MONTREAL—Group Germain Hotels is adding a new Alt Hotel to the dynamic River Landing area of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 2018. The stylish property will be a key feature of the city’s extensive River Landing development project, a new extension currently under construction in the south downtown business district.“We are pleased to be working closely with Greystone Managed Investments Inc., Victory Majors, Triovest and the City of Saskatoon on the opening of our newest Alt Hotel,” says Jean-Yves Germain, Co-President of Group Germain Hotels. “This new location, in the vibrant River Landing area of the city, represents our third Alt...

SAN FRANCISCO—Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. announces the opening of the new Axiom Hotel in San Francisco. Opening at the famed Cable Car turnaround at the nexus of historic Union Square and innovative Mid-Market, the boutique hotel offers 152 rooms and tech-forward amenities. Axiom Hotel is managed by Kokua Hospitality with design from New York City-based Stonehill & Taylor.As a LEED certified boutique hotel, Axiom has sustainability efforts that coincide with the green city of San Francisco. Convenient filtered ice and water stations on every guest floor are not only eco-friendly, but also allow guests unlimited and complimentary fresh...

CHICAGO—Virgin Hotels announced that Virgin Hotels Chicago, the brand’s first property, has achieved LEED Gold certification, a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The hotel and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) celebrated the achievement with a hosted panel discussion surrounding reducing carbon, reaching net zero and greening supply chains in the hospitality industry.“Our goal as a company is to have all our properties achieve LEED Silver, so we are ecstatic to have exceeded that benchmark in Chicago,” said Raul Leal, CEO of Virgin Hotels. “As we continue to open additional...

DUBAI, U.A.E.—Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Worldwide’s brand of midscale hotels, and Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East and North Africa, announced the opening of Hilton Garden Inn Dubai Mall of the Emirates—the second largest Hilton Garden Inn in the world and the largest outside of America and the first LEED Gold hotel by Majid Al Futtaim in Dubai.The new hotel, owned by Majid Al Futtaim and managed by Hilton Worldwide, is located just steps away from the Middle East’s iconic premier shopping, leisure and entertainment award-winning destination “The Mall of...

KEY WEST, FLA.—Waste Management and Casa Marina, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, teamed up to make the Seventh Annual Southeast Florida Regional Climate Leadership Summit a successful, first-ever Zero Waste Event in Florida.At the Summit held in Key West which concluded December 3, Waste Management and hotel personnel worked together to recycle 90.3 percent (1,713 pounds) of all waste generated by the more than 400 attendees at the summit. The remaining 9.7 percent of waste was processed at a waste-to-energy facility and produced renewable energy in the form of electricity.Traditional recyclables (431 pounds)—including cardboard, paper, and plastic items and aluminum...

AUSTIN, TEXAS—The expansion of the Hyatt Regency Austin’s already progressive green initiatives and forward-leaning sustainability practices have led to increased amounts of waste diversion, new conservation measures throughout the hotel and designation of GreenLeader status by the popular travel site, TripAdvisor.For years, Hyatt Regency Austin has been a green leader in the Austin hospitality industry, from its daily hotel operations, to its restaurant, Southwest Bistro, Marker 10 bar and coffee shop. The hotel was the very first in Austin to have its own compost pulper, and has regularly donated barely used shampoos and soaps to charity since 2011, a...

NAPLES, FLORIDA—The air outside may be a balmy 95 degrees but the temperature inside The Grow House (a.k.a. CropBox) at the Ritz-Carlton, Naples is an ideal 65 to 72 degrees—perfect for growing lettuce and other micro-greens. Since July, Executive Chef George Fistrovich has been growing the equivalent of an acre of vegetables in a repurposed shipping container that sits in the parking lot of the hotel. Measuring 40 feet by 8 feet in size, the container is equipped with everything one needs to grow crops—lights, planting racks, HVAC system, all of the necessary hydroponic components, and a system of...

SAN DIEGO—Paradise Point, A Destination Hotel on San Diego’s Mission Bay, has partnered with San Diego International Airport on a new sustainable travel program. The Good Traveler program, piloted by San Diego International Airport, seeks to offset environmental impacts of travel by encouraging guests to purchase carbon offsets in the form of merchandise or add-ons to hotel reservations. For just $1, a traveler can effectively offset 500 miles of air travel or 200 miles of driving. All of program funds will go directly towards conservation projects counteracting the environmental impacts of greenhouse gas emissions.Paradise Point is the first hotel...

EAGLE BEACH, ARUBA—Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort continues to expand its green initiatives with its new LEED Silver certification. Known as the Caribbean property with the most sustainability certifications, Bucuti’s new LEED designation is from the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the world’s foremost program for buildings, homes and communities that are designed, constructed, maintained and operated for improved environmental and human health performance.According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), January through July 2015 was the warmest seven months in recordkeeping history and 2015 is...

PACIFIC GROVE, CALIF.—Domaine Hospitality Partners, LLC, and representatives from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Foursome Development Co., and the City of Pacific Grove, Calif., announced the launch of Project Bella at a press conference in Pacific Grove.Developed by Domaine Hospitality Partners, Project Bella will be located across the street from the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station at the site of the American Tin Cannery, at the end of historic Cannery Row. Now in planning with world-renowned architect Mark Hornberger of Hornberger+Worstell, Project Bella aims to be one of the leading luxury hotels in the United States.Speaking...