recently opened Crowne Plaza in Copenhagen, are being offered in exchange for a free dinner!

The program, which started on April 19th, entails bikers to pedal on stationary bikes that have been hooked to the hotel's electricity generators. An iPhone attached to each bike displays the energy output or wattage, which is first stored in a battery in the bike and then distributed to the hotel's main electricity supply.

The hotel awards the biker a $44USD meal voucher for every 10watt hours of electricity generated (approx 10-15 minutes of biking) - A very generous offer given that it takes about 100watt hours to power a 100W light bulb for an hour!

While the hotel chain has only set aside two bikes for this fun experiment, they plan to add more and even expand the program to their other hotels all across Europe, if it is successful.

This is not the only 'green' initiative at this Crowne Plaza, which opened its doors in November 2009. One of a handful of certified 'green' buildings in Denmark, all the energy utilized in this 25 story, 366 room hotel, is derived from renewable energy sources.

Groundwater based heating and cooling systems helps reduce energy consumption, by 90%. In addition, the building's sunny surfaces are fitted with solar panels, estimated to generate 170,000KW of power every year. Also, everything in the hotel ranging from lights to hand dryers, has been selected, based on its energy consumption. Another great example of a corporation doing its share, to help our environment!

sources: wired.com,gizmag.com, visitcopenhagen.com

Cite Article
Geography
83 Comments
  • Florencio about 12 years
    This article was very interesting. I wonder if these bikes will be put in other cities, states, or countries. Will it be here in North America, or South America. This is a really cool article and I will want to be expecting more about this in the near future.
    • Jedabout 12 years
      First, electricity is used a lot, but using bikes to run a hotel is smart and then getting a free dinner. It reduces pollution instead of using petroleum. The people that they are athletic get a good bargain.
      • HunterTheGreat!about 12 years
        In my opinion this a great idea to make our environment greener. It will reduce the pollution just a little bit.Honestly do you think people would go to a four star hotel just to pedal for your dinner? Some athletic people would and get a great deal for it. Some customer may do it too because they paid overpriced for a four star hotel.
        • Hamsters rule!!about 12 years
          I am in 6th grade, and we are currently learning about electricity. yesterday SRP came over and showed us how you can power something from riding a bike
          • ANDIabout 12 years
            This is really smart and cool! :] Especially if you are over-weight, instead of sitting around lazy at the hotel, you can actually get some exercise! And enjoy it too! But my question is...would people actually use it? Or would they be embarrassed to use it in front of other people? Or maybe they would want to watch TV and think its worth it. For people who would be willing to use it, I think its a really good idea and whoever came up with is is very creative.
            • Josh R.about 12 years
              That is great for our environment and not only that, you need to be fit. It's crazy that every fifteen minutes you peddle, you get $44! Denmark is going to get rich off of their product in a four star hotel. We need hotels like that one in our country because going green is a huge problem in the US. All of our houses need solar panels like the hotel up there. We should stop using coal or oil, and start using hydro power, wind power, solar power, wind power, and much more. I love the idea of peddling on a bike for power and energy. As our technology grows our energy increases so it is huge that we change now.
              • Josh R.about 12 years
                That is great for our environment and not only that, you need to be pretty fit. It's crazy that every fifteen minutes you peddle, you get $44!
                • Destiny R.T.about 12 years
                  This is a very creative idea, and I have many opinions about it, First, it's a very good deal. It's a good deal, because you get a free meal and all you have to do is exercise. Second, you pretty much get paid to exercise. Talk about a dream come true. Third, This is good for the environment. One step closer to less pollution. Also, it is a very good way to get people to exercise, which may just be what people of our generation need. In conclusion, I think this idea of exercising for your meal is a great idea.
                  • kinover 13 years
                    akward
                    • frog
                      frogover 13 years
                      that's interesting i wish i could have seen the video oh well <3