WISCONSIN DELLS, WIS.—In celebration of World Water Day on March 22, Kalahari Resorts & Conventions is celebrating the entire month of March with a landmark achievement and the continued impact of its long-standing partnership with charity: water, a global nonprofit dedicated to ending the water crisis. Since the partnership began in September of 2023, Kalahari Resorts and its guests have helped raise $12,289,883 to support sustainable clean water solutions across Africa. As of Q4 2025, those contributions have funded 1,476 water projects including 79 school water projects, three health clinic water projects, and three piped water systems. Together, these efforts have...

TROY, N.Y.—Audubon International—the environmentally focused nonprofit organization offering members numerous certifications and conservation initiatives to protect the areas where we all live, work, and play—saw its popular Monarchs in the Rough program grow significantly in 2025. Thanks to a grant from The FairWays Foundation, 127 golf courses across the country joined hundreds of other participants to set aside vital habitat for the migrating creatures. Audubon International is now working with nearly 1,000 golf courses across the United States and Canada to create more than 1,300 out-of-play acres where the iconic butterfly species can lay their eggs and, in caterpillar form,...

NATIONAL REPORT—In the latest episode of Matt Talks Hospitality, Matt Welle sat down with Floris Licht—hotel general manager and founder of Hotels for Trees—to explore a deceptively simple question: do guests really need their room cleaned every day of a multi-night stay? This question opens the door to a broader conversation about how hotels can rethink housekeeping for a more efficient, sustainable and guest-centric future. The Hidden Opportunity Inside Stayover Cleaning Stayover cleaning has long been treated as the default. If a guest is in-house, the room is cleaned. Yet behavior is shifting. Many travelers don’t require daily linen changes or full servicing,...

TYSONS CORNER, VA.—The AHLA Food & Beverage Summit will take place on Tuesday, March 3 and will be followed on March 4 by the crossover AHLA Food & Beverage Summit and AHLA Responsible Stay Summit. All events will be held at the Hilton McClean Tysons Corner, Va.* Click here for more information. The AHLA Food & Beverage Summit will cover the following topics: “Trendologist: Food & Beverage—What’s Shaping the Menu?”, “What’s Pouring Next? Beverage Trends to Watch,” “Sip Smarter: Understanding the THC Beverage Landscape,” “Navigating the Future of Beverages,” “Beyond the Menu: Innovation Shaping Hospitality F&B,” and “From Tech to...

NATIONAL REPORT—In an era marked by rising energy costs, shifting regulations, and a growing demand for sustainable business practices, the cold storage industry stands at the crossroads of innovation and necessity. Energy efficiency is no longer a bonus—it’s a mandate. For businesses that rely on walk-in coolers and freezers, from restaurants and grocery stores to pharmaceutical labs and food distribution centers, future-ready refrigeration means embracing smarter, greener, and more efficient technologies. Cold storage is an energy-intensive necessity. With compressors running 24/7 and temperature consistency being critical to product integrity, refrigeration systems account for a substantial portion of operational energy use....

BETHESDA, MD.—Pebblebrook Hotel Trust released its seventh annual Corporate Sustainability Report, highlighting the company’s 2024 performance and continued progress on responsible business practices, sustainability, and support for its employees, communities, and stakeholders. Pebblebrook’s 2025 Corporate Sustainability Report is aligned with leading international frameworks, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The report includes pivotal disclosures in accordance with the Real Estate Sustainability Accounting Standard of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). Pebblebrook also advanced its proactive approach in evaluating and planning for sustainability risks following the guidelines of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), which, for the first time...

NATIONAL REPORT—Given the immense climatic challenges we currently face and the growing consumer demand for more sustainable products and services, businesses in every sector are starting to take their environmental impact seriously. In hospitality, the situation is no different. Energy consumption in the industry is high, with cooling, lighting, heating, and ventilation responsible for up to 60 percent of a hotel’s CO2 emissions. Energy-intensive extras such as heated swimming pools, excessive water and plastic use, and food waste also contribute to the industry’s environmental impacts. Given these unavoidable energy requirements and resource needs, hotels must be smart about increasing energy efficiency and reducing their...

BETHESDA, MD.—Marriott International, Inc. announced the launch of Connect Responsibly with Marriott Bonvoy Events (Connect Responsibly), a program designed to help meeting planners embed sustainability into their events at participating hotels in the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio. Connect Responsibly plans to offer meetings and events customers access to detailed Meeting Impact Reports to measure the environmental impact of their events and select options to purchase carbon credits. The program is anticipated to go live at managed and franchised properties from participating brands globally by the end of October. “There is nothing like connecting in person, and doing so responsibly makes it that much...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—AHLA Foundation announced their third annual No Room for Trafficking Summit will take place July 30, 2024, the same day as the United Nation’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. At last year’s No Room for Trafficking (NRFT) Summit, the inaugural grantees of the NRFT Survivor Fund were announced, including: Safe House Project, Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST), Restore NYC, Inc., University of Maryland Support, Advocacy, Freedom, and Empowerment (SAFE) Center for Human Trafficking Survivors. AHLA Foundation also shared quantitative and qualitative data demonstrating the impact the four Survivor Grantees have made to-date with the $500,000 disseminated across their respective organizations: Collectively, the...

SAN ANTONIO—The JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa is filled with hidden gems including the elevated artwork that fills this luxurious resort. Hallways and common spaces feature unique, sophisticated work by locally, nationally, and internationally acclaimed artists, giving guests the opportunity to roam the resort to tour and discover the magnificent art pieces curated for guests to enjoy as a new indoor activity. The “Art Walk” takes resort guests throughout the upper and lower-level lobbies where they can view and read about 13 different pieces of art on a self-guided tour. Guides can be picked up at the...