Home Publisher's Point of View Happy Holidays! A Quick Look Back at 2012

Happy Holidays! A Quick Look Back at 2012

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The calendar this year dictates the writing of this column in the midst of the holidays. I would like to take a moment to wish all of you a very happy and safe holiday season this year. Thank you to everyone for supporting Green Lodging News in 2012. It has been much appreciated!

Looking back at 2012, it has once again been a very fascinating year in green lodging with new properties opening, a steady flow of hotels being green certified, an increasing number of companies measuring and reporting on their sustainability progress, a wide array of new green products being introduced, more owners investing in renewable energy technologies (thanks to incentives), and our industry finally coming together in agreement on a methodology to calculate and communicate the carbon footprint of hotel stays and meetings in a consistent and transparent way.

This year has been a strong one for Green Lodging News with an average of more than 19,000 different people visiting the Green Lodging News website each month. Our best month this year was October with 21,522 different visitors and 122,034 total visits, meaning that readers return to our site about five to six times each month. Overall, the website will generate close to 5 million page views this year—difficult to imagine when I hatched the idea of Green Lodging News more than seven years ago.

Spread the Word About Green Lodging News

Our weekly e-newsletter and Green Supplier Spotlight currently reaches 3,669. While we work on newsletter circulation daily, we still need your help in spreading the word about our e-news service. Be sure to tell your colleagues to sign up for our e-newsletter and Green Supplier Spotlight by going to www.greenlodgingnews.com. Interestingly, according to Alexa.com, the Green Lodging News website generates far greater traffic than publications with much greater circulation.

Every now and then I like to take a look at my website stats to see what is really interesting my readers. This past year it has been a mixture of topics. The most read article is actually a two-year-old blog post about bed bugs. Following the bed bugs post is a case study on ozone laundry systems, a profile of the sustainability manager at the Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago, and a blog post about the Resort at Isla Palenque and its monkey mascot named Thurston Howler III. Only fans of Gilligan’s Island will understand that one.

Our Green Product & Service Directory had almost 15,000 page views this year. The most visited section of the Directory? The Amenities/Dispensers/Toiletries section with almost 2,500 page views. Be sure to continue to visit our Directory on a regular basis. There are currently 43 product and service categories. If your company is not currently represented there, contact me at (216) 848-1406, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

Video Sections See Lots of Activity 

Our Vendor Videos section experienced more than 10,000 page views this year. Our More Cool Videos section had almost 7,000. Sponsors in our Founding Sponsors section benefited from almost 9,000 bonus page views this year.

Waste Management is the most highly visited topic area, followed closely by Energy Management and Water Conservation. Overall, our News & Features section is the most visited area of the site, followed by our blog.

Social media experienced steady growth this year and there are now approximately 1,600 people either following Green Lodging News on Facebook or Twitter. One of my goals for 2013 is to spend more time connecting with you on LinkedIn.

Our industry experienced another year of growth in 2012. I hope that your year was a successful one. Let’s all work together to make 2013 even better.

Who is Your Sustainability Champion?

Green Lodging News is always looking to profile sustainability champions in our Personnel Profile section. If you would like to nominate someone for this section of Green Lodging News, contact me at (216) 848-1406, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

Looking for Guest Columnists

Every two weeks Green Lodging News posts a new guest column on its website. (Click here for examples.) The guest column also appears in the weekly e-newsletter. Green Lodging News is currently in need of industry experts to contribute occasional guest columns. Experts may include consultants, architects, designers, suppliers and those who own or operate green lodging establishments. Columns may be articles that take a stance on a particular subject or be strictly educational in nature. Columnists benefit by having their photo included along with a one paragraph description of their company. Interested in writing a column? Contact Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor, at (216) 848-1406, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

Planning Advertising for 2013?

Green Lodging News is accepting reservations for advertising spots for 2013. Many excellent spots are available on the website and in the weekly e-mail newsletter. Many Green Supplier Spotlight dates are also available. Interested in receiving a 2013 media kit? Be sure to contact me as soon as possible at (216) 848-1406, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com. A media kit can also be accessed by clicking here. Thank you to all of those companies that consistently support Green Lodging News.

Social Networking Sites

Green Lodging News now has 1,245 Twitter followers. Thank you to all of those who follow our tweets. In addition to following us on Twitter, be sure to bookmark the Green Lodging News Blog in your browser. More importantly, participate with your comments. Green Lodging News is also on Facebook. Be sure to “Like” us there. Green Lodging News now has 353 Facebook followers.

As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

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