BANGKOK—For Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, sustainable travel is the first step in establishing a collaborative relationship with nature and understanding how operations can fit into the design of the whole system. Regenerative travel takes the idea of sustainability a step further to consider a more reciprocal relationship with future ecosystems and generations. While the future of travel remains uncertain, the appeal of traveling more consciously and carefully is growing among guests. Initiated in 2012 and led by the group’s Vice President of Sustainability Jeff Smith, all properties monitor and measure their actions closely. “Our ultimate aim is to do...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Leveraging its leadership position in the hospitality industry nationwide, Omni Hotels & Resorts announced that it will host the nation’s premier conference on child and youth sex trafficking. In the coming three years, Omni will be the banner hotel and host for the highly regarded JuST Conference (Juvenile Sex Trafficking) that Shared Hope International has annually brought to the nation over much of the past decade. Said Linda Smith, founder and President of Shared Hope, “Much of sex trafficking is conducted in, or facilitated through, the hospitality industry. This is where alert and trained employees can make a huge...

PLANO, TEXAS—Aimbridge Hospitality, the leading, global, third-party hotel management company, has earned the WELL Health-Safety Rating for Facility Operations and Maintenance at an initial 96 hotels across North America. The company has enrolled an additional 209 hotels to pursue the rating, bringing the total number of its properties in the program to 305 initially, with the goal to grow the number of enrolled hotels in the near future. “Aimbridge Hospitality is pleased to bring the benefits of the WELL Health-Safety Rating to hundreds of our hotels, leveraging our scale and expertise to deliver a comprehensive and rigorous approach to wellness,...

NEW ORLEANS—The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC) has been named one of the Top Workplaces in the nation, setting the standard of excellence for event venues across the country. The only Convention Center to receive the award, the honor was announced January 27 during a virtual event hosted by the nation’s most credible employer recognition program, Energage. The award is granted to companies based exclusively on feedback provided by employees. “This is an extraordinarily high honor that we take great pride in and something we hear about regularly from our clients. Given that this distinction comes directly...

LOUISVILLE, KY.—Sunny Dronawat, Managing Partner of the La Quinta Inn and Suites by Wyndham Louisville East, along with his partners, recently opened one of the country’s only solar and wind powered hotels and certainly the only one in Kentucky. The 94-room hotel, which had its soft launch on January 1, is doing well so far, Dronawat says. “We want to make sure every room is perfect,” he says. The property’s official opening will depend on how quickly the economy opens. Unique to the hotel is its 60 solar panels on its roof, each of which generates 300 watts for a total...

BETHESDA, MD.—Marriott International, Inc. has been named, for the eighth consecutive year, among America’s top corporations for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality, by again earning a perfect 100 percent score on the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) 2021 Corporate Equality Index (CEI). As the national benchmarking tool measuring policies, practices and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index is a primary driving force for LGBT workplace inclusion. “At the core of Marriott’s people first culture is making sure all associates feel welcomed and included,” said David Rodriguez, Executive Vice...

RIDGEFIELD, CONN.—The innkeepers of The West Lane Inn in Ridgefield and the Connecticut Green Bank are pleased to announce the completion of a Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financed energy efficiency project at their inn, located at 22 West Lane. The project replaced an old oil-burning heat system with a new heat pump system designed to handle the heating and cooling needs of the 17-room historic property. The innkeepers, Christine Carnicelli and Danille Petrie, who purchased the inn in the fall of 2019, are working hard to balance the colonial charm of the 1840s building with the need for...

INTERNATIONAL REPORT—Some of the world’s leading hoteliers and hospitality academics have joined forces to launch LeadingHôtelières, a pioneering initiative that aims to accelerate the path to improved gender equality in higher level positions across the industry, in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 5. LeadingHôtelières is founded by CEO and President of the prestigious HoteliersGuild community, Frank M Pfaller, and co-founded by Lindsey Ueberroth, CEO at Preferred Hotels & Resorts. Considerate Group Founding Partner, Xenia zu Hohenlohe, leads as Chairwoman for the inaugural year and is joined by co-chair Associate Professor of Management at the leading Ecole hôtelière de...

LAS VEGAS—Las Vegas Sands has released its 2019 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, which outlines the company’s strategies and progress around its corporate responsibility pillars of People, Community and Planet. The report also details Sands’ extensive governance practices that ensure ethics and accountability in all areas of the business. Highlights from the company’s 2019 performance include marked progress in key environmental programs involving plastics elimination and renewable energy transition; expansion of social programs to support Team Member wellness, engage small and medium enterprises and solve community problems in local regions; and continued focus on globalizing best practices and training...

DALLAS—Omni Hotels & Resorts has announced its first-ever proprietary coffee brand, Stance Coffee, in partnership with Arkansas-based Westrock Coffee Co., LLC. Through Stance Coffee, Omni Hotels & Resorts delivers great tasting, high-quality coffee built on a commitment of sustainability and innovation. “With Stance, we stand for high quality in every sense of the experience: great tasting coffee, exceptional service and the fairest of treatment of people from farmer to barista,” said Devin Burns, Vice President of Rooms and Food & Beverage at Omni Hotels & Resorts. “Here at Omni, our commitments to local market leadership and corporate responsibility speak to a higher...