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...

Green Lodging News has posted many articles detailing instances of food grown on-site at a hotel. It is becoming more common all the time. Growing food using a traditional garden-like method is most common, but our industry is starting to see more and more instances of food grown using other methods—hydroponics, for example. I wrote about the The Grow House (a.k.a. CropBox) at the Ritz-Carlton, Naples a couple of years ago. One company trying to make headway in the United States currently with its unique system is Eco Convergence Group Inc. The company, with offices in Orlando, Fla., says it...

I have posted about Virgin Hotels before—the Virgin Hotels Chicago earning LEED Gold, for example. The group of hotels has a sustainability policy which can be seen on its website. The company recently announced plans to open and operate a new hotel in Washington, D.C. Expected to open in fall 2019, the brand’s first Washington D.C. property will reside in the city’s emerging Union Market area. It will be managed by Virgin Hotels and developed by D.B. Lee Development & Construction and Brook Rose Development. Unique to the hotel is its accommodation of artists. The hotel will have its own artists-in-residence...

The Global Destination Sustainability Index has released its second city ranking. The GDS-Index is a collaborative business initiative created to help destinations, convention bureaus, event planners and MICE suppliers drive the adoption, promotion and recognition of responsible practices in the business tourism and events industry. The GDS-Index does this by measuring and comparing the social and environmental sustainability strategies, policies and performance of participating destinations and by sharing best practices from around the world. A key element of the GDS-Index is to determine a destination's environmental performance. They do this by examining aspects like a destination’s air quality, their...

In August I posted a blog item about my first visit to a LEED Platinum certified home. While not a lodging establishment, I thought I might pick up some valuable tips about green building. The name of the development is Mirabella and is in Bradenton, Fla. At the time of my visit there were 70 completed homes that had earned LEED Platinum, with 37 additional homes under construction and 53 lots remaining. I just read about Mirabella again this past week because of its Tree Planting Day. As it turns out, in late April and early May, vandals cut down...

Tomorrow I will be chatting with Kurt Bjorkman, General Manager of The Ranch at Laguna Beach (Laguna Beach, Calif.) about his property’s many sustainability initiatives. In case you are not familiar with the property, it is a member of National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World, a prestigious collection of lodges spanning 30 countries and six continents. According to National Geographic, “Each lodge is deeply rooted in its community and dedicated to protecting the surrounding habitats and cultures.” What caught my eye in the public relations person’s pitch about the property is its use of a GLSand glass bottle crusher....

Two recent publications on the topic of biophilic design are must-reads for architects, designers and others interested in sustainable design. Biophilic design is the practice of creating spaces that benefit both nature and humans. The first report, Human Spaces 2.0: Biophilic Design in Hospitality, was released recently by Interface in conjunction with Terrapin Bright Green. This new paper explores the biophilic design strategies used by hotels around the world to enhance guest experiences. It includes an investigation of pricing differentials for rooms with a view to nature and a discussion of the biophilic qualities of different properties and different...

What do you do when a known hate group wants to hold a meeting at your hotel? I recently received a press release from Muslim Advocates. The group describes itself on its website as a “national legal advocacy and educational organization that works on the frontlines of civil rights to guarantee freedom and justice for Americans of all faiths.” One of its goals is to “counter anti-Muslim hate by challenging bigotry and hate crimes.” There is certainly nothing wrong with that. What Muslim Advocates was concerned about was a meeting at a Marriott hotel in Crystal City, Va. earlier this month....