SACRAMENTO, CALIF.—The California Hotel & Lodging Association honored 11 hospitality leaders and four outstanding properties during its annual Stars of the Industry Awards Gala. “Each winner has demonstrated sustained excellence and a passion for hospitality that inspires all of us,” said Lynn S. Mohrfeld, President & CEO of CHLA. “Our heartfelt congratulations and thanks to every participant who daily makes the California lodging experience the best in the world.” Hundreds of outstanding hotel employees were nominated by industry leaders throughout California. Three finalists were selected for each category, with CHLA judges selecting the winners based on their outstanding and unique contributions to their properties, to...

LAS VEGAS—Earlier this year, Sands released its 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, which detailed plans for its corporate responsibility program for the next five years, including three new ambitions the company aims to achieve by 2025. Under the program’s Communities pillar, Sands aims to contribute 150,000 Team Member volunteer hours as its key focus for accelerating impact in local regions over the next five years. Team Member volunteerism is a key tenet of Sands’ culture and one of the primary ways the company helps its regions maintain their strength and resiliency and address critical social issues. Sands provides Team...

MCLEAN, VA.—As Hilton’s primary philanthropic arm, the Hilton Global Foundation announced its commitment to grant nearly $2 million towards organizations whose efforts support destination stewardship, climate action, career development and community resilience. Funds will be distributed across the Hilton Global Foundation’s annual grantees and to various nonprofit organizations who have demonstrated a meaningful commitment to preserving the destinations where they operate. “There has never been a more important time to support efforts towards a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient world. The Hilton Global Foundation is uniquely positioned to support global efforts to protect communities and the planet while contributing to a...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA—The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has unveiled groundbreaking new data detailing the climate footprint of the global Travel & Tourism sector. The findings were launched at the global tourism body’s 22nd Global Summit in Riyadh by the World Travel & Tourism Council and the Saudi-based Sustainable Global Tourism Center. In a world-first, this comprehensive research covers 185 countries across all regions and will be updated each year with the latest figures. During her opening speech Julia Simpson, President & CEO of WTTC announced the findings of the Environmental & Social Research (ESR). In one of the largest research...

LAGUNA BEACH, CALIF.—Soul Community Planet (SCP) announced a new partnership with the Boardriders Foundation and SeaTrees as part of its Every Stay Does Good program. Through Every Stay Does Good, SCP’s guests help to make the world a better place through special programs that advance the values of wellness, social good and sustainability. With the announcement, SCP will plant one SeaTree—or kelp—each time a guest stays at the SCP Seven4One Hotel or the Laguna Riviera Hotel. The program will help restore the marine ecosystem along the Southern California Coast and foster positive climate change. “We are honored to partner with Boardriders Foundation...

LONDON—Leading digital travel platform Booking.com announced an array of new product features in celebration of the one-year anniversary of its Travel Sustainable program, introduced in 2021 to provide travelers with transparent and credible information to make more mindful choices for their trips. With the ongoing aim to recognize the efforts of a wide range of property types to operate more sustainably and to provide travelers with consistent and easy-to-understand information, the company is introducing three distinct badge levels to the Travel Sustainable program. The new levels have been designed to clearly demonstrate a broader spectrum of where different accommodations are...

UNCASVILLE, CONN.—Newsweek announced its annual rankings for the Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces list, and Mohegan was ranked 68. The 2022 Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces are the result of a collaboration with the Best Practice Institute (BPI), a leadership development and benchmark research company. The results were determined after surveying more than 1.4 million team members from businesses with workforces varying in size from 50 to more than 10,000. The list recognizes companies that put respect, caring, and appreciation for their team members at the center of their business model and, in doing so, have earned the loyalty and...

CAMBODIA—Cardamom Tented Camp in Cambodia has won the 2022 Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) Sustainable Hotel Award for Climate Action. Apart from climate action, there were awards for building preservation/adaptive reuse, positive community impact, and sustainable design. Seven judges, mostly from institutional sustainability backgrounds, assessed the submissions. The BHN Group, which runs the HICAP event, announced the winners in October. The judges based the climate action decision on Cardamom Tented Camp’s ability to work with partners to preserve 180 sq km of lowland rainforest in the Botum Sakor national park in southwest Cambodia. On climate action, it is estimated that the...

SAN FRANCISCO—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced updates to the primary version of the LEED green building certification program, LEED v4, to more directly address carbon emissions and climate change. The updates will raise the threshold of LEED v4 to encourage greater energy performance, aligning LEED v4 with the rigor of LEED v4.1, which raised the bar on energy and climate upon its release in 2018. “From day one, USGBC has been committed to the continuous improvements and advancement of green buildings standards. The new updates to LEED v4 affirm that climate is core to LEED,” said Peter Templeton,...

BANGKOK, THAILAND—Dusit Hotels and Resorts, under Dusit International, one of Thailand’s leading hotel and property development companies, has become the first hotel chain in Thailand to offer 100 percent organic rice across its entire portfolio of properties nationwide, bringing nutritional benefits to guests, customers, and employees, and sustainable income gains and life-changing developments to agricultural communities in the kingdom’s Thung Kula Rong Hai area, specifically Surin and Sisaket provinces. Driven by Dusit International’s food business unit, Dusit Foods, and the company’s Sustainability Committee, the initiative sees Dusit work directly with farm collectives and provide all the support they need—from quality...