Our list of solar powered lodging establishments is by no means complete but it keeps getting longer. See the list by clicking here. The list consists primarily of U.S. hotels but there are many listed from outside the U.S. as well. As of today, a total of about 275 lodging establishments are listed. I just added Calabash Luxury Boutique Hotel in Grenada, Hotel Terrestre in Mexico, and Nayara Bocas del Toro in Panama. As far as I know, this is the most comprehensive list of solar-powered lodging establishments in the world. A bit about the last three additions: At Calabash Luxury...

LA VERNE, CALIF.—Sunflare is light, thin, rugged solar and can be installed on existing parking structures. Sunflare modules are lighter than silicon, so they can go where other solar cannot. That means there’s no need for heavy steel replacement, which is required with traditional solar. This also means there’s no dusty structure demolition and removal. The net result is minimal disruption or displacement of tenants, customers, and employees. The additional benefit of not having to construct a new parking structure is that there’s no potential hassle with new code compliance—which sometimes requires changes to parking lots—an additional project that can...

HENDERSONVILLE, TENN.—Labor-related issues and energy/utility costs are among the top challenges on the mind of global hotel and travel industry professionals, while leisure demand and increased guest spending are seen as the biggest strengths, according to a new survey from STR. The Hospitality Industry Sentiment survey is STR’s first longitudinal study of hotel and travel industry professionals, with initial findings captured between November 29 and December 11, 2022, from 200 respondents across the globe. “While respondents cited similar challenges around the globe, professionals in North America indicated that labor supply and cost challenges were number one on their list,” said Brannan Doyle, Research...

RUEIL-MALMAISON, FRANCE—Schneider Electric, a leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, recognized as a leading sustainability practitioner by independent Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings, announced strong annual sustainability impact results alongside its 2022 financial performance. “Despite increased geopolitical and economic uncertainty, in 2022, we remained focused on accelerating the transition to a cleaner and fairer world,” says Gwenaëlle Avice-Huet, Schneider Electric’s Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer. “The close integration of corporate strategy, quality and sustainability is a factor of success to provide digitization, electrification, efficiency and sustainability solutions that tackle today’s energy, climate and cost of...

LAKEWOOD RANCH, FLA.—A century is a long time to be wasting natural gas while cooking but entrepreneur and appliance industry veteran Ray Williams is beginning to put a stop to it. Ray Williams, CEO of VT Burner, along with Brenda Williams, President of the company, have developed a burner for ranges, woks, stock pots, griddles and charbroilers that is 60 percent more efficient than burners used today. The greater the F&B operation, the greater the potential for energy savings. Less gas burned is better for the environment and kitchens do not have to be cooled as much, adding further...

MORGAN HILL, CALIF.—Enteligent Inc., developer of solar power optimization and electric vehicle (EV) solar charging technologies that delivers more of the clean solar energy you generate and dramatically reduces cost, is unveiling the world’s first DC-to-DC solar hybrid bi-directional EV charger this week at Intersolar NA 2023 in Booth 2460. Powered directly from the sun, Enteligent’s solar EV charger can supply 25 kW of fast DC charging—three times faster than AC Level 2 EV chargers—while also supporting vehicle-to-home (V2H) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) home energy resilience and providing significant energy savings. Currently, EV owners plug their cars into home chargers which...

INTERNATIONAL REPORT—The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the urgency for companies and individuals to act to protect the wellbeing of the planet, their communities, their employees, and in the case of hotels, their guests. As such, environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives have accelerated. The hotel industry’s commitment to ESG initiatives, while somewhat nascent, is increasing. Rising energy costs, which have increased electricity costs by 10 percent since May 2021, are likely to accelerate the industry’s focus on sustainability, particularly given the shift in traveler preferences toward more sustainable tourism and green accommodations and the growing demand for disclosure around climate risk....

UNITED KINGDOM—Even before the support ends, businesses expect a 101 percent increase in energy bills this quarter, compared to the same period last year, according to the joint Q1 Hospitality Members Survey by UKHospitality, the British Beer and Pub Association, the British Institute of Innkeeping and Hospitality Ulster. The startling figures were raised directly with politicians as UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls gave evidence to a BEIS Strategy Committee session on energy price support. The survey also bolsters concerns raised by the sector about the behavior of energy suppliers inflating quotes, without justification, with 56 percent reporting increased standing charges. The hike in bills is...

INTERNATIONAL REPORT—Tom Standage, editor of The World Ahead 2023, has named ‘Revenge Tourism’ one of the ten trends to watch for 2023. This term is used to describe the current post-pandemic rebound in travel. Indeed, international tourism arrivals are already well underway to reaching pre-pandemic levels, which are expected to be nearly achieved in 2023. Does this mean that the hospitality and travel industry is finally over the hill of the pandemic? Nothing could be less certain as another crisis is in the process of rapidly overtaking Covid-19: the energy crisis. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the energy market...

AMSTELVEEN, THE NETHERLANDS—For quite a few years now, many hotels have incentivized guests to skip housekeeping in exchange for a financial reward of some type. Covid-19 certainly increased the number of hotels that don’t offer daily housekeeping—primarily due to staffing challenges—but many hotels around the world still offer it. For hotels that do that, Floris Licht, Chief Planting Officer for Hotels for Trees has a program that not only helps hotel owners but the environment as well. The Hotels for Trees concept is simple: One new tree is planted each time a guest chooses to skip daily room cleaning. The...