This past week, Earth Week, was a busy week for news. Much of it has already been posted on Green Lodging News but some of it has not. First of all, I heard from Ryan Dillon, Responsible Travel Specialist with TripAdvisor, and he informed me that TripAdvisor has just extended its successful TripAdvisor GreenLeaders program into Australia and New Zealand. The program’s expansion comes exactly two years after the launch of GreenLeaders. Ryan told me TripAdvisor GreenLeaders is now “live” in Latin America and the Caribbean as well, although TripAdvisor has not yet officially released that news. More than 8,000 properties in 67 countries, including 170 in Australia and New Zealand, have been awarded the TripAdvisor GreenLeader status, making it easily the largest green hotels program in the world. Properties participating in the program range from small, independent establishments to multinational brands.
On Earth Day, Marriott International announced the company’s global energy intensity has decreased cumulatively by 2.6 percent over 2013, 13.1 percent compared to a 2007 baseline. Marriott also announced that more than 1,600 Marriott properties had earned a TripAdvisor GreenLeaders badge, the largest number of hotels in the program. Marriott also has nearly 50 Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certified hotels, and more than 400 electric charging stations at 170 hotels.
The PGA National Resort & Spa made it official. It has become the first U.S. resort property to achieve the International “Environmentally Sustainable Meetings & Events” certification from ASTM International, an ANSI accredited standards development organization. PGA National attained dual certification in the Venues and Accommodations Level 1 categories.
LEED Platinum Hotel Update
The Olympia Companies announced it will manage a state-of-the-art hotel that is currently being built in Oberlin, Ohio by Oberlin College. The property will anchor The Peter B. Lewis Gateway Center, the cornerstone of Oberlin’s Green Arts District, an ongoing development encompassing the northeast corner of North Main Street and East College Street. It is a planned 100,000-square-foot, mixed-use development that will incorporate renewable energy systems and other innovative technologies designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Platinum rating. The hotel will be just one of a handful of LEED Platinum hotels in the United States.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide announced the opening of The Westin Jekyll Island, a 200-room, convention-class, beachfront hotel on Georgia’s acclaimed barrier island. It is one of six new Westin hotels opening in North America this year and follows the brand’s 200th opening worldwide in 2014. The five-story, U-shaped, beachfront hotel was designed by LLW Architects of Memphis, Tenn., to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, (LEED) Silver specifications and minimize the hotel’s impact on the barrier island’s sensitive surroundings. The 8,750 cubic yards of concrete used in the construction were sourced from a plant in Brunswick, Ga., only 15 miles from the site.
The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents approved the naming of the Michael A. Leven School of Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality at Kennesaw State University. Michael Leven, a veteran hospitality industry executive and President and CEO of the Georgia Aquarium, made a commitment of $5 million to name Kennesaw State University’s School of Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality. The gift represents the largest single contribution from an individual in the University’s 52-year history.
Finally, also this past week, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) released Hotel Industry Principles as part of the industry’s long-standing effort to raise awareness of human trafficking and provide hotel operators tools and resources to educate employees on identifying and reporting these crimes. The release of these principles comes on the heels of Senate passage of legislation (S. 178) to help victims of sex trafficking and crack down on perpetrators of this heinous crime.
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