From independents to national chains, U.S. lodging facilities are bringing greener hues to their rooms and services. Yet for all the improvements, there is still much more that can be done. One important example relates to their supply chains. From coffee to shampoo and bath tissue, where do all the elements that fill hotel rooms come from? What goes into their development? What is required of their disposal? With their continual and broad purchasing, upkeep and disposal of so many kinds of goods, lodging facilities carry tremendous power—and responsibility—from an environmental standpoint. The issue is so important that it stretches...

Implementing and promoting green, sustainable energy initiatives is a proven strategy for marketing a hotel to environmentally-inclined guests and meeting planners. But do these efforts contribute to the property’s value in the investor’s portfolio? The U.S. Green Building Council has found that “green” hotels enjoy a 6.8 percent to 10.9 percent property value premium. Hotel managers and owners are constantly looking to ensure that improvements and capital expenditures made to the property’s energy infrastructure can make the hotel a more attractive asset, improve the cash flow and net income. There is a growing opinion that properly selected and implemented energy efficient...

A company in the hospitality industry may want to enhance its sustainability profile because it wants to save money, target a green customer base, develop a corporate responsibility program or genuinely become a more environmentally and socially responsible business. No matter the reason, changing behaviors, operations or physical infrastructure most often requires some amount of capital investment. Fortunately, a lot of these investments pay for themselves very quickly. Often called the low-hanging fruit, these include no-brainer improvements in areas such as energy, operations and waste efficiency as mentioned in the first few points below. But a myriad of other methods...

Spring cleaning, at least for the hotel and lodging industry, typically has more to do with evaluating the facility’s current cleaning tools, products, and processes than actually performing special cleaning projects. With this in mind and because more and more properties have transferred to green cleaning products and systems, we are finding that many hotel and housekeeping managers are asking what’s new in green cleaning during the spring cleaning season. Green cleaning is evolving as it continues to grow. Along with the development of chemicals and products that are sustainable as well as green, one new area of interest is...

The transition toward greater sustainability is impacting how hotels are approaching operations. As part of many green initiatives, more and more hotels are now implementing an Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Computerized Maintenance Management Software (CMMS) system to gain better control of their energy usage and manage their carbon footprint. I will elaborate more on this later. The definition of hotel sustainability has evolved over time from a simple going green idea to a philosophy that more and more organizations are recognizing as critical to their long-term success. For hotels and resorts the move toward sustainability issues is a win-win scenario. Surveys...

Hotel executives are constantly reviewing cost-benefit analysis throughout their properties: Will the addition of a particular guest amenity pay for itself in an incrementally higher average room rate, or more nights sold? Will the investment in a new property management system deliver solid returns through better revenue management or inventory planning? There are some investments hoteliers need to make, which are not as easy to quantify, but yet are among the most significant decisions made today. What sustainability initiatives should you implement in your hotels? Which ones deliver the greater return? Installing an energy efficient HVAC system? Solar panels? Furnishings...

An unmade bed, wastebaskets full and overflowing, damp bath towels scattered on the bathroom floor, a vanity top spotted with shaving soap and used paper coffee cups on the desk. What’s wrong with this picture? Well actually, nothing. Although I am staying in a perfectly respectable hotel in Pittsburgh, the housekeepers aren’t on strike and I feel at home in the disorder. Welcome to a new wrinkle in hospitality where some hotel chains and independent lodgings pay you to be “green” with a cash voucher or frequent guest reward. Just choose to opt out of daily room cleaning. It’s that...

Third-party forest certification has long been an excellent—and simple—way for the hospitality industry to show it is buying wood, paper and print products from responsible sources. And a growing awareness of the benefits of independent certification is making it even more accessible. Green building is a good example. Green rating tools that value wood as a critical component of environmentally progressive architectural design have been offering credits for certified wood for some time now; and most recognize all credible forest certification standards in their programs and policies. In North America, these standards include the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), Forest Stewardship Council...

The hospitality community in the Buffalo Niagara region in Western New York is serious about green initiatives. A few years ago, Visit Buffalo Niagara created the Buffalo Green Hospitality Initiative to establish environmentally responsible practices and promote a green experience that would make Buffalo Niagara a more environmentally responsible meeting destination.  Also strengthening its commitment to sustainability, Visit Buffalo Niagara joined the ASAE Convene Green Alliance, a community of event professionals dedicated to advancing green initiatives in the meetings and events industry. The “Green & Mean (It)” program led by Visit Buffalo Niagara earned support from area businesses. The program requires...

One of my favorite authors is Malcolm Gladwell. As I recall, I was wandering around an airport one day with some free time when I picked up a copy of The Tipping Point. After reading The Tipping Point it became imperative that I read Blink, Outliers, and What the Dog Saw. But this isn’t a book review. It’s really a discussion about a Tipping Point that (in my humble opinion) has been reached in the lodging industry. A definition for Tipping Point is as follows: “The point at which the buildup of minor incidents reaches a level that causes someone...