To what degree does climate change drive you to make operational improvements and investments? Do you provide preferred parking locations for guests and staff driving fuel efficient vehicles (hybrids, electric vehicles)? Do bathroom fans include humidity sensors to shut them off when no longer needed? These are just a few examples of questions included in the Green Lodging Survey that just went “live” today and that will close on August 31. Green Lodging News partnered with Greenview to produce the survey. There are 108 questions to complete. Some of the questions require simply a yes or no answer. Others...

Along with the mattress and pillow, the towel has got to rank as one of the top few guestroom items impacting the guest experience. In my travels I have experienced many hotel towels that were anything but fluffy or that had an unpleasant odor from the laundering process. I suspect you have experienced the same. Xeros, maker of a laundry system that replaces up to 80 percent of the water with polymer beads, just released the results of its survey entitled, “Why Towels Matter: The Surprising Role that Towels Play in a Hotel’s Success.” The survey had an impressive...

Few, if any, suppliers have conducted large-scale surveys of hoteliers to better understand their energy and water management efforts. MACH Energy, a provider of energy and water management software services and solutions, recently conducted a survey that reached out to more than 5,000 industry professionals. Wei-En Tan, Ph.D., Vice President of Research at MACH Energy, told me there were about 1,000 respondents but only about 300 that completed all of the survey. The survey is available for downloading. Be sure to check it out. There were a number of interesting findings detailed in the survey report. For example, while...

E.ON, one of the United Kingdom’s leading power and gas companies, last week released the results of its survey of 2,000 travelers. The survey primarily focused on traveler attitudes toward green hotel practices. According to the survey results, one-third of guests say hotels and B&Bs should be judged on sustainability, with an accreditation system similar to food and service quality. One in five people would be more likely to stay in or recommend a B&B or boutique hotel if it used renewable energy sources. Similar numbers would be swayed by knowing the hotel used energy efficient measures such as...

Interface, the world’s largest commercial modular carpet company, demonstrated its leadership yet again last week with the announcement that its Americas manufacturing sites now operate using 96 percent renewable energy. Globally, the company operates on 84 percent renewable energy. The Americas milestone was achieved with the addition of directed biogas to meet the thermal energy needs of the company’s flagship operations in Troup County, Ga. It was 22 years ago that Interface launched Mission Zero, a quest to eliminate its carbon footprint. Ray Anderson, Founder and Chairman of Interface at the time, declared that Interface was committed to becoming...

Late last year I reported on Avendra’s hiring of a new sustainability manager, Hamzah Abu-Ragheb, and Avendra’s requirement that all of its suppliers have a sustainability policy in place by the end of 2016. For those of you not familiar with Avendra, it is a procurement services provider formed in 2001 with the support of companies such as Marriott, Hyatt, Fairmont and Club Corp. Marriott (managed hotels) is Avendra’s largest customer. The bulk of what is purchased through Avendra is F&B related. I just heard from Hamzah and he informed me that Avendra just posted a document on its...

Since publishing my Earth Day column last week I have heard from a number of other companies and hotels with their Earth Day plans. First, a representative of Destination Hotels sent me a long list of activities that will take place at Destination Hotels properties as part of the company’s Destination Earth program. Upon checking in April 21 through April 22 at Hotel Derek, A Destination Hotel in Houston, each guest will receive a Texas shaped paper, which will bloom into a Texas wild flower garden. Additionally, the property will be featuring a farm to table menu to include...

Would you trust your guests to pay what they believe is appropriate for food and service? That is what is happening at China’s Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain. There, a pay what you believe is appropriate pay policy is being implemented at the Chef’s Table at the Farm2Fork restaurant. The policy went into effect this month. Each Saturday morning after the chef has finished his rounds at the vegetable farm and confirmed with the local suppliers for the day’s availability of fresh produce, a four-course dinner menu is devised and written on the chalkboard at the upper level of...

The Valencia Group is touting its commitment to protecting the planet with a number of different green initiatives this month. First of all, the predominant image on its website is Earth as seen from space. Below that image is a summary of some of the steps the company is taking this month—eco-friendly cocktails in its bars, for example. “We are proud to say that we do our part to protect Mother Earth by sourcing local ingredients, beautifying our areas, supporting community gardens, planting trees in our areas, and paying careful attention to sustainability efforts in each of our destinations,”...

Following last spring’s earthquake in Nepal, employees of the Radisson Blu Resort Fujairah (UAE) donated an average of five percent of their salary to support their four Nepali colleagues whose families were affected by the earthquake. One of the affected staff lost two close family members in the quake. This is just one example of steps taken by employees of Rezidor Hotel Group properties to help those in need. The story comes from the Rezidor Hotel Group’s 2015 Responsible Business Report. Be sure to read the report. Rezidor has long emphasized responsible business. It implemented its first environmental policy...