AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS—Amsterdam is saying “no” to new hotels. “We want to make and keep the city livable, for residents and visitors. That means: no overtourism, no new hotels, and no more than 20 million hotel nights by tourists per year,” local government officials said.” Previously granted rights for new hotels still apply. And old hotels that close may make way for new, sustainable, modern hotels. The hotel policy was already strict. As of 2017, only three plans meet the conditions. Nevertheless, hotels are still under construction and hotels are being added. They already had rights before, such as a permit....

ORLANDO, FLA.—Hilton Grand Vacations Inc., a premier vacation ownership and experiences company, has been named a national winner of the 2024 Top Workplaces USA awards. The company made its debut on the list, which was featured for the first time in USA Today. As the nation’s leading employer recognition program, Top Workplaces has surveyed more than 20 million employees over the past two decades to identify organizations that have successfully nurtured outstanding workplace cultures. HGV team members answered 24 questions in an annual survey administered by Energage, the nation’s leading employer recognition program. The 2023 survey went to more than 7,000 organizations. “At HGV, we...

RIO GRANDE, PUERTO RICO—Wyndham Grand Rio Mar, Wyndham Palmas, the Friends of El Yunque Foundation, and the United States Forest Service announced the signing of an industry-leading donation agreement that will provide a simple way for tourists to directly support El Yunque National Rainforest in the promotion of its educational programs, conservation, and recreation. Under this agreement, guests of Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Rainforest, Beach and Golf Resort and Wyndham Palmas Beach and Golf Resort will have the opportunity to voluntarily donate $1 to the Friends of El Yunque Foundation when they book their stay. Friends of El Yunque is a nonprofit organization in...

BELLEVUE, WASH.—Staypineapple, the national boutique hotel brand, has taken significant steps to strengthen its commitment to sustainable business practices and achieve its goal of providing a greener guest experience. “Staypineapple has taken great strides in its contribution of building a better, more sustainable environment for our guests, team members and communities,” said Dina Belon, President of Staypineapple. “In 2023, we made a number of commitments to reduce our company’s overall carbon footprint and are pleased to announce that we have accomplished several of our major green initiative goals and are on a steady trajectory with our year-by-year commitments of reducing...

LAS VEGAS—Las Vegas Sands has contributed $500,000 through Sands Cares to The WASH Foundation, an evolution of the Clean the World Foundation, bringing the company’s total contributions to the nonprofit organization to more than $5.6 million since kicking off the partnership. The 2024 Sands Cares investment supports three priority areas: the annual Sands Cares Global Hygiene Kit Build, which will mark more than 1 million kits built by Sands Team Members since 2014; the Drop By Drop Project, a program Sands established with The WASH Foundation to address water stewardship initiatives in the company’s regions; and capacity-building funding to help The WASH Foundation expand...

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS—Booking.com has released new research, with insights gathered from more than 31,000 travelers across 34 countries and territories, exploring the latest consumer attitudes, priorities and influences related to sustainable travel. While the annual research reveals a continued sense of desire and awareness, with 83 percent of travelers confirming that sustainable travel is important to them, new insights show a sense of weariness could be emerging globally, fueled by the ongoing challenges that travelers experience to make more sustainable travel choices. The recent study shows that almost half (45 percent) feel traveling more sustainably is important, but not a primary consideration...

LONDON—Deloitte’s annual “Global Human Capital Trends” report has its finger on the pulse of the most pressing issues for organizations, leaders and workers. The 2024 report, “Thriving Beyond Boundaries: Human Performance in a Boundaryless World,” identifies seven trends that showcase how a combination of business and human outcomes plays a role in organizational success. This year’s analysis reveals that organizations making meaningful progress on these key issues are nearly twice as likely to achieve desired business and human outcomes. Prioritizing human sustainability—the degree to which an organization creates value for people as human beings, leaving them with greater well-being, employability,...

AMELIA ISLAND, FLA.—As the world celebrates Earth Day, Audubon International—the environmentally focused nonprofit organization offering members numerous certifications and conservation initiatives to protect the areas where we all live, work, and play—reports that interest in its respected, vetted, third-party certification programs is growing beyond its core golf course constituency into the hotel/hospitality sectors, which in turn leads to entire destinations working together to gain Sustainable Communities certification. Nowhere is this trend more visible than on Amelia Island in the northeast corner of Florida, which has coupled its deep history of community stewardship with ongoing efforts to partner with Audubon International on...

BETHESDA, MD.—Marriott International, Inc. has verified its near and long-term science-based emissions reduction targets with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). SBTi is a global climate action organization that develops tools that allow businesses to set greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets in line with data-driven methodology. Marriott is the largest global hospitality company to receive approval for both near-term and long-term science-based targets. The company has committed to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 46.2 percent by 2030 from a 2019 base year. Marriott also commits to reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions from fuel and energy-related...

CHICAGO—Hyatt celebrates its global RiseHY program, designed to connect young people with long-term careers in hospitality. Since the program’s introduction in 2018, more than 5,700 Opportunity Youth* have joined Hyatt or a Hyatt hotel. This marks a pivotal step toward Hyatt’s global commitment to have Hyatt and Hyatt hotels hire 10,000 Opportunity Youth by 2025. With more than 23 percent of the world’s young people unemployed, according to the International Labour Organization, investing in underserved communities continues to increase in importance. Despite navigating unprecedented industry-wide job market challenges resulting from the global pandemic, Hyatt remains focused on its commitment to supporting Opportunity Youth...