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1/18/2012
PHILADELPHIA—As initiator and overseer of Hersha Hospitality’s EarthView program, Bennett Thomas makes sure that his company’s environmental and conservation programs positively impact the company’s bottom line while simultaneously improving the environment, well-being of its guests, employees, and communities. For the Hersha Group, with more than 80 hotels and almost 11,000 rooms across many brands and its own independent hotels known as the Independent Collection, EarthView is part of a larger strategy to deliver a positive internal rate of return on the company’s investments—a strategy not only good for Hersha but for its stakeholders as well. Hersha piloted EarthView from 2009 to 2010. “We launched it in late 2010, early 2011 in corporate offices and at the property level,” Thomas says. EarthView is focused on reducing energy and water consumption as well as waste. An important component of EarthView is also community—helping to enrich the communities in which its hotels are located.
1/12/2012
SAN FRANCISCO—Inn at The Presidio, the first hotel in San Francisco’s Presidio, a national park site, has appointed Terry Haney as the general manager. Haney brings extensive managerial and directorial knowledge to the position, with a wealth of more than 28 years’ experience in the hospitality industry. One of Haney’s notable achievements was his involvement with the much-heralded opening of the W San Francisco, where he was director of operations. Having started his career in 1982 as the restaurant manager at the Hyatt Regency, Fort Worth, Texas, he has since held numerous management and director-level positions at premier hotels, with his most recent appointment being general manager of Hotel Rex, San Francisco. Among his many additional professional qualifications, Haney is a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt. “All hotel openings are special,” Haney says. “There’s an excitement in the air, a rush of adrenalin knowing your about to embark on a totally new adventure.”
12/15/2011
NASHVILLE—When his second child was born a couple of years ago, Andrew Mims knew it was time to make a career change. Having kids does that sometimes. In his case, Sims wanted to find a position that would allow him to combine his passion for the outdoors, his experience in business and, most importantly, his interest in corporate responsibility. His timing was perfect as he ultimately landed his current position as vice president of sustainability for Gaylord Entertainment. Gaylord currently has four upscale, meetings-focused resorts in Nashville, Washington, D.C., Orlando, and Dallas. Mims’s start with Gaylord was an interesting one, to say the least. Not long after beginning work, the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville was flooded by the Cumberland River. That flooding closed down the almost 2,900-room hotel until November 2010.
11/15/2011
TORONTO—The Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) announced another milestone in its journey toward sustainability with the addition of a local food advocate to its team. In the newly created role of local food procurement officer, chef and project manager Kelly Hughes has taken on a mandate to create and implement a new strategy for MTCC around Ontario-based sourcing. The MTCC has partnered with OCTA (Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance) in support of this initiative. The MTCC is enthusiastic about increasing the amount of local food on its menus for the cornucopia of benefits. From supporting local economies and building strong communities, to the environmental impacts of reduced air pollution from food traveling shorter distances, and the health benefits of fresher, tastier produce, sourcing food locally is simply the best choice.
10/24/2011
BETHESDA, MD.—In her role as vice president Social Responsibility & Community Engagement for Marriott International, Mari Snyder says “strategy development” is the favorite part of her job. In her seven years in her current role, Snyder has had a lot to strategize about, as Marriott has not been shy about setting aggressive goals when it comes to environmental and social responsibility. Marriott, for example, has a goal of reducing its hotels’ water and energy consumption by 25 percent by 2017. Using 2007 as the baseline for improvement, Marriott has already cut energy consumption by 20 percent and water usage by 18.9 percent. The company has also reduced the volume of waste it sends to landfill by 29.2 percent. Marriott has more Energy Star certified hotels than any other chain and has a goal of 300 LEED certified hotels by 2015.
9/21/2011
ENGLEWOOD, COLO.—As chairwoman of Smoke-Free Gaming, Stephanie Steinberg’s mission is to work her nonprofit out of business—to get to a point when all casinos in the United States disallow indoor smoking. “Once all gaming industry employees are protected from second-hand smoke, our mission will be accomplished,” she says. While there are other nonprofits that advocate a smoke-free working environment, Smoke-Free Gaming is the only one that targets just casinos. It has been doing so since 2004 when Steinberg founded the organization. A casino patron at one time herself, Steinberg began chatting with casino employees and learned that many of them were getting sick with asthma, different types of cancer and other ailments from the unhealthy indoor air to which they were exposed.
9/7/2011
NEW YORK—Drew Schlesinger, a veteran of the hotel industry and a 12-year resident of Scarsdale, N.Y., was recently named general manger of the InterContinental Times Square. One of the greenest hotels in New York City, the hotel opened in July. The 36-story, 607-room hotel cost half a billion dollars to build and is being billed by its parent company, InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, as one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in the city. It’s already the largest hotel in New York to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, which is assigned by the U.S. Green Building Council to projects in which environmentally sound strategies are utilized. This is the Philadelphia native’s first position at a green hotel, but he has a wealth of experience in the industry.
8/17/2011
TORONTO—Fairmont recently made several management and supervisory-level appointments at its properties worldwide. Among them was the promotion of Sarah Dayboll to director, environmental affairs. Dayboll has been instrumental in progressing Fairmont’s green agenda and most recently oversaw the company’s commitment to reduce its carbon emissions under the World Wildlife Fund’s Climate Savers Program. In her expanded role, she will continue to seek out new ways in which to proactively green Fairmont’s operations. Working closely with Fairmont’s portfolio of world-class hotels, Dayboll plays an instrumental role in the day-to-day operations of Fairmont’s Green Partnership program, a worldwide environmental platform recognized internationally as being the most comprehensive green program in the lodging industry.
8/7/2011
ANN ARBOR, MICH.—NSF International, an independent organization that aims to protect human health and the environment, has promoted Tom Bruursema to general manager of NSF Sustainability. In this role, Bruursema will lead the growing portfolio of NSF Sustainability services that assists organizations in greening their products, operations, systems and supply chains. These services include standards development through the National Center for Sustainability Standards founded by NSF International in 2010. NSF develops life-cycle based, multi-attribute sustainability standards for green products and services, including building products and materials, furniture, carpet and flooring, fabrics, wallcoverings, roofing membranes, green chemicals, and water and wastewater infrastructure. Additional services through NSF Sustainability include environmental claims testing and verification.
7/28/2011
SAN FRANCISCO—The InterContinental San Francisco announces the appointment of Juan Pablo Laginia as the new director of operations. Holding an extensive background within the InterContinental Hotel Group, Laginia was most recently working as the hotel’s director of rooms, responsible for day-to-day operations and overseeing the front office, housekeeping, security and IT departments at the LEED certified 550-room hotel located in San Francisco’s South of Market (SOMA) district. Laginia first joined the InterContinental Hotel Group in September 2000, assisting with front desk and front office operations and management at the InterContinental Tamanaco in Caracas, Venezuela. In 2006 Laginia joined the team at the InterContinental Miami and subsequently trained to become the assistant director of front office in 2008.
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