Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2020 Corporate Equality Index is the national benchmarking tool on corporate policies and practices pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees. In the 2020 CEI report, 686 major businesses—spanning nearly every industry and geography—earned a top score of 100 and the distinction of “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality.” Hospitality companies earning a top score are IHG, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Choice Hotels International, Hilton, Marriott International Inc., MGM Resorts International, The Walt Disney Co., and Wyndham Destinations. Elie Maalouf, Chief Executive Officer, Americas, IHG, said: “As a company with more than 3,800 hotels...

Last July, Green Lodging News reported the opening of AutoCamp’s Yosemite property. What is different about AutoCamp is its lodging—primarily Airstream trailers. I asked an AutoCamp representative what is uniquely green about AutoCamp. Here are my questions and AutoCamp's replies. What is it about staying in an Airstream trailer that is more eco-responsible than staying in a hotel room?  Our guests use 50 percent less water than a typical hotel guest. This is because of low flow water fixtures, limited hot water capacity, and educational signage throughout the properties. Airstream units require far less impact on the land compared to traditionally built...

Fortune just released its list of the “World’s Most Admired Companies.” The list was compiled based on a survey of almost 3,800 executives, directors and analysts. To develop the list, Fortune collaborated with partner Korn Ferry Hay Group on a corporate reputation survey encompassing candidate companies from an initial pool of the largest U.S. companies along with Fortune’s Global 500 database. For the final list of best-regarded companies in 52 industries, Korn Ferry asked the executives, directors and analysts to rate companies in their own industry on nine criteria, from investment value and quality of management and products to...

The bushfires in Australia have been just terrible to the wildlife of that continent. According to the publication Eos, an estimated one billion animals have been killed so far. “Relief efforts have just begun after fires on Kangaroo Island, whose landscape was called ‘apocalyptic’ by the Humane Society International,” Eos says. In a particularly hard-hit portion of the island, one living koala was found among thousands of carcasses of koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, and birds. A big tip of the hat to Echo Resorts for stepping forward to provide some help. Echo Resorts in Sabah has pledged to donate 30 percent...

NATIONAL REPORT—Almost two years ago, Green Lodging News published an article on alternatives to plastic straws. In that article, straws made from paper, bamboo, glass and polylactic acid (PLA) were mentioned as plastic alternatives. In the two years since that article was published, numerous other types of non-plastic straws have hit the market. YesStraws, formed in 2018 and maker of straws from the stalk of cane plants, recently published a list of its “19 Plastic Straw Alternatives to Save the Environment.” On that list are straws made from materials ranging from wheat to papaya leaf stems to metal. To...

With 2019 winding down, it is a good time to look at Green Lodging News readership numbers for 2019. By far the most visited section of the website was the Green Product & Service Directory. The Directory currently has 55 categories ranging from “Air Filtration/Purification” to “Window Film.” Easily the most visited part of the Directory this year has been the “Amenities/Dispensers/Toiletries” section. The most visited news department this year: “Green Certifications.” Interestingly, the year saw few news announcements having to do with green certification. The most visited or searched for article this year was my column on the...

In planning for a recent vacation to Las Vegas, the reality of resort fees hit my family hard. It is shocking really, what hotel and gaming companies are doing not only in Las Vegas but in places like New York City, South Florida and other locations. I just plugged in a hypothetical trip for eight nights into Hotels.com at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino and this is what I found: a $60 nightly price per room. For eight nights that would be $480—you would think. After selecting the $60 option, I was presented with the real cost of staying...

Ever felt like your stay in a hotel was like staying in a zoo? If so, I am sure you did not mean it in a good way. Well, now you can practically stay overnight in a zoo at Belgium’s Pairi Daiza Resort. Visitors can literally walk and sleep between wolves, bears, Steller sea lions, mountain lions and more. There are four hotel options for guests: The Full Moon Lodge, Native Village, Paddling Bear Hotel, and Paddling Bear Suites. The Full Moon Lodge, of which there are 10, is constructed all of wood and stone and is completely covered with...

Interested in learning about some of the planet’s most cutting-edge sustainable buildings? The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has launched a new digital case study library showcasing examples of the world’s most cutting-edge sustainable buildings. Each case study demonstrates enhanced performance in relation to health benefits or achieve net zero operational carbon, as verified by established certification schemes, rating tools or other third-party verification. According to WorldGBC, buildings and construction together account for 36 percent of global final energy use and 39 percent of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions when upstream power generation is included. Additionally, people spend 90 percent...

KEX Portland opened earlier this month in Portland, Oregon. While the property does not shout sustainability from its website, it most definitely has some important green elements. First, the hotel which sleeps 152 guests is housed in a fully restored 1912 building on the National Register of Historic Places. The interior is designed by Hálfdan (Dáni) Pedersen, the designer of the hotel’s first location in Iceland. Pedersen first collected elements for KEX Portland during a buying trip in Europe. There, he sourced furniture, artwork, building materials, and unique objects from the 1920s to the 1970s from the Netherlands, France,...