Within the United States, billions of materials like concrete, steel, and lumber maintain and construct the buildings we use daily. The use and disposal of these materials and new building construction have resulted in substantial environmental impacts with a rise in the air, water, and land emissions. Construction is a significant source of airborne pollution production and has continued to rise since October 2022, with non-residential buildings and multi-family homes up 26 percent. Climate change is pushing polluted air indoors, and to reduce these air quality impurities and their impact on indoor environments, construction contractors should consider bettering outdoor...

NATIONAL REPORT—The knee jerk reaction of many hoteliers to the topic of sustainability is likely to include statements like “I’d love to, but I can’t afford it …”, “We don’t have the bandwidth…” or “Of all industries, why should hospitality pay to save the planet…?” We suggest a change in perspective. Could sustainability not be seen as a win-win? Could it be that there is untapped potential in sustainability that progressive hospitality firms may be able to uncover? What if engagement in sustainability would not only help the planet and society-at-large but also the competitive position of a hotel? The strategic...

Energy consumption in the hotel industry is high, even when compared to other commercial sectors such as hospitals and schools. The truth is hotels and motels make for inherently energy-intense buildings, primarily due to the nature of the business and guest behavior. As such, hotel management is always seeking ways to maximize efficiency and save energy (and thus money) while, at the same time, providing optimal comfort for occupants. Many hotels are investigating environmentally friendly technologies that have the potential to reduce energy usage. Time after time, the primary technology that comes out on top is geothermal heat pumps....

Travel brands are uniquely positioned to open the world to more people, including travelers of different gender identities, ages, abilities, ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations to experience and connect with new cultures, ideas, and landscapes. And travelers are looking for travel brands to be more inclusive and representative, according to data from our Inclusive Travel Insights Report. Here are a few highlights on why inclusion and diversity are important in travel advertising, successful inclusive marketing examples, suggestions for how your brand can be more inclusive and how Expedia Group is committing to equitable travel. What is Inclusion & Why is It...

Earlier this week, as I was scanning my news feed for updates of relevance, I came across a headline that quickly captured my attention: What Native Hawaiians want you to know before your visit. As someone who spent much of his childhood in Hawai’i, any mention of the island conjures an inevitable wave of nostalgia and appreciation. In this particular context, though, that nostalgia was mixed with resonance, as the author called upon an issue I was aware of but hadn’t found a way to articulate or champion. As global tourism rebounds (to our collective relief and rejoice), popular destinations...

As January 1, 2023, approaches, I still see confusion in handling the transition from single-use to cartridge and bulk-size dispensing amenity systems. My dos and don’ts primarily address independent lodging establishments such as hotels, motels, and resorts. The selection and investment in compliant replaceable and refillable pump dispenser solutions is a decision for operations, property, general managers, and housekeeping. Don’t: Make your final system decision based on hearsay or lodging speculation. Do: Base your transition on criteria detailed in the actual legal documents. The California Assembly Bill No. 1162 states that commencing January 1, 2023, for lodging establishments with more than 50...

There is no denying it. The last two years were difficult for all of us. But as we take a collective breath on the other side of the pandemic and ruminate on the positive takeaways from that time, many of us will settle on the same sentiment—sometimes it’s good to slow down. Our lives, which are so often defined by constant motion, suddenly came to a halt, a change of pace that many of us would never have chosen or stumbled upon organically. As social calendars were cleared of activities, travel plans were postponed, and work obligations came home with...

While governments and corporations struggle—unsuccessfully for the most part—with climate change, sea level rise and carbon neutral objectives, individual tourism and hospitality visionaries need to focus on the micro sustainability initiatives demanded by our customers. When asked for sustainability policies by meeting planners and travel agents, hotel sales people invariably have nothing to offer other than potentially “we are looking into it” or maybe “our brand has an aggressive sustainability statement, but we can’t participate because our management company has different policies.”  Inevitability, catering departments haven’t engaged in food rescue, sometimes blaming Covid-related restrictions and are often unaware of the...

Hotels are the backbone of the tourism industry, which is still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, flight delays and lower bookings than usual. However, there’s an additional concern that the industry is facing. Studies show that tourists are hesitant to stay in rooms with poor or questionable indoor air quality. Findings show that air purification improvements can reduce Covid-19 infection by a factor of 10. In addition to Covid-19, headaches, throat and eye irritation, fatigue and dizziness are all symptoms of poor indoor air quality (IAQ). These symptoms can be debilitating and affect one’s health long term. In fact, airborne...

Owners and developers face a never-ending challenge of building or retrofitting properties to the greenest, most environmentally friendly standards when costs and financing often lead to “value engineering” to make things pencil. But an innovative, low-cost financing tool is gaining popularity for hotel properties. Called Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE), this multi-billion-dollar sector of finance is already in use on hundreds of hospitality/mixed-use properties from Washington, D.C. to Washington state. What is C-PACE? Available in 37 states and growing, C-PACE is a low-cost, long-term financing vehicle that makes investing in energy efficiency, water efficiency, renewable energy, and resiliency projects more...