STAMFORD, CONN.—Officials of the Sheraton Stamford Hotel recently announced the completion of the hotel’s next step to achieving its sustainable goals to improve environmental efficiencies that help the hotel as well as its community. The Sheraton Stamford Hotel just completed a $200,000 project, in which they upgraded their lighting to LED throughout the hotel. According to a study from the Connecticut Energy Efficient Fund, over the life of the fixtures, the hotel’s increase in LED usage will have saved an estimated 7,412,770.00 kWh. This is equivalent to 3,755,988 pounds of coal not burned, 308,755 gallons of oil not burned,...

OAHU, HAWAII—Turtle Bay Resort, Oahu, Hawaii, has completed the installation of an innovative green roof that covers a total of approximately 60,000 square feet as part of its commitment to environmental sustainability.“We are dedicated to preserving Hawaii’s delicate and natural resources as stewards of the land,” said Scott McCormack, Vice President of Real Estate for Turtle Bay Resort. “We have received positive feedback from our resort guests who appreciate the project’s eco-friendly benefits and are enjoying enhanced guestroom views of the ocean and landscape art atop the newly designed roofs.”The lower flat roofs of Turtle Bay Hotel were completely...

DEATH VALLEY, CALIF.—In keeping with its “pillars of sustainability,” the AAA Four Diamond Furnace Creek Resort in Death Valley National Park has enacted a series of initiatives designed to minimize the impact of its operations and of its guests. The resort has put in place programs to reduce waste and water usage, generate electricity and offer sustainable choices to its guests.Those efforts are working as the resort reports solid waste has been reduced by 44 percent, water usage has dropped 19 percent and electricity use is down 18 percent since 2010. In that same time period sustainably sourced food...

SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M.—Bees can bring to mind sci-fi like headlines, and thoughts of painful stings. In reality honeybees are important contributors to the many fruits and vegetables that we eat. Earlier this summer, Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa added two colonies containing 20,000 bees each to its grounds, furthering Tamaya’s mission of being an environmentally friendly resort.Honeybees are the major pollinators of the resort’s many flower beds and its on-site orchard, vegetable and herb gardens. It’s estimated that in the first year, these bees will produce 70 to 80 pounds of honey as well as beeswax. While...

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK—The large structures arriving in Yellowstone National Park’s Canyon Village are tangible indications that the Canyon Lodge & Cabins redevelopment project is truly taking shape. Constructed in Boise, Idaho by Guerdon Enterprises, the modules will eventually comprise five multi-story lodges featuring stone and wood that blend into the surrounding area. The first three lodges will open in 2015 and the remaining two the following year.The modules are being created in a controlled environment that allows for year-round work while minimizing waste and maximizing efficiency. As part of its concessions contract with the National Park Service (NPS), lodge...

STAMFORD, CONN.—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announced plans for a dual-branded hotel development in Columbus, Ohio, featuring its Aloft and Element brands. Owned by Indus Hotels, the 136-room Aloft Columbus and 123-room Element Columbus will be located adjacent to The Ohio State University, minutes from downtown Columbus. Marking the debut of both the Aloft and Element brands in Columbus, the hotels are slated to open in early 2017.“Our fast-growing Aloft and Element brands are a perfect fit for the lively city of Columbus and will help meet the demand for high-caliber lodging generated by The Ohio State University...

RENO, NEV.—The capital costs and the environmental impact of operating a large resort hotel almost always coincide. Heating, laundry, lighting, landscaping—they all have an impact on both a resort’s bottom line and the natural environment. Hotels have the opportunity to save money and save the environment at the same time, but launching conservation projects that significantly reduce a hotel’s environmental footprint and operating budget takes strategy, some innovative thinking and a commitment to capitalize conservation efforts. Here are five ways The Peppermill Resort, Spa, Casino saves millions of dollars each year while conserving water and energy and reducing the resort’s overall...

SEDONA, ARIZ.—El Portal, Sedona’s premiere boutique hotel located in the heart of the red rock country of Arizona, announces the installation of its new green rooftop garden. With a longstanding history of dedication to local farmers through hosting open garden spaces to produce vegetables and herbs for fresh and local meals, El Portal Sedona Hotel strives to be at the forefront of supporting sustainability initiatives in its community. The hotel continues this commitment to going green by using its rooftop to install a living green space for guests and hotel staff to visually enjoy, and reduce its carbon footprint.Green...

SAN DIEGO—Hilton San Diego Bayfront has been named the number one most sustainable Hilton hotel in the United States of America by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton San Diego Bayfront has recently received a number of green sustainability awards for the property’s multitude of recycling and energy conservation efforts. These notable recognitions come from a national and local level. In addition to being named the most sustainable Hilton property in the United States, City of San Diego has awarded the hotel with the 2014 Director’s Recycling Award, and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) recently recognized the hotel as the Energy...

DENVER—Metropolitan State University of Denver announced that its SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown at MSU Denver and the attached Hospitality Learning Center have been certified LEED Gold for New Construction by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to sustainable building design and construction. Managed by Denver’s Sage Hospitality, the 150-suite hotel is metro Denver’s first LEED Gold hotel.The public-private partnership between MSU Denver and Sage Hospitality created a vibrant hotel that opened in 2012, as well as the state-of-the-art HLC, the first of its kind in the Rocky Mountain region and one of only 11 in...