The Earth will be getting a lot of attention in the next several weeks because of two events: Earth Hour, which will take place on March 28, and Earth Day, which will be celebrated on April 22. Lodging establishments around the world will be participating in both events. For those of you not familiar with Earth Hour, it was launched in 2007 by the World Wildlife Fund. For an hour, beginning 8:30 p.m. here in the United States, properties will turn off their lights in recognition of the need to take action on climate change. Companies ranging from Accor to the InterContinental Hotels Group will participate in the event and will ask their guests to participate as well. Even the sky above the Las Vegas Strip will be a little darker for an hour as properties such as the Luxor Las Vegas, Caesars Palace Las Vegas, and Stratosphere Las Vegas Hotel & Casino dim their lights.
The idea for Earth Day evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962. It was then that Senator Gaylord Nelson convinced President John F. Kennedy to go on a five-day, 11-state conservation tour. That tour took place in September 1963. Years passed and it was in 1969 that Senator Nelson finally developed the idea of a nationwide grassroots demonstration. It was on April 22, 1970 when the work of Senator Nelson blossomed into what we now call Earth Day. In the past, hoteliers and innkeepers have participated in programs such as park cleanups, planted trees, visited schools, and held contests for staff. Last year, the Hilton Garden Inn, Temple, Texas, teamed up with a local radio station to sponsor a Green Expo.
Be sure to do something this year in recognition of Earth Hour and Earth Day. It need not be extravagant or self-promotional. That said, don’t be afraid to put together a “green” package to help put heads in beds. Involve your guests and staff. Make a commitment to make a small change—an investment in more efficient lighting, for example. Start a recycling program. Begin to explore renewable energy alternatives, as they have become more affordable. Participate in local efforts to protect and preserve parks and wildlife. Advocate sustainable growth within your hotel brand.
Earth Hour, Earth Day Activities Planned
Here are just a few examples of activities that are being planned in recognition of Earth Hour and Earth Day this year:
• More than 100 Accor hotels across Australia will switch off their lights for an hour. Accor hotels there have participated in Earth Hour since its inception in 2007. Guests staying at Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Grand Mercure, Novotel, Mercure, All Seasons and Ibis hotels during Earth Hour will be treated to a candlelight experience in restaurants and bars and encouraged to support the Earth Hour effort.
• At the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, guests and staff will mark Earth Hour with a number of green alternatives. At the designated hour, guests will enjoy the warmth of a candlelit lobby. That same evening, the resort’s award-winning dining room, Santé ,will offer a locally sourced prix-fixe dinner, paired with sustainable and/or organic local wines.
• The Ambrose Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif., will participate in Earth Hour as well as numerous hotels in the Boston area. Among those participating there: the Hotel Marlowe, Onyx, Nine Zero, The Eliot, The Midtown, Omni Parker House, Westin Copley Place, Millennium Bostonian, and The Colonnade.
• Elite Island Resorts, the second-largest independently owned, green certified Caribbean hospitality group, announced it will make a donation to Sustainable Travel International each time a body or facial spa treatment is purchased at select resorts during April 2009.
• To celebrate Earth Day, the Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, will host a beach cleanup on Crescent Beach, supplying gloves, rakes, wheel barrows and bags to volunteers. The cleanup will be followed by a family ice cream sundae event on the lawn as a thank you. Children will also be given milk weed seeds to plant at home to support the endangered monarch butterfly.
• The Peabody Orlando Green Team will hold an Earth Week. Activities will include a scavenger hunt and Adopt-A-Road cleanup project for employees, and an Earth Day coloring contest for their children.
• The Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) will launch its Million Tons of Trash Challenge on Earth Day. Meeting planners, venues, and hotels around the world will be invited to measure the waste they recycle or compost and enter the total weight in an online system, where GMIC will tabulate a running total. Organizations with the best recycling and waste diversion rates will be recognized, and the results of the challenge will serve as a best practices guide for the entire industry.
If your property has planned activities for Earth Hour or Earth Day, be sure to tell me about them. Write to editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
Buy an Ad, Plant a Tree Campaign Reaches 1,000 Trees!
Each time a company purchases a Green Lodging News ad, a small donation is made to the Arbor Day Foundation. I am excited to report that 1,000 trees have now been planted in the United States as part of the Foundation’s Trees to the Forest initiative. These trees will replace those lost to fire, pestilence and disease. Thank you to those suppliers who have purchased ads since this program began a little more than a year ago. On to 2,000!
GLN Adds Harris Pillow Supply Case Study to Website
Green Lodging News has added a new case study to the Green Lodging News website. The case study details how Kingley, Iowa-based Kraft Pillow Cleaning and the French Quarter Inn, Charleston, S.C., have benefited from using Harris Pillow Supply’s Pillow-Vac machine. The Pillow-Vac is designed specifically for pillow renovating. To access the case study, click here. For additional information on Harris Pillow Supply’s Pillow-Vac, call (800) 845-8240, e-mail john@harrispillow.com, or go to www.harrispillow.com.
Green Lodging News Advertising
If you are a supplier selling green products, be sure to call me at (440) 243-2055 to discuss your advertising plans for the remainder of 2009. Several premium spots are currently available, including the top banner position on the website. A 2009 media kit is now available by request or by clicking here. Thank you to all of those companies that consistently support Green Lodging News.
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