SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.—The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) announced the launch of the WELL Performance Rating, a new rating that recognizes building owners and operators for achieving excellence in healthy building performance aimed to enhance the well-being and experience of the people inside. The announcement was made during the opening session of the WELL Summit, with IWBI leading partner organizations driving a movement for people-first places forward through application of WELL at scale. Developed in collaboration with a host of industry leaders in smart building technologies and with input from IWBI Performance Advisory, WELL Performance Testing Organizations (PTOs) and WELL Enterprise Providers (EPs), the...

CHATSWORTH, CALIF.—Planet Green, a U.S.-based recycler and remanufacturer of printer cartridges, has launched a petition to gain public support to push state and federal officials to ban the sale and importation of generic non-recyclable printer cartridges in the United States. According to Planet Green, these cartridges, while commonly used today, present a multitude of environmental challenges. These cartridges are single-use, and unlike OEM cartridges that can be recycled several times over, generic cartridges cannot be recycled. They also do not meet the same standards as original equipment manufacturers’ (OEM) cartridges, and at times may even infringe on OEM intellectual...

SEVIERVILLE, TENN.—A new, one-of-a-kind experience in the Smoky Mountains has just been announced: Sanctuary Treehouse Resort. This will be the first-ever treehouse resort in the Smoky Mountains and the largest resort of its kind in the world. Sanctuary Treehouse Resort is situated on 40 acres. It is located on two golf courses and is a short distance from the most visited national park in the United States—the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The treehouse rentals at the resort offer panoramic views of the Smoky Mountains and the two 18-hole golf courses. “Our initial inspiration to build a treehouse resort for the...

MADRID, SPAIN—The UNWTO Executive Council has decided to hold an extraordinary UNWTO General Assembly to address the suspension of the membership of the Russian Federation. The first ever Extraordinary UNWTO General Assembly will be convened in the coming days. This was the first time in the history of UNWTO that the Executive Council met to address a request to consider suspending a Member from the Organization. Held in Madrid at the request of several UNWTO Members, the Executive Council met amid ongoing global concern and condemnation for the unilateral actions of the Russian Federation. “War is never a solution! Not now,...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA.—Walt Disney World Resort will earmark nearly 80 acres of land to bring a new affordable housing development to life in southwest Orange County, Fla. This initiative has been in the works for quite some time and builds on The Walt Disney Company’s long legacy of bringing positive, lasting change to the communities it calls home—making an important difference locally to address one of the nation’s greatest challenges. This new development, which is still in the early planning stages and subject to appropriate approvals, is expected to include more than 1,300 units and will be constructed by a...

ATHENS, GREECE—Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and TEMES S.A., a leading developer and operator in high-end tourism and real estate, will introduce the first Mandarin Oriental property in Greece, at Costa Navarino—the prime sustainable destination in the Mediterranean—in spring 2023. Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino will be located at Navarino Bay, an integrated resort area at Costa Navarino, in the region of Messinia, southwest Peloponnese, amidst a breathtaking 140-hectare natural landscape, overlooking the historic Bay of Navarino. The beachfront luxury resort will feature 99 guestrooms, including 48 spacious earth-sheltered pool villas, all with outdoor terraces and stunning sea views, along with five restaurants and bars. Crafted by renowned Greek architects,...

LAS VEGAS—Resorts World Las Vegas announced that all three of its hotel brands, Las Vegas Hilton, Conrad Las Vegas and Crockfords Las Vegas, LXR Hotels & Resorts, have earned Gold Certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. The prestigious Gold Certification positions the resort amongst the best energy-efficient facilities in the world. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED certification is considered the benchmark in the green building industry, with only six other LEED Gold buildings within the hospitality and lodging sector in Nevada. LEED certification provides building owners and operators with a framework for...

ALPHARETTA, GA.—As the United States is in the midst of a severe blood supply shortage, Atrium Hospitality is proud to continue to collaborate with the American Red Cross through an extended national partnership to host blood drives across the United States at Atrium-managed hotels. Alpharetta, Georgia-based Atrium Hospitality is one of the nation’s largest hotel operators and ranked #1 in customer satisfaction among third-party hotel management companies in the J.D. Power 2021 Third-Party Hotel Management Guest Satisfaction Benchmark. The company manages a portfolio of 82 hotels in 28 states, representing well-known brands such as: Hilton, Marriott, IHG, and Wyndham and operates...

SAN DIEGO—Ahead of World Water Day last month, Lawn Love ranked 2022’s Most Expensive Cities for Lawn Irrigation. In each of the 50 major U.S. cities in the ranking, Lawn Love compared the average water bill against the typical yard size to measure residents’ average monthly utility expense on outdoor water use. They range from $0.65 to $9.49 per 1,000 square feet of lawn. Lawn Love also considered various factors that affect the cost of landscape irrigation, such as the types of grass that grow in each city, the region’s proneness to drought, and the legality of harvesting rainwater in the state. Check out the...

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND—International architecture and interiors practice Red Deer have designed The Alan Hotel in Manchester focused on experimentation, realness, and constant improvement while rejecting the pretentious and cradling the imaginative. The Alan was borne from a vision of wanting to do things differently—something experimental, fresh and with an emphasis on partnerships between artists, chefs, designers, and forward-thinkers. Situated opposite the Manchester Art Gallery, in the heart of the city, next to the vibrancy of Chinatown and the bustle of the central shopping district, The Alan is a unique six-story building with a pop-up mixed-use space, ground floor restaurant/cafe/bar, and 137 bedrooms. “The...