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News Blog

The News Blog gives Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor of Green Lodging News, an opportunity to comment, in just a few paragraphs, on industry news and trends. A more condensed version of Publisher’s Point of View, the News Blog is updated on either Wednesday or Thursday each week. Want to step in as a guest blogger? Or, have some news to share for the News Blog? To contact Glenn Hasek, call (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

News Blog

Home News Blog
The News Blog gives Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor of Green Lodging News, an opportunity to comment, in just a few paragraphs, on industry news and trends. A more condensed version of Publisher’s Point of View, the News Blog is updated on either Wednesday or Thursday each week. Want to step in as a guest blogger? Or, have some news to share for the News Blog? To contact Glenn Hasek, call (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

Earth Heating Up Much Faster Than Expected

Tampa, where I currently live, officially had its hottest year on record in 2023, according to numbers released by the National Weather Service. The NWS recorded an average temperature from 1/1/2023 to 12/28/2023 of 76.6 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s 0.2 degrees hotter than the previous record for the hottest year set in 2022 at 76.4 degrees. It was oven hot this past summer and my family did not even want to venture outside to the swimming pool. As reported in the Climate Journal, the earth is heating up fast. Global temperatures could rise 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2029, according to...

Highlights from Sage Hospitality’s New ESG Report

As just posted on Green Lodging News, Sage Hospitality Group has just released its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report. For those of you not familiar with Sage, the Denver-based company operates a portfolio of more than 120 hotels, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and entertainment venues in 16 states and the District of Columbia. Green Lodging News has reported on Sage in the past. For example, this spring BioGreen360, a leading innovator in distributed food waste management solutions, partnered with Sage Hospitality Group to develop a closed-loop program to divert 100 percent of their hotels’ food waste from landfill with the...

Sustainability Dissonance: What Travelers Say vs. What They Do

Green Lodging News has posted numerous articles highlighting the degree of consumer interest in sustainable travel. New research from Phocuswright shows those consumers are not walking their talk. According to Phocuswright’s travel research report Sustainability Dissonance: What Travelers Say vs. What They Do (and What to Do About It), travelers often have good intentions, but they lack an understanding of how to travel sustainably, and sustainability considerations rarely impact their trip decisions. Knowledge of travelers’ awareness of the issues, motivations to travel sustainably, travel behaviors and how much responsibility they are willing to take for the health of the destinations they...

BWH Hotels Partnership Gets the Ball Rolling for Revitalized Green Key Global

Expect Green Key Global’s just announced partnership with BWH Hotels to be one of at least several with the hotel certifier in the months ahead thanks to the September news that the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) have signed a Letter of Intent to form a joint venture company that will own and operate the Green Key Global certification program in the United States and Canada. My take is that AHLA and HAC would not have pursued the joint venture without the support of at least some of the major brands. Green Key...

World Animal Protection: All Bali Tourist Venues Exploit Animals

Do you vet the natural attractions you send your guests to? Not long after I moved to Florida my family visited a local animal “sanctuary”. I was quite surprised by the living conditions the animals had to endure—especially the very small areas they had to run around in. I remember they allowed folks to take pictures or selfies with some of the animals. The facility was later shut down. According to World Animal Protection, it is long past time to end all attractions that force animals to suffer by allowing them to be ridden, touched, or posed for selfies. “The...

Davidson Hospitality Group Launches Inaugural ‘Davidson Day of Service’ Companywide Initiative

This month is a special one for Davidson Hospitality Group. As part of “Davidson Day of Service,” each participating property has developed a thoughtful, meaningful engagement to make a positive impact on its community. A total of 83 individual hotels and resorts within the portfolio are participating. Activities range from supporting food banks and assisting homeless shelters to contributing goods and equipment to local schools to trail clean-ups. “Leading with heart and giving back are both intrinsic to Davidson culture and ladder up to two of my favorite company core values: ‘Be passionate about what you do; serve others with love’...

USGBC Walks Its Talk with New D.C. Headquarters

With its LEED Green Building Program, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has certainly changed the way developers and architects approach hotel design and operations. Walking its talk, USGBC has made its new headquarters in Washington, D.C. a standing example of what to strive for. In fact, USGBC just announced that its headquarters has been awarded a prestigious triple Platinum certification in LEED, TRUE, and WELL. This trio of certifications reflects USGBC’s commitment to healthy, productive, sustainable, and responsible work environments. The headquarters, which also houses Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI), reflects the changing office landscape, with a clear emphasis on decarbonization, indoor environmental...

Boutique Design New York Less Than Two Weeks Away, November 12 to 13

Boutique Design New York BDNY is less than two weeks away. It will be held November 12 to 13 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The list of hundreds of exhibitors can be accessed by clicking here. Expect to find many products with a sustainability story. For example, this week I heard from Greenington, maker of fine bamboo furniture, and the sustainable, artisan-made kitchen & bath brand Native Trails. BDNY will also feature a slate of conference sessions focused on some aspect of green design. Those sessions include: Sunday, November 12 Making of a Designed Space: Designed by Nature NEWH Green...

Forbes Survey Gauges Americans’ Current Tipping Practices

How do Americans currently feel about tipping at hotels? A new survey by Forbes Advisor revealed that 22 percent of Americans do not think they should have to tip hotel employees. That is just one of the findings about tipping from the survey of 2,000 Americans by market research company OnePoll. Some additional findings: Sit-down restaurants is where people tip the most (58 percent). For hotel services: 24 percent. A vast majority of respondents (64 percent) reported leaving a tip at least 11 percent higher when they tip digitally compared with tipping in cash. It’s possible that buyers don’t feel the...

Miami is Most Over-Touristed City in the U.S.

While high levels of tourism are welcomed by governing bodies of most nations due to the revenue it generates, local residents in tourist hotspots aren't so thrilled to have millions of globetrotters on their doorstep. In fact, some countries have had just enough that fines, taxes and bans have been put in place in a bid to discourage visitors. In a new study by MoneyTransfers.com, the most visited cities and countries in the world were compared with the resident population in each to find out where in the world residents are most outnumbered by tourists. The Most Over-Touristed Cities in the U.S. The United States boasts...