NEW YORK—Green Lodging News has finalized the panelist lineup for each of the two sessions it is organizing for the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show (IH/M&RS). The show will take place at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center from Saturday, November 10 through Tuesday, November 13.
The first session, “Green Building: LEED and Beyond,” will be held on Sunday, November 11 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Panelists will include: Fiona Cousins PE LEED AP, principal, Arup; Nicholas Lakas, director, element Hotels; and Wen-I Chang, founder and president, Atman Hospitality Group. The green building session will be moderated by Tony Longhurst, principal, Sustainable Hospitality Group.
The second session, “Greening Operations: How to Run a More Profitable Enterprise Without Compromising Guest Satisfaction,” will be held on Monday, November 12 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Panelists will include: Rauni Kew, marketing & green programs, Inn by the Sea, Cape Elizabeth, Maine; Matthew Moore, director of rooms, Seaport Hotel Boston; and Steve Pinetti, senior vice president, sales & marketing, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, LLC. The greening operations session will be moderated by Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor of Green Lodging News.
A trend has emerged within the lodging industry to build high-performance “smart” buildings. These hotels, built with sustainable materials, are energy efficient, use less water than a typical property, and have superior indoor air quality. Many of these new green hotels are being built to U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. The green building session will provide an overview of green building, offer input from hoteliers who are building or have already have built green hotels, and address what an ideal lodging industry green building standard should look like. (LEED has quickly become the accepted standard for lodging but it was not developed specifically for hotels.)
The Advantages of Green Operations
Being environmentally responsible is great but does it cost more to run a green hotel? Are guests inconvenienced in any way? In the operations session, some of the lodging industry’s leading hoteliers will share how they have managed to operate more profitably by implementing new products and technologies that reduce waste, minimize energy and water consumption, and create a healthy environment for guests. Panelists will share how going green has saved them money, attracted new business, strengthened their hotels’ marketing and public relations clout, and bolstered their overall competitive position within their markets.
Following a full day of conference and networking activities on Saturday, November 10, the IH/M&RS will feature three full days of exhibits from Sunday, November 11, through Tuesday, November 13. The market presents some 1,250 hospitality industry suppliers and attracts approximately 35,000 in total trade attendance. The IH/M&RS is sponsored by the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the Hotel Association of New York City, Inc., and the New York State Hospitality & Tourism Association; and is managed by GLM.
For IH/M&RS exhibitor information, contact Christian Falkenberg, show manager, at (914) 421-3296, or by e-mail at christian_falkenberg@glmshows.com. Additional information and registration is available online at www.ihmrs.com, or by contacting GLM’s Customer Relations Department at (914) 421-3206 or (800) 272-SHOW.
For more information on the two green panels, contact Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor of Green Lodging News, at (440) 243-2055, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
