CHICAGO—Hyatt recently launched a new collaboration between Thompson Hotels and the nation’s largest yoga studio brand, CorePower Yoga, to offer a series of not-your-average rooftop workout classes rooted in the mindfulness of yoga, designed to transform the minds and bodies of guests, CorePower Yoga members and locals. Classes are available complimentary to Thompson Hotels guests at participating properties and accessible to CorePower Yoga members and locals. “At Thompson Hotels, we aim to create valuable experiences that align with the priorities of our guests and that includes how they stay well and fit on the road,” said Crystal Vinisse Thomas, Vice President & Global...

TAOS, N.M.—Taos Ski Valley, Inc. announced that is has become a certified CarbonNeutral company by Climate Impact Partners, which, coupled with its status as the world’s first and only certified B Corporation, confirms Taos as an industry leader in environmental and social responsibility. While Taos has achieved CarbonNeutral certification, it will continue its ongoing, long-term effort to minimize its actual carbon emissions. “CarbonNeutral certification is the first step in our greater goal of significantly reducing our carbon emissions without using offsets,” said Taos Ski Valley CEO David Norden. “To achieve this milestone, we conducted a rigorous audit to fully understand our...

CHICAGO—Advito and BCD Meetings & Events’ (BCD M&E) new emissions calculator is an ISO-certified calculator designed for meeting planners to reduce the overall environmental impact of their programs. The tool was developed in response to their clients’ needs to factor sustainability into their event strategies, and their desire to understand and measure the non-traditional elements contributing to overall emissions. Advito’s sustainable collaboration practice lead, Julien Etchanchu, led the development of the calculator based on the consultancy’s ISO-certified carbon emissions scale, GATE4. “We know that the industry standard for measuring emissions across all four travel categories isn’t granular enough to capture the true...

SEATTLE—Expedia Group announced its new global social impact and sustainability strategy to advance a travel ecosystem that is responsible, open, and accessible to all. Combining the company’s mission, purpose, and values with its traveler-centric mindset, the Open World social impact and sustainability strategy is focused on three priorities—increasing access for underserved travelers, democratizing the travel economy, and innovating sustainable solutions for the future of travel. Earlier this year, the company announced its Open World technology platform—created for partners of all sizes to leverage and configure products and services needed to succeed in the travel ecosystem. Aligned with this innovation, and...

OSLO, NORWAY—Scandic Holmenkollen Park in Oslo has a 128-year history. The hotel recently reopened following a comprehensive 15-month renovation. The hotel has 376 rooms spread over 10 buildings and with its unique location in Oslo, guests from all corners of the world will once again be able to enjoy a unique destination hotel in eastern Norway. Over the past 15 months, Scandic Holmenkollen Park has been undergoing an extensive renovation that has preserved the rich history of the building while adding modern concepts and solutions. The renovation has been a collaboration between Scandic and property owners Eiendomsspar and Rica Eiendom...

PULLMAN, WASH.—Many travelers say they would prefer to stay at eco-friendly hotels but lodging facilities don’t benefit financially from acquiring certification for green business practices, new research shows. Researchers compared five years’ worth of financial data for hotels with and without third-party audits for practices like saving energy, conserving water and recycling. The green-certified hotels performed no better than hotels without the certification, although displaying comparable pricing information and informing consumers about what green certification entails could boost future sales, researchers said. “Our work examines the gap between customers’ intent to patronize eco-friendly hotels and where they are booking nights,” said Christina...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition is celebrating the How2Recycle upgrade of polypropylene (PP) rigid containers to “Widely Recycled” in the U.S. This major milestone comes as the Coalition marks its two-year anniversary. Launched in July 2020, the Coalition brings together stakeholders across the PP value chain—from resin suppliers and manufacturers to consumer-packaged goods, and recycling processors—to improve PP recovery and recycling in the U.S. and to further develop end markets for recycling PP. In the two years since the launch of the Coalition, its catalytic grants have proven highly successful at rapidly impacting the recycling system. The Coalition has...

DALLAS—Omni Hotels & Resorts announced plans to donate 750,000 meals to Feeding America in honor of September Hunger Action Month. The brand is raising awareness around food insecurity and engaging guests, the local communities where its hotels are located and colleagues to take part with several activations nationwide. The campaign is being amplified with a three-city tour across the United States featuring an Omni Hotels & Resorts branded hot-air balloon that will fly at Omni PGA Frisco Resort in Frisco, TX; The Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Va.; and Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, underscoring Omni Hotels & Resorts’ pledge to...

BOSTON—Significant price spikes in the energy attribute certificate (EAC) and carbon offset markets have many companies wondering whether environmental commodities are the right way to reach their goals, asking: is carbon offsetting worth it? These tools that many companies have come to rely on to achieve carbon neutrality have become much more expensive than they may have originally budgeted for. Pair this with headwinds in the renewable energy PPA market, and the question of how to reach goals gets even more complicated. Now, companies are faced with an impossible dilemma that is putting both their financial risk tolerance and their moral...

NATIONAL REPORT—Biodigesters that reduce food waste to grey water have been effectively used by hotels for many years now and for good reason. According to Power Knot, a supplier of 10 different models of biodigesters, the machines greatly reduce the cost to dispose of waste food, reduce the size, quantity, and smells of trash bins, eliminate flies and rodents that may be attracted to garbage bins containing waste food, save time and injuries of employees carrying trash outdoors, and allow one to weigh and dispose of food waste in one machine. According to Orca, a supplier of four different...