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Guest Columns

Green Lodging News provides a forum for anyone in the lodging industry to offer their take on a particular topic. All are welcome to participate. Submissions should be approximately 700 to 1,200 words and should include a photo of the writer. Authors can include a paragraph about themselves and their company at the end of the article. Contact Glenn Hasek, editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

Guest Columns

Home Guest Columns
Green Lodging News provides a forum for anyone in the lodging industry to offer their take on a particular topic. All are welcome to participate. Submissions should be approximately 700 to 1,200 words and should include a photo of the writer. Authors can include a paragraph about themselves and their company at the end of the article. Contact Glenn Hasek, editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

Harnessing Social Media Trends for Sustainable Hospitality: Innovative Approaches

The hospitality industry has experienced a significant transformation with the rise of social media. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have revolutionized how businesses connect with consumers. Simultaneously, sustainability has emerged as a crucial aspect of the hospitality sector, driven by increasing environmental concerns and consumer demands. In this context, harnessing social media trends can drive innovative approaches for sustainable hospitality. This article explores the impact of social media on the industry, the importance of sustainability, case studies highlighting innovative approaches, strategies for leveraging social media trends, and the challenges and potential pitfalls involved. Understanding Social Media Trends Social media trends...

Food Waste Management: Innovative Solutions for Hospitality

In recent years, food waste management has become one of the most critical topics in the hospitality industry. Whether it’s to cut costs or reduce environmental impact, food waste has become relevant, not only for hoteliers and people in management, but for the average guest as well. On the surface, food waste management sounds like it should be an easy problem to address. Hoteliers have already begun to tackle the issue with farm-to-table programs and projects like Second Harvest, but do these efforts make a difference? The phenomenon of food waste can be approached with two distinct strategies: food waste prevention,...

Colorado Makes Buildings More Livable, Less Polluting

Colorado has passed nation-leading standards that will reduce climate-damaging emissions from large buildings, helping transform them into safe, healthy, energy efficient, and livable homes and workplaces. This Rocky Mountain model should be adopted by other states to help save their residents on costly energy bills and advance equity while acting on climate. Known as a Building Performance Standard, Colorado’s new policy will decrease greenhouse gas emissions from large commercial and residential buildings 20 percent by 2030 and is an essential measure to ensure Colorado meets its climate targets. Buildings are the third largest polluting sector in Colorado, accounting for 20 percent of greenhouse gas...

Sourcing Green: Sustainable Procurement in Hospitality

If you haven’t noticed, sustainability has become a global conversation or, perhaps more aptly, a pertinent global priority. Now, more than ever before, corporations and individuals alike seem to be connected by a desire to combat climate change and collectively mitigate the negative environmental impacts we have long since set in motion. To this effect, sustainability has emerged as a significant trend and topic of interest across industries over the last few years, with 2023 expected to represent a major tipping point. While sharing its 2023 predictions, Forrester noted that sustainability is a business opportunity, a matter of survival, and...

Wellness Travel: How to Tap into This Colossal Market

According to a Market Analysis Report by Grand View Research, the global wellness tourism market size was estimated at $814.6 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach $923.6 billion in 2023. (Some other agencies estimate this value to be even higher, topping the charts in the low to mid trillions). Further, North America dominates this market share at nearly 40 percent. In a post-pandemic world, the focus on health is only expected to grow, which means wellness travel is leaving a permanent mark on the hospitality industry. From massage to meditation to mineral springs, wellness travel encompasses a vast range of products...

Food Waste Management: Innovative Solutions for Hospitality

In recent years, food waste management has become one of the most critical topics in the hospitality industry. Whether it’s to cut costs or reduce environmental impact, food waste has become relevant, not only for hoteliers and people in management, but for the average guest as well. On the surface, food waste management sounds like it should be an easy problem to address. Hoteliers have already begun to tackle the issue with farm-to-table programs and projects like Second Harvest, but do these efforts make a difference? The phenomenon of food waste can be approached with two distinct strategies: food waste prevention,...

The Pizza Box & Its Recycling Potential at Your Hotel

According to a study published in Statista, consumer spending on pizza delivery in the United States from 2004 to 2010 averaged about $10 billion each year. But when the pandemic hit, spending for pizza delivery jumped to $14 billion and up further to $19 billion in 2021. The reason for this jump is apparent: more people were home 24/7 during the pandemic, and ordering a pizza was one of the few “fun” things they could do. In 2022, there was a slight drop to $17.3 billion, but most pizzerias in the country believe the number of deliveries will stay strong...

Why Hotels Need Better Tools to Measure & Communicate Sustainability Data

Average global daily temperatures are soaring, with the world experiencing its warmest June on record. These unprecedented heat waves, unwelcome reminders of the reality of climate change, come at a time when many in the Western hemisphere are either taking or planning vacations. There’s no denying that travel is part of the problem: the tourism industry alone accounts for 8 percent of the world’s carbon emissions, and despite hospitality brands’ best efforts, this number is set to increase. For concerned travelers, there’s obvious tension between the desire to see the world and protect it. That’s why increasingly, consumers are looking...

How Hotels Can Attract the Growing EV Customer Base

The hospitality trade is experiencing another strong year in both leisure and business travel, continuing its rebound. “The post-pandemic urge to travel remains strong, which should drive continued growth in 2023. In the U.S., RevPAR was up 8.1 percent in 2022 from 2019, and Europe was up 6.1 percent for the same period,” according to EY. Combine this with record growth in electric vehicle sales and you have the recipe for a year in which it is likely that more EV drivers will be staying at hotels than ever before. What’s missing from this recipe is the current lack of...

Hotel Employees Thankful for Panic Buttons

Few people start their workday expecting an emergency to happen, but according to American Aerospace Engineer Edward Murphy Jr. who worked on safety-critical systems: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” If you’re not a believer in “Murphy’s Law,” just ask any of the 701 hotel workers who needed help last year while on duty and survived the ordeal because they were equipped with an Employee Safety Device (ESD) or panic button. Guest Dispute with Valet A hotel valet was assaulted by a guest who did not want to pay the parking fee after his vehicle was retrieved. Displeased with...