WASHINGTON, D.C.—According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Available for virtually all building types, including hotels, LEED provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings. LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership. LEED is for all building types and all building phases including new construction, interior fit outs, operations and maintenance and core and shell. LEED Zero is for projects with net zero goals in carbon and/or resources. Projects pursuing LEED certification...

The travel industry lost Gordon “Butch” Stewart this week. He was the founder of Sandals Resorts, the leading hotel chain in the Caribbean, Beaches Resorts, and their parent company Sandals Resorts International. He was also the founder and chairman of the ATL Group of Companies and the Jamaica Observer. Steward left behind a company strongly dedicated to green, sustainable practices. All the company’s resorts participate in the EarthCheck program. Resorts also adhere to the Oceanic Standard, a comprehensive guide to implementing sustainable practices in the hospitality industry, with a focus on reducing single-use plastics. Resorts have received the distinction of...

SHANGHAI—Global research and consulting firm, Great Place to Work, announced that Hilton took the top spot on the list of this year’s “Best Workplaces in Greater China 2020”. This is the sixth consecutive year that Hilton has been named to Greater China’s “Best Workplaces” list, and the second consecutive year that it has been named as one of the country’s best workplaces for women. With its continued success on the “Best Workplaces” list, Hilton was granted the additional honor of being named “The Legend” by Great Place to Work. To receive “The Legend” designation, a company is required to have...

INCLINE VILLAGE, NEV.—Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino, the only full-service waterfront resort in North Lake Tahoe, has received Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR Facility Accreditation. The resort has also been recognized as Hyatt Corporate’s 2020 “Hotel Team of the Year” in North America. The GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation recognizes organizations that showcase a commitment to transforming the cleaning industry into an essential part of their business, and those that ensure a clean, safe, and healthy environment for employees, customers, and stakeholders. The accreditation illustrates the resort’s priority and commitment to infectious disease prevention and to minimize...

BETHESDA, MD.—Marriott International has been named one of the 2020+ Top 10 Companies for Executive Women by Working Mother Media, for the 17th year. The list celebrates companies that champion women’s advancement, with a focus on succession planning, profit-and-loss roles, gender pay parity, and programs that support work-life integration. Marriott International’s founders, J.W. and Alice S. Marriott, were partners in every sense, with Alice Marriott being a force behind every major decision and a “woman of firsts,” as the company’s first woman Vice President and Board Director. She set a high standard for the role women would play in company...

MACAO—Around 200 volunteers from Sands China Ltd. and local community groups recently worked together at The Venetian Macao to build 40,000 hygiene kits for Clean the World, an international social enterprise that provides hygiene supplies essential for good health to populations in need around the globe, helping prevent the spread of disease. Sands China’s hygiene kit build helps Clean the World distribute emergency response hygiene kits to assist with on-the-ground, immediate needs in times of crisis and disaster. In 2013, Sands China was the first integrated operator to launch such an event in Macao. Including this year’s event, the company and its community...

AMSTERDAM—GRI has welcomed research that shows a record number of companies, spanning sectors and geographic regions, are voluntarily choosing to disclose their sustainability impacts—with the GRI Standards the most widely used for reporting. The 2020 KPMG Survey of Sustainability Reporting found almost all (96 percent) of the world’s largest 250 companies (the G250) report on their sustainability performance. For the N100—5,200 companies comprising the largest 100 firms in 52 countries—80 percent do so. Across all companies surveyed, the GRI Standards is the only sustainability reporting framework that can demonstrate widespread global adoption. Around three-quarters (73 percent) of the G250 and two-thirds...

NEW YORK—The hospitality industry has been devastated by COVID-19, with 7.7 million jobs lost and 47 percent of hospitality professionals laid off. A new initiative called Project Save Hospitality seeks to shine a light on this hardworking, talented workforce, and show HR professionals and recruiters just how easily their skills can transfer over to other industries. Project Save Hospitality was founded by Melissa DelBuono and Kingsley Egbuchunam, who were laid off from their jobs in the hotel industry and decided to come together to help their colleagues. They realized that many of their peers will not have jobs to return to,...

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CALIF.–Soul Community Planet (SCP), Inc., a Holistic Hospitality company, announced it has agreed to terms for a strategic investment that will provide up to $210 million to pursue growth opportunities. SCP was founded on the core values of wellness (Soul), kindness (Community) and sustainability (Planet). SCP provides hand-crafted venues comprising hotels, coworking, restaurants and fitness. The new investment follows a successful introduction of SCP, which has seen travelers, members, and associates enthusiastically embrace the values-based concept. The new investment, coupled with prudent levels of property-level debt, gives SCP upwards of $500 million of capacity to grow its Holistic...

RICHMOND, VA.—Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. announced that it has published enhanced disclosures related to the company’s ongoing commitment to the environment, social responsibility, and corporate governance. “Apple Hospitality has always worked to uphold high environmental, social and governance standards, and we are pleased to provide additional detail regarding our ongoing efforts in these areas,” commented Justin Knight, CEO of Apple Hospitality. “We are committed to minimizing the environmental impact of our company and the hotels that we own and are dedicated to making a positive impact throughout our company, the hotel industry, our local communities and the many communities our...