ST. PETE BEACH, FLA.—TradeWinds Island Resorts—the Island Grand and RumFish Beach Resort—recently donated $21,000 to the Florida Disaster Relief Fund, a result of the resort’s “Shore to Shore” give back program supporting response and recovery activities for communities impacted by Hurricane Ian. From October through December 2022, the TradeWinds donated $20 per room, per night to the Florida Disaster Fund from guests participating in the “Shore to Shore” program. The Florida Disaster Fund is the state’s official private fund established to assist Florida’s communities as they recover during times of emergency or disaster. “Our guests responded in a big way to the...

ROCKVILLE, MD.—From innovative technology to conserve energy and water to even more ambitious diversity goals for hotel ownership, the 2022 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report released by Choice Hotels International, Inc. highlights significant new steps that should cut utility costs, save time for franchisees, and increase the company’s ESG commitments. “Choice Hotels International shares a uniting belief that tomorrow will be even better than today, and we are committed to building that better tomorrow,” Choice Hotels International CEO Patrick Pacious says in the report. “As one of the largest lodging franchisors in the world, we are building on more than 80...

QUEBEC—The owners of the Hôtel Nomad Québec, Olivier Donzelot, Romuald Georgeon and their team announced that they have obtained Biosphere Hotel Certification, an international recognition of their commitment to sustainable tourism. The Hôtel Nomad Québec is the first hotel in Quebec City and ranks in the top ten in Canada to receive this certification. According to a project carried out in 2021 by students at the University of Sherbrooke for Tourisme durable Québec, the Biosphere certification is the best sustainability certification. To receive this recognition, Hôtel Nomad Québec had to demonstrate “compliance with actions of Biosphere Sustainable Lifestyle, aligned with...

MIAMI—1 Hotels, the luxury lifestyle hotel brand that cultivates the best of sustainable design and architecture, together with extraordinary comfort and an unrivaled level of service, will celebrate 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 will launch activities and initiatives that promote a more collective effort towards protecting our planet. As a mission driven brand, 1 Hotels aims to serve as a platform for change....

ATLANTA—IHG Hotels & Resorts and its partner Polaris, a leading organization in the fight against human trafficking, hosted a forum in Atlanta recently to unveil findings from Polaris’ National Survivor Study (NSS). Survivors of human trafficking shared insights on the conditions that make people vulnerable to trafficking and the barriers to rebuilding their lives. Elected officials and executives from Atlanta’s top companies also discussed what the State of Georgia and the business community are doing to help to support survivors and stop human trafficking. The NSS is a scientifically rigorous and survivor-led research project designed to reveal the experiences and needs of human trafficking...

PORTLAND, ORE.—Vacation club brand WorldMark by Wyndham is launching Planting Seeds, a pilot program that introduces guests staying at WorldMark Portland Waterfront Park to the concept of urban permaculture through interactive workshops and an on-site vertical demo garden. Guests who participate in the free monthly workshop series will be empowered to live more holistically and reduce waste by embracing their surrounding ecosystems to grow their own food, at scale—no matter where it is they call home. To oversee its new Planting Seeds program, WorldMark enlisted the expertise of master regenerative urban farmer Daniel Campbell, owner and operator of Portland’s PDX Farm, who installed a demo garden...

HOLLYWOOD, FLA.—Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming announced the release of its 2023 Corporate Social Responsibility Report: Fifty Years Forward. Social purpose has propelled Hard Rock since its inception in 1971, guided by its founding mottos: Love All-Serve All, All Is One, Save The Planet, and Take Time To Be Kind. “Our brand mottos have shaped who we are as a brand for the past 50 years while setting the foundation of our future,” said Paul Pellizzari, Vice President of Global Social Responsibility at Hard Rock International. “Today, Hard Rock and Seminole Gaming operate 250+ cafes, hotels and casinos spanning...

MASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE, KENYA—JW Marriott, part of Marriott Bonvoy’s global portfolio of 30 hotel brands, announced the opening of JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge, marking the company’s highly anticipated debut in the luxury safari segment. Sitting within the Masai Mara National Reserve in Southwestern Kenya, one of Africa’s most renowned wildlife and wilderness conservation regions, the lodge is a sophisticated sanctuary from which to discover animals and vistas in harmony. Guided game drives offer guests the opportunity to observe the “Big Five” that Masai Mara is home to, including lions, leopards, buffalos, rhinoceros, and elephants. Between June and September,...

NATIONAL REPORT—When searching for water conservation opportunities in a hotel, the guestroom bathroom is a prime target. While most showerheads and faucets today offer savings opportunities, where huge progress has been made in recent years is in the engineering and design of toilets. While the current federal standard in the U.S. is 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf), the EPA’s own WaterSense site lists 73 models that use just .8 gpf. Of those 73 models, 16 are made by Niagara Conservation Corp. Green Lodging News recently spoke with Michael Campbell, Director of Business Development at Niagara, to talk toilet trends...

CHANNEL ISLANDS HARBOR, CALIF.—While it has received minimal attention in the United States, a new law proposed by the European Union (EU) will require manufacturers and other organizations to prove their product’s green claims. The goal is to eliminate greenwashing, which studies find is more prevalent in Europe—and many other places worldwide—than we may realize. For instance, in January 2021, the European Commission, a politically independent arm of the EU, published the results of a study involving 344 claims on European company websites. According to the researchers, forty-two percent of those green claims were “exaggerated, false, or misleading.” The Commission went on to...