The lodging industry should pay attention to and replicate efforts by major restaurant companies to eliminate polystyrene foam packaging. Last month, McDonald’s Corp. agreed to end the use of such packaging globally by the end of this year. According to As You Sow, rarely recycled, expanded polystyrene foam used in beverage cups and takeout containers is a frequent component of beach litter, breaking down into indigestible pellets, which marine animals mistake for food, resulting in deaths of marine animals. McDonald’s phased out foam cups for hot beverages in the United States in 2012 but continued to use them in...

Women in Hospitality Leadership 2017, a report by AHLA Women in Lodging and Castell Project, details the leadership progress of women in the hospitality industry and the lack thereof. Be sure to read this important report found here. According to the report, in the hospitality industry, as of 2016, men have been 10 times more likely to be promoted to the principal/partner or president levels than women, four times more likely to be promoted to the EVP/group president level and more than twice as likely to be promoted to the senior VP, VP, or district level. Women did make some progress...

Earth Hour is just 45 days away (March 24, 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. local time). How will your property be marking the event? Last year, 187 countries and territories took part, more than 3,000 landmarks switched off their lights, and millions of individuals, businesses and organizations around the world participated. Over the last decade the lodging industry has found its own unique ways to mark Earth Hour. Do a search on “Earth Hour” on the Green Lodging News website and you will find some examples. Last year, for example, more than 350 Carlson Rezidor hotels participated. The Radisson Blu Royal...

GreenBiz Group recently released its “State of Green Business 2018”. The report looks at 10 key trends and dozens of metrics assessing how, and how much, companies are moving the needle on the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. The report includes the world’s 1,200 largest companies and 500 largest firms in the United States. The report is produced in partnership with Trucost, part of S&P Global, a world leader in helping companies, investors, governments, academics and thought leaders to understand the economic consequences of natural capital dependency. Together, these and more than two dozen other metrics help paint a...

One is a distillery with an inn. The other is a lodge with a distillery located next door. Natural booze is the common theme. In case you did not read it on Green Lodging News, last July the Marble Distilling Co. & The Distillery Inn was named as a 2017 Green Hotelier Award Winner and the only North American property to be recognized. The business is in Carbondale, Colo. If you go to the enterprise’s website, it is clear the primary business is a distillery but there are also five luxury hotel suites available. The Marble Distilling Company’s motto is “Drink Sustainably”....

In case you missed it, Interstate Hotels & Resorts launched 27 new vegetarian and vegan menu options at the beginning of this year. I posted the article on Green Lodging News. Leading the effort for Interstate is the company’s V.P. of Food & Beverage Operations, Bradley Moore. By e-mail, I asked Moore about the new culinary promotion. GLN: Developing a new series of menu items for a company the size of Interstate is a major project. Upon what research did you rely to prompt such an investment in veggie/vegan options? Is it just Millennials pushing this trend? Moore: We are fortunate...

There are not many books that come out of the hospitality industry having to do with sustainability, so I have to give a plug to “One Green Deed Spawns Another: Tales of Inspiration on the Quest for Sustainability,” a brand new book by David Mahood. David is an independent consultant and principal of Olive Designs, LLC and a partner in Olive Hospitality Consulting. David has been a prominent advocate of sustainability in our industry for many years and I have been fortunate to get to know him. In his book, David interviews many of his heroes who have inspired him...

One more way to put more heads in beds? Certainly. According to www.veganbits.com, about two percent of Americans are vegetarian. One in four of those are vegan. What are you doing to attract that portion of travelers? According to the 2016 Lodging Survey, just 28 percent of hotels with restaurants offer vegetarian menu choices. That means, in most cases, that portion of travelers either chooses to dine elsewhere or are not satisfied when dining at your dining establishment. How can you better meet the needs of vegetarians and vegans? One idea is to become a stop on a tour led...

I recently came across a group of hotels that are a perfect fit for Green Lodging News: Conscious Hotels. In case you are not familiar with the properties, there are three located in Amsterdam and one more in The Netherlands slated to open in 2018. Details can be found on the company’s website but here is how the hotels are described: “Conscious Hotels strive to be as green, sustainable and eco-friendly as possible. But they’re more hip than hippy. And by hip we don’t mean our staff are too cool to answer the phone. You might not even notice...

One of my industry friends was recently in South Africa. I will be posting an article about his experience at the solar-powered Kambaku Safari Lodge very soon. While on his trip he also got to visit the highly unusual Turbine Boutique Hotel and Spa. The property is a fascinating example of adaptive reuse. What is now a five-star hotel and spa was once an old power station. All the old machinery which was used in the power station has been restored and forms an integral part of the hotel’s aesthetics. The original wood boiler, four electricity generators and much...