Wellness tourism is exploding and data about the industry sector is becoming increasingly available. For example, according to the Global Wellness Institute, wellness tourism grew from a $563 billion market in 2015 to $639 billion in 2017, or 6.5 percent annually, more than twice as fast as tourism overall. Recently, the Wellness Tourism Association (WTA) released results from its first Wellness Travel Survey focused on what consumers desire from wellness vacations. A total of 2,566 respondents participated in the just under eight-month long, online consumer survey. Among key findings unveiled at the WTA’s inaugural Meeting of Members: Just under half...

Two recent hotel emergencies highlight the importance of placing carbon monoxide detectors throughout an entire hotel building—not just in guestroom areas. First, last Friday morning, a Jacksonville, N.C. Holiday Inn Express was evacuated after a carbon monoxide leak. Sixteen people required medical treatment at a local hospital. The cause of the leak is yet to be determined. Some of those evacuated were homeowners displaced after Hurricane Florence. Yesterday morning, emergency crews evacuated a portion of the Westin Hotel in downtown Nashville after a carbon monoxide leak was detected in the building. According to fire officials, the leak sickened 14 people, and...

In less than two weeks I will be moderating a panel discussion on electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at HX: The Hotel Experience. The session will be held on the trade show floor from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. on Monday, November 12. If you will be at the show, be sure to catch this session. In preparing for the panel discussion I learned just how large the electric vehicle segment is and how large it is expected to become. A Research Report Insights (RRI) report revealed that the global market for electric vehicles crossed $99 billion in terms of...

When packages are delivered to your property, they often come from UPS. You may not know it, but UPS is doing a lot to reduce its environmental impact around the world. UPS has a long history with electric vehicles, having first introduced them into its U.S. fleet in the 1930s. UPS now has more than 1,000 electric and hybrid electric vehicles deployed worldwide. The company’s fleet of approximately 9,300 alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles now drives more than 1 million miles each day. Since 2008, the company has invested over $1 billion in alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles...

FORTUNE just released its annual ranking of the “World’s Best Workplaces” and one hotel company made the top five: Hilton. Hilton climbed seven spots to the highly coveted second spot on the list of the top 25 companies and is the only hospitality company in the top 10. Team Members from Hilton say Hilton’s culture, benefits and travel perks make it a great place for a career. Hilton offers programs to help Team Members thrive personally and professionally with global career development opportunities and global training. Benefits include: parental leave, adoption assistance, GED support and discounted stays at Hilton properties...

If you operate a hotel or motel in California, you need to be aware of two new laws that help combat human trafficking. The first is Senate Bill (SB) 970. The new law requires hotels and motels subject to the Fair Employment and Housing Act to provide at least 20 minutes of classroom or other effective interactive training and education regarding human trafficking awareness to each employee likely to interact or meet victims of human trafficking. This training must be completed by January 1, 2020 for workers employed as of July 1, 2019, and within six months of hire...

Keep America Beautiful’s America Recycles Day, the only nationally-recognized day dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the United States, has opened registration for businesses, community organizations, government entities, individuals and others planning to host an America Recycles Day-themed event. America Recycles Day, which takes place on and in the weeks surrounding November 15, educates people about the importance of recycling to the economy and environmental well-being, and helps to motivate occasional recyclers to become everyday recyclers. “Our fall recycling initiatives highlight the power that we all have to make more mindful decisions in our daily lives about recycling and using products...

I just updated the “Green Videos” section of the Green Lodging News website. Be sure to check out the new videos. The first new video focuses on the Great Wolf Lodge property in Niagara Falls, Ontario and the many green initiatives there that fall under Great Wolf Lodge’s Project Green Wolf program. A sample of the green initiatives: recycling, conversion to LEDs, 50 percent of all food comes from Ontario, food digester, recirculate water constantly, low-flow fixtures, and smart thermostats. A second new video summarizes Radisson Hotel Group Community Action Month activities. A third new video features Bucuti & Tara...

Caesars Entertainment Corp. recently announced that the company found no meaningful differences in the average pay of men and women in almost all jobs. Together with Billie Jean King, sports icon and equal rights champion, Caesars Entertainment committed to work to close the gap and achieve 100 percent parity in pay for men and women. Caesars reviewed 2016 pay data for approximately 32,200 non-union employees from corporate headquarters and 40 properties. Ninety nine percent of women at the company’s corporate headquarters and 98 percent of women at the company’s 40 properties are in jobs with no meaningful differences between the...

As just reported on Green Lodging News, Scandic Hotels has decided to stop using eggs from caged hens. Each year, Scandic serves between 11.5 and 13 million eggs at its hotels, with the majority already from free-range hens, and from September 2018, the hotel will begin to gradually phase out eggs from caged hens in all products. The new policy will apply at all Scandic hotels. Eggs, and products containing eggs, from caged hens will be gradually phased out between September 2018 and 2020, with the exception of hotels in Norway where they will be completely phased out by...