BROOME, AUSTRALIA—Wyndham Hotel Group has announced the signing of a franchise agreement for the 55-key Ramada Resort Eco Beach Broome, an eco-friendly property in Australia that adds to the company’s growing Ramada brand portfolio in the South Pacific. The four-and-a-half-star resort, located just over an hour’s drive south of Broome in Australia’s Kimberley region, provides guests with a beachfront location boasting outstanding views of the Indian Ocean.With a strong focus on conservation, Ramada Resort Eco Beach Broome practices sustainable energy and water use throughout the property, including the use of solar power, fluorescent lighting and recycled water to maintain...

PHILADELPHIA—The National Park Service (NPS) announced it has selected Aramark, the food and hospitality partner for national and state parks and other leading leisure and cultural attractions across the country, as the new concessioner for Yosemite National Park. Under the 15-year contract, scheduled to begin on March 1, 2016, Aramark will manage Yosemite’s hospitality programs encompassing lodging, food and beverage, retail, recreational and transportation services.“We are honored the National Park Service has selected us to serve as concessioner for Yosemite National Park,” said Bruce W. Fears, President of Aramark’s Leisure division. “The NPS is a longtime and valued partner...

NEW YORK—Carbon War Room released a study finding a link between the sustainability of buildings and the stock market performance of real estate investment trusts (REITs). The study, commissioned by Carbon War Room to the University of Cambridge, is titled, “The Financial Rewards of Sustainability: A Global Performance Study of Real Estate Investment Trusts.” REITs own and frequently operate income-producing real estate—and represent an increasing focus of energy-efficiency and renewable energy stakeholders. Modeled after mutual funds, REITs allow anyone to invest in portfolios of large-scale properties and typically offer high yields, providing investors with regular income streams, diversification, and...

RALEIGH, N.C.—Capping off a year in which they raised more than $100,000, Concord Hospitality Enterprises Company associates—from the bussers to the board room—banded together on June 9 to provide food and shelter to those in need. Since starting Share Day in 2009, Concord Hospitality associates have raised more than $500,000, distributed one million meals, and refurbished dozens of homes.Those totals rose this year as 4,000 associates at Concord Hospitality properties across North America gave 5,000 hours of service and delivered more than 100,000 meals to needy families on a single day. Share Day 2015 is the culmination of efforts...

LOS ANGELES—The Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Assn. (BLLA) announced that its 2015 Boutique Lifestyle Leadership Symposium is now officially open for attendee registration as well as sponsorship and exhibit space reservations. The two and a half day event, being held October 21 to 23 at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif., will address the industry's most relevant topics, crucial to the success of independent boutique lifestyle properties in this rapidly growing industry sector. Hoteliers are drawn to the event mainly because of the content, the opportunities to promote their properties and announce new projects and renovations through...

PORTLAND, ORE.—This summer, the Oregon Convention Center will install what is anticipated to be one of the largest solar arrays on a convention center in the United States. More than 6,500 rooftop solar panels are expected to produce 25 percent of the facility’s electricity. Construction of the two megawatt project is scheduled to begin in August and the system is expected to be in service this fall. “One of our core values is sustainability,” said convention center Executive Director Scott Cruickshank. “The rooftop solar installation will help us meet our carbon emission reduction goals, offset utility costs and provide an...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) launched its newly acquired SITES rating system, a comprehensive program and toolkit for developing sustainable landscapes.SITES was developed through a collaborative, interdisciplinary effort of the American Society of Landscape Architects, The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin, and the United States Botanic Garden. The rating system can be applied to development projects located on sites with or without buildings—ranging from national parks to corporate campuses, streetscapes and homes, and much more. “Landscapes knit together the fabric of our communities,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO, GBCI. “And sustainable landscapes...

ITHACA, N.Y.—The hotel industry will be able to compare ranges of energy and water use, as well as carbon footprint, using a new tool from the Center for Hospitality Research (CHR). Developed by researchers Howard Chong and Eric Ricaurte, the “Hotel Sustainability Tool 2015” is available from the CHR at no charge. Chong is an assistant professor at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, and Ricaurte is the founder of Greenview and an adjunct instructor at New York University's Tisch Center.Chong and Ricaurte developed the benchmark ranges using aggregate input for 4,725 hotel properties from 11 international hotel...

JACKSON HOLE, WYO.—Jackson Hole’s award-winning Bentwood Inn has teamed up with Tesla Motors to provide Tesla Destination Charging, an increasingly desirable amenity. The decision to add the new charging station was easy, according to innkeepers Bob and Virginia Schrader. “Environmental sustainability and energy conservation are two of our core principles.” The inn, built in 1995 and constructed using massive 200 year old logs sustainably harvested from the Great Yellowstone Fire of 1988, is rated among the top Inns in Jackson Hole by Trip Advisor after achieving their Gold rating for environmental standards. The Bentwood Inn is the only Select Registry...

LAS VEGAS—The Green Parking Council (GPC) announced the first seven parking facilities in the United States to achieve Green Garage Certification, a comprehensive sustainability standard for existing and new parking facilities launched in 2015 and evaluating 48 elements of garage operation, programs, structure, and technology. The parking garage at the Charles Square Hotel in Cambridge, Mass., is among the seven to be certified. The Green Garage Certification program will be delivered and promoted globally by the Green Business Certification, Inc., the certification body for the U.S. Green Building Council’s global LEED green building rating system. “Cars are getting smarter, people are...