NASHVILLE, TENN.—The American Hotel & Lodging Association announced the winners of the AH&LA Achievement Awards, part of the Stars of the Industry Awards luncheon, during the AH&LA Summer Summit at The Loews Vanderbilt Hotel. The awards, created in 1966, recognize individual hotel properties that have developed outstanding public relations campaigns. Two of the categories included Community Service, and Good Earthkeeping.
The Washington Athletic Club in Seattle won the community service award, small property category, for its commitment to improving the quality of life for people in the community. The company matches employee donations to the local United Way; participates in the activities of several local social service agencies; provides financial support to local sports programs; and the entire organization works to support the Seattle Police Foundation.
The Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Ariz., won the award for community service, large property category. Loews hotels have a corporate Good Neighbor Policy, but the Ventana Canyon Resort staff wanted to adopt a program to help women and children, and they selected the New Beginnings for Women and Children program for homeless families. The Loews Ventana team is dedicated to ensuring the program has everything it needs, supplying furniture, linens, job training, building maintenance, and hosting special events for program participants. When the city of Tucson called New Beginnings to ask for help sheltering Hurricane Katrina evacuees, the team from Loews Ventana was there to get apartments ready, move furniture, make beds, and stock refrigerators.
The Chancellor Hotel in San Francisco won the Good Earthkeeping award, small property category, for its comprehensive approach to good environmental practices. The hotel banned Styrofoam from the property, installed water-saving devices, and the property recycles everything, including soap, phone books, and kitchen grease.
The Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri, is the winner of the Good Earthkeeping award in the large property category. Big Cedar Lodge is located in the Ozark Mountains, and protecting the environment protects the property. They operate in an earth-friendly way, from the welcome cards that are embedded with flower seeds for planting, to the laundry facility that saves 10,000 gallons of water a day. Even the golf course has the Audubon Society signature.
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