NATIONAL REPORT—Going green is no longer a passing trend but an important initiative for every business to consider. Today’s customers are becoming more environmentally conscious consumers and looking toward companies that are both responsive to their needs and environmentally aware. Some consumers are going as far as to change their shopping behaviors to only purchase from “green” companies. One of the easiest but least often considered ways to keep hotel guests happy—without them even knowing it—is to reduce the environmental impact of a hotel’s pest control program.

FREEPORT, ME.—As the final numbers for the Maine Innkeeper’s Assn. (MEIA) fifth annual Hospitality for Habitat program are tallied, it is clear that visitors to Maine appreciate the opportunity to ‘give while getting away’. Hospitality for Habitat was designed to raise money for local Maine chapters of Habitat for Humanity, and since its inception in 2003 the program has grown each year. This year Hospitality for Habitat attracted more than 40 MEIA members and raised over $12,000 to help fund housing for Maine families. Hospitality for Habitat runs in May, and participating Innkeepers offer a designated number of their rooms at half price in return for a $35 check written by the guest to Habitat for Humanity.

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—The NYLO Providence/Warwick is setting a new standard for living a loft lifestyle in Rhode Island—while using renewable energy resources such as wind, solar and hydro to better meet the demands of its guests in an eco-friendly climate. Through a unique partnership with People’s Power & Light in Rhode Island, NYLO Providence/Warwick has become the first hotel in the state to open completely powered by renewable energy from local resources such as the Portsmouth Abbey wind turbine, solar panels on Scituate High School, low-impact hydro from Pawtucket Hydro, and dozens of other installations throughout Rhode Island.

ISLAMORADA, FLA.—Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) South District Director Jon Iglehart announced that Lookout Lodge Resort in the Florida Keys has been added to the Florida Green Lodging Program. The property is the 200th designation in the program and the first combined Green Lodging and Clean Marina property. Both voluntary initiatives are administered through DEP to help facilities go “clean and green” by adopting cost-saving practices that reduce waste and conserve natural resources. “With Florida’s hotels serving more than 35 million guests annually and more than one million registered boats on our waters, the lodging and marine industries play a tremendous role in helping to protect Florida’s natural resources and boosting our economy,” said DEP Secretary Michael W. Sole.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—Supporting the hospitality industry’s continued efforts to decrease carbon footprints and develop eco-friendly properties, the 93rd annual International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show (IH/M&RS) will feature educational programming, a special exhibit, and product awards highlighting the latest sustainable products and resources. Taking place November 8-11, 2008, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, the IH/M&RS will serve as the industry’s top gathering place for informed decisions about this trend and others.

ATHENS, GA.—Atlanta-based Rialto Property Partners, LLC and Savannah, Ga.-based Melaver, Inc. announced that construction on a new Hotel Indigo has commenced in downtown Athens, Ga. Located five blocks from the University of Georgia’s campus, the boutique hotel will have 130 eco-luxury guestrooms and plans to be open by the fall of 2009. The building is anticipated to be among the first three hotels in the world to achieve LEED Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Hotel Indigo Athens will offer a complete boutique experience. Features include residential-inspired guestrooms, hardwood floors and spa-like showers, which are all part of the Hotel Indigo design.

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF.—For every medal Team USA receives at the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games, Doubletree will donate trees to a variety of need-based, reforestation projects across America through the Arbor Day Foundation. For every gold medal, Doubletree will donate 100 trees to be planted in the athlete’s honor. For every silver medal, Doubletree will donate 50 trees to be planted in the athlete’s honor. For every bronze medal, Doubletree will donate 25 trees to be planted in the athlete’s honor. The countdown campaign for the Doubletree U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Commemorative Forest initiative began with the first medal events on August 9 and will continue through the close of the Paralympic Games on September 17.

HOUSTON—How do you get a laundry facility that covers 27,000 square feet into the basement of a downtown Houston, Texas hotel? It’s easy; you build the hotel on top of the laundry. Most hotel laundries are put in as an afterthought to the construction of the hotel and as such have limited space for equipment. The laundry facility located in the basement of the Hilton Americas-Houston was included in the initial building of the structure and exists as the largest laundry facility in the United States Hilton family of hotels. The massive equipment, including two tunnel washers, was put into place prior to the construction of the upper 24 floors of the building, allowing the hotel to have an on-property laundry facility that rivals most commercial laundries.

IRVING, TEXAS—Omni Hotels is hanging up on phone books for good. The luxury hotel brand announced that it will immediately recycle its current stock of approximately 30,000 phone books and eliminate future use of phone books at all of its properties. “Saying goodbye to phone books means Omni Hotels will preserve approximately 217,200 pounds of paper each year,” said Richard Maxfield, senior vice president of operations for Omni Hotels. “Our goal is to preserve more than 18,000 trees over the next decade. We feel good about the impact this initiative will have on the environment.”

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—Doris Kearns Goodwin, noted historian and author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, will deliver the keynote address at the 2008 Hospitality Leadership Forum. More than 700 senior level hospitality managers will be in attendance as Goodwin illustrates lessons in leadership relevant to today’s issues and headlines using some of the country’s greatest figures as examples. The full day conference will take place on Saturday, November 8, 2008, preceding the 93rd annual International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show (IH/M&RS), running November 9-11, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.