RESTON, VA.—Being environmentally friendly is a growing trend, and the Westin Reston Heights walks the walk, taking home the 2016 Green Travel Leader Award. The award was given by the Commonwealth of Virginia’s travel arm, the Virginia Tourism Corp. Located just outside of Washington, D.C., the hotel is managed by Crescent Hotels & Resorts, an operator of over 100 hotels throughout North America, including 14 in the Washington, D.C. area. “We are so proud to have won this award among the countless hotels in the state of Virginia,” said Don Anderson, Complex General Manager, who oversees the hotel and the adjacent Sheraton...

ASHEVILLE, N.C.—In 2006 when honey bee colonies started disappearing, later dubbed “Colony Collapse Disorder,” beekeepers and non-beekeepers alike became very concerned. After all, one in every three bites of food we eat is courtesy of insect pollination. Equally important, 85 percent of flowering plants and trees rely on pollinators for the survival of their species. While less is known about native bees and other pollinators, we do know that entire species are disappearing at alarming rates as they battle most of the same enemies as honey bees—loss of habitat essential for food and shelter, inappropriate pesticide use, diseases, and...

ITHACA, N.Y.—Food waste is a major issue for hospitality industry purveyors, both in terms of the cost of wasted food and the environmental consequences of tossing out tons of food. By one estimate, about one-quarter of food prepared in the United States is wasted. A new report from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) is aimed at helping hotels and restaurants control their post-consumer food waste. The tool, “FRESH: A Food-service Sustainability Rating for Hospitality Sector Events,” by Sanaa I. Pirani, Hassan A. Arafat, and Gary M. Thompson, is available from CHR at no charge. It presents six areas where...

NATIONAL REPORT—Paper or cloth? That is the “napkin” question that is answered in restaurant and other foodservice situations millions of times each day around the world. How that question is answered can have a sizeable impact on the environment and the volume of waste exiting a hotel. Not surprisingly, experts come down on both sides of the issue but most give cloth napkins the edge from a “green” standpoint. Also, as has been discovered time and time again by hoteliers, the kind of napkin presented can significantly impact the guest experience. Several years ago, Milliken & Company, a producer of...

BETHESDA, MD.—From the panhandle of sunny Florida on the east coast of the United States, to Berlin, Germany, five properties of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company house honeybees as extensions of their Community Footprints programs and continued commitment to environmental sustainability efforts. The first hotel of The Ritz-Carlton portfolio to act on the growing environmental concern over the honeybee shortage was The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte in North Carolina. The LEED certified luxury hotel welcomed beehives on their rooftop in early 2010. The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte now produces 60 to 100 pounds of honey each season, and in turn has used the honey...

KIGALI, RWANDA—Marriott International officially opened the doors of its first Marriott Hotel in Rwanda. “Rwanda is going through an economic transformation and we are proud to be a part of it,” said Marriott International President and CEO Arne Sorenson, who attended the Kigali Marriott’s opening ceremony with political dignitaries and executives including Alex Kyriakidis, Marriott’s President and Managing Director, Middle East and Africa region. “Coupled with that transformation is a mutual promise for opportunity—both for Marriott as a hospitality company and for the associates and partners who will help us succeed in this market.” Highlighting the importance of hospitality’s role...

MADISON, WIS.—OMNI Solutions, a Wisconsin-based energy-saving laundry and cleaning solutions company, has been named Trade Ally of the Year by Southern California Gas Co., (SoCalGas), their highest honor achievable, for helping businesses throughout Southern California save energy and operating costs. OMNI Solutions championed a new ozone measure this year through rebates, saving businesses in the SoCalGas’ service territory in greater Los Angeles thousands of dollars in operating expenses. OMNI Solutions offers energy-saving and environmentally safe effective laundry and cleaning solutions primarily to resorts, hotels and healthcare facilities and other businesses with mass laundry and cleaning chemical needs. Three energy solution companies...

MINNEAPOLIS—For a sweet spin on Happy Hour, FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar Mall of America launches a new Buzz Hour special, available daily in the Cocktail Bar. The newly launched promotion offers a menu of dishes and drinks that incorporate local Minnesotan honey, grown on the Honey Bee colonies on the rooftop of Radisson Blu Mall of America. In June 2015, Radisson Blu Mall of America partnered with the University of Minnesota Bee Squad to install two Honey Bee colonies, each with about 10,000 Honey Bees per colony that live on the hotel’s roof. In conjunction with Radisson Blu...

ODESSA, FLA.—Hasek Communications, the Odessa, Fla.-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Ozomax, Inc. as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. In 2013 Ozomax developed and patented the Insitu AOP Ozopen (a low voltage electrochemical process that creates a mix of powerful oxidants—in your water from your water). This product was developed specifically for cooling towers, swimming pools and water features. The Insitu AOP Ozopen achieves large amounts of water, chemical and energy savings in each of these applications. A recent study shows that Legionella can readily be controlled in cooling towers and water features by using the...

DAHLONEGA, GA.—Breakthrough technology designed to completely eliminate water bourne bacteria legionella, tested by a research chemist at the Centre Des Technologies De L’Eau (CTE) in Montreal, is a proven strategy to save lives and possibly prevent future disease outbreaks. In July 2015, a deadly outbreak of Legionella in New York City claimed 12 lives. Legionella outbreaks have also been recently reported in Illinois, Detroit, Orlando, San Francisco, Maryland, Georgia, Spain, England and Australia. The lifesaving technology manufactured by Ozomax, Inc., Canada was tested by a research chemist at the CTE in accordance with EPA general standards. Dr. Abdelaziz Gherrou Ph.D.,...