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Despite having no hospitality experience, Madeleine and Alan Ernst took their love for the mountains and turned it into a new career and a new life when they opened Aurum Lodge in 2000

Aug 1, 2007

by Colleen Seto

Having spent 25 years in banking, freight and travel, the Ontario couple decided it was time for a change. After two years of searching, they settled on the eastern front ranges of the Rockies, 40 km east of Banff National Park.

Right from the get-go, they decided ecotourism would be a key element. So they made every environmental consideration they could, offered guests a range of self-propelled outdoor activities and have established Aurum Lodge as one of the only true ecotourism providers in North America. It is now the only property to hold the Five Green Leaf Eco-rating by the Hotel Association of Canada.

V: What made you decide to run a lodge?
AE: Initially, our idea was simply to own and operate a small lodging facility in an attractive natural area. We chose this location because we found it was the last region in the Alberta foothills which had not been significantly impacted by industry, recreation, residential, transportation or other development. We realized by building here and bringing more people into the area, we would have an impact ourselves and thus we decided, “If we do this, then let’s do it right.” We have always been nature and conservation oriented.

What makes Aurum Lodge true ecotourism accommodation?
“Green” or “ecotourism” has become fashionable. Operators have realized that wearing a green badge reduces operating expenses and increases customer appeal. Unfortunately, very often, these are the only reasons rather than a real concern about environmental degradation or resource conservation.

We have taken a different approach. First of all, we tried to consider environmental aspects in every area and at every stage of planning, development and operation.

What’s more, environmental criteria for us are more important than financial considerations. For example, our state-of-the-art biological septic system cost four times more than a basic system which might meet all codes, but would clearly not produce acceptable results for us. If something is good for the bottom line but questionable from an environmental perspective, we will not do it. This separates us from the others.

What can guests expect?
Many of our guests are surprised that we can deliver a very high level of comfort despite being environmentally friendly. There’s a perception that reducing environmental impact equates to reducing creature comforts. Fact is, guest comfort is likely much greater in a healthy house where building materials, supplies and systems are selected based on low impact.

How did you learn what was necessary to run a successful ecotourism business?
I believe all it takes is personal conviction and an understanding of environmental issues. When we started our business, everything was new to us. We had never worked in the tourism industry; we had never lived in this area; we had never designed or built our own home, or owned our own business. Yet we knew what we wanted to do. We knew the market we were targeting from our own travel experiences. We took our time – lots of time – to research and plan. We stuck to the tried and proven; there are few business aspects we incorporated that had not been tried successfully elsewhere. Fortunately, originating from Europe, we had access to a much wider range of literature and reference projects than are available in North America.

What’s been your biggest mistake?
We thought we had done our homework well. As it turned out, we did not inform ourselves about the political climate in Alberta. Had I been aware of the province’s dismal attitude towards environmental values and conservation, we would have taken our investment elsewhere.

What’s the most rewarding part?
What is most satisfying is the feedback from guests who are implementing some of the changes in their own home or office. As such, we may have made more of a difference than we ever thought we could.