With just 10 days to go, I have not heard from many properties regarding their April 22 Earth Day activities. As published on Green Lodging News on April 5, 1 Hotels is celebrating Earth Month with a series of brand and property offerings that honor the beauty of the natural world, promote environmental unity, and encourage individuals to take small steps towards sustainability. For the month of April, all eight carbon-neutral properties in North America have launched activities and initiatives that promote a more collective effort towards protecting our planet. In one example, in partnership with a local vendor...

At least several companies offer their own version of a wash and dry station for a public restroom. It is a great idea to dispense soap, wash one’s hands, move them over a bit and then dry them in one motion. Saniflow Corp. posted an article earlier this year entitled, “Wash and Dry Stations: What are they and why are they the best method for hand hygiene?” The article does a great job explaining what these stations are, the benefits they provide, and where it is best to install a washing and drying station. Below is a slimmed down...

Since late 2016, I have been compiling a list of Hotel and Management Company Green Pages—the places on their websites where one can learn about their ESG efforts and possibly even link to their most recent ESG report. This past week I added the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) to the list. It breaks the mold a bit because it is a compilation of independent hotel brands, but I thought it deserved to be on the list. This past week, the Alliance launched its Green Collection, bringing under one umbrella nearly 200 hotels, resorts and palaces operated by GHA hotel...

Back in February, I posted a press release from Castell Project, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the careers of women professionals in the hospitality industry. See the article here. The release focused on the results of the nonprofit’s 2022 Women in Hospitality Industry Leadership report. One key finding from the report: women now hold one leadership spot for every 10.3 men, an improvement from one to 11.2 in 2019. While progress, it is not exactly industry-shaking progress. That is why I find it important today to highlight this latest news from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts: It just...

I recently had an opportunity to visit Mercedes-Benz Stadium (MBS) in Atlanta. It is the home of the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta United Football Club (soccer). I went on a tour of the stadium and was very impressed by the steps the owners of the building are taking to minimize its environmental impact. In fact, the stadium was just certified to TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) Platinum for its zero waste efforts in January. MBS is the first professional sports stadium worldwide to achieve TRUE Platinum certification for zero waste. Ninety percent of the waste from the...

I love allocating space in Green Lodging News for properties assisting animals in one way or another. Search on “dogs” on Green Lodging News and you will find a few examples. (Read about the Bow Wow Luau held at the Aloft Orlando Downtown here.) I recently learned that Mount Airy Casino Resort, Pennsylvania’s first AAA Four-Diamond casino resort, is helping neglected and abused animals from the region feel a bit more comfy-cozy by donating truckloads of its finest Egyptian cotton to a local animal shelter. Camp Papillon, a nonprofit, no-kill animal shelter in Stroudsburg, Pa., has dozens of rescue dogs in need of comfort...

Our list of solar powered lodging establishments is by no means complete but it keeps getting longer. See the list by clicking here. The list consists primarily of U.S. hotels but there are many listed from outside the U.S. as well. As of today, a total of about 275 lodging establishments are listed. I just added Calabash Luxury Boutique Hotel in Grenada, Hotel Terrestre in Mexico, and Nayara Bocas del Toro in Panama. As far as I know, this is the most comprehensive list of solar-powered lodging establishments in the world. A bit about the last three additions: At Calabash Luxury...

Every year around this time, I begin talking about Earth Day (April 22) and what companies or individual properties have planned. Oftentimes, it is some type of community service. Numerous times, companies or properties have used Earth Day to make a major announcement. For example, last year, Hotel Belmar, a family owned and operated boutique hotel that is a leader in responsible tourism, launched a new carbon negative initiative that encourages guests to participate in an Offset Your Footprint program by matching all donations. This week, I heard from Earthday.org staff with some tips on how to mark Earth Day...

Euronews just released its 2023 Travel Trend Report. Almost all the trends touch on sustainability or wellness in one way or another. First on the list is regenerative travel—nature positive and carbon positive travel. “Tour operators, destination bodies and hotels are tasked with the job of actively repairing, restoring and investing in nature, in order to keep pace with consumer sentiment,” the report says. Third on the list is Rail Revival. Driving the return to this form of travel is the convenience, cost and lower carbon footprint. “A handful of private companies are reviving night trains across Europe,” the report says....

I have often wondered about the climate impact of space tourism. Why does it matter even more now? According to a press release just released by Allied Market Research, the global space tourism industry generated $598.4 million in 2021, and is anticipated to generate $12.6 billion by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 36.4 percent from 2022 to 2031. Expect just a little more carbon to be falling on your heads in the coming years. I am by no means an expert on the climate impact of space tourism but came across an article from Inside Climate News from June of last year that sums up...