Home Guest Columns

Guest Columns

Green Lodging News provides a forum for anyone in the lodging industry to offer their take on a particular topic. All are welcome to participate. Submissions should be approximately 700 to 1,200 words and should include a photo of the writer. Authors can include a paragraph about themselves and their company at the end of the article. Contact Glenn Hasek, editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

Guest Columns

Home Guest Columns
Green Lodging News provides a forum for anyone in the lodging industry to offer their take on a particular topic. All are welcome to participate. Submissions should be approximately 700 to 1,200 words and should include a photo of the writer. Authors can include a paragraph about themselves and their company at the end of the article. Contact Glenn Hasek, editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

Finding the Green in Modern, Durable Decking Materials

As lodging facility owners know, well-designed and maintained outdoor spaces are important amenities that help create favorable guest experiences. Exterior areas for relaxation, play and fresh air can provide guests with some of their best memories of your property. Within these spaces, decked areas often figure prominently. While many decks, patios, boardwalks, pool and hot tub surrounds and docks traditionally used wood surfacing, wood-plastic composite decking is an increasingly attractive alternative. Such materials provide durability and safety features that are suited for the high-use environments of many lodging facilities, and offer great looks and support of green building goals. When selecting...

Sustainability for the Graduating Hospitality Student

The spring career fair and recruitment season has arrived, to be followed by the handing out of many hospitality and tourism degrees in the coming months (myself included, eager to receive my M.S. in Tourism Management degree from New York University). And of course as soon-to-graduate hospitality students you are hoping for spring’s bloom to come with a job offer. The first challenge is navigating those networking events and tough interviews. Then comes fitting into the organization and its culture. One promising aspect of new graduates entering the workforce is the increased interest and passion for sustainability. Or at least...

Don’t Hide from Green Floor Care

When it comes to many of the more general cleaning tasks that hotel housekeepers perform every day, transferring to a green cleaning system may be as easy as simply selecting environmentally preferable cleaning products. While housekeepers may also need to be trained on how to use the green products, for the most part using many green cleaning chemicals is not that much different from using conventional products…it’s just that the green ones are healthier. However, that is not necessarily true when it comes to floor care. Although great strides have been made in developing green floor care chemicals such as...

How to Use Water Wisely When Cleaning

The United States and much of the world, for that matter, have had so many pressing issues to deal with that one—possibly the most important one—keeps getting pushed under the carpet, so to speak. That is water. It’s a green issue, a life issue, a business issue—an issue that will impact hotels and hospitality facilities throughout the world and one we are all going to have to deal with eventually. Consider the following: • According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a U.S. think tank, water is a growing concern that is set to become the world economy’s single most...

How an Outside Consultant Can Help You Green Your Hotel

During the past several years, we have all witnessed the incredible growth of green building projects. At times, it seems that that the number of buildings establishing green initiatives is expanding almost exponentially. Building owners and developers are seeing that introducing green practices not only results in a positive environmental impact but also cost savings and marketing advantages. Certainly the hospitality industry—looking to attract the growing legion of guests and green meeting planners that care deeply about energy reduction, a healthy indoor environment and sustainability principles in general—has joined the surge to achieve the greenest possible profile. The purpose of this...

Address Indoor Air Quality Early in the Design Process

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a tough sell for many architects, designers, building owners, and facility managers. At first glance, maintaining good IAQ has no immediate ROI and appears a pointless expense. Green building certification criteria typically allocate only one credit for new construction or commercial interiors. That is a lot of work and money for something that does not show an immediate impact on the bottom line! Another serious challenge is the lack of preliminary planning for earning an IAQ credit, such as LEED IEQ Credit 3.2, Construction Indoor Air Quality Management Plan—Before Occupancy. This ultimately leads to...

Ecotourism: More Than Just Providing Access to Natural Wonders

Ecotourism and Sustainability are undeniably connected, but we often look at ecotourism as interacting with nature only, but it really encompasses the full spectrum of sustainability as well. The fastest growing segment of the hospitality consumer is the ecotourist. Consider the statistic that 19 percent (44 million) of the U.S. population is considered a LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) consumer. They are dedicated to personal and planetary health. Not only do they make environmentally friendly purchases, they also take action—they buy green products, support advocacy programs and are active stewards of the environment, according to NMI (the Natural Marketing...

Now That the Recession is Over, What Do Green Consumers Expect?

The other day, I listened to an economist from Cleveland, Ohio speak about how the recession is over. He indicated that it would take us a couple of years to recover—so it would still feel a little like a recession in some ways. I found this rather interesting and started thinking about how green consumers feel coming out of the recession. What do they expect from companies offering green products and services? Has their viewpoint changed from when we were in a recession? There have been some mixed views on this and much talk about green fatigue setting in. Are consumers...

How Demand Response Can Turn Your Hotel into a Virtual Power Plant

Not long ago, energy management was a fairly simple affair for hotel managers. Bills arrived, were promptly paid, the lights stayed on, and the guests stayed happy. Unfortunately, those days are over. With energy demand trending to new heights, an aging transmission system, concerns over unpredictable prices, and increasing pressure to meet corporate sustainability goals, suddenly energy management has been thrust to the forefront of long-term planning. In the face of an economy that’s still lagging, hotel managers are looking for new ways to mitigate energy-related risks and get the most out of every dollar, while still delivering the...

Why Using Green Paper During Cleaning Makes Sense

The hospitality industry has made major strides in adopting green cleaning and developing new ways to operate in a more eco-friendly manner. In fact, in many parts of the world, the hotel industry is actually spearheading the drive for facilities to adopt more environmentally friendly operating procedures. But as the hotel and other industries transfer from conventional to green cleaning, it is becoming increasingly important for decision makers to add a new component to the green cleaning equation: sustainability. For instance, the use of green paper products is an area that deserves more attention as a viable solution to conservation...