FARGO, N.D.—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announced plans to introduce its eco-wise Element brand to Fargo, N.D. Element Fargo is scheduled to open in November 2015 in the Veterans Boulevard Corridor. The hotel is owned by StaySharpe Hotels and will feature 130 rooms.Element Fargo will be located across the street from the site of the new $500 million Sanford Fargo Medical Center now under development, and just ten minutes from Microsoft Corporation’s second largest campus in North America. The hotel will also be convenient to Fargodome, home of the two-time defending FCS championship team, the North Dakota State...

PORTLAND, ORE.—The Green Meetings Industry Council (GMIC) announced its annual Sustainable Meetings Conference will be held in San Francisco, April 15 to 17, 2014. The event theme will be “bridging the gap” between conceptual sustainability and real world practices at the industry scale. The host hotel for the event will be the San Francisco Hilton. The conference will be geared toward event planners, suppliers, service providers, and destination representatives with an interest in learning the latest green meetings best practices and technologies.“The GMIC Sustainable Meetings Conference continues to innovate not only on showcasing sustainable event practices, but on the...

MOUNTAINDALE, N.Y.—The Green Tourism Conference will be a first-of-its-kind opportunity to unite foodservice and lodging facilities, tourism agencies, “eco” product suppliers and recreational activity businesses from the Catskills to the Poconos around the common cause of promoting ecotourism.The region’s proximity to two major metropolitan areas positions it as an up and coming destination for tourists seeking green travel and outdoor recreational opportunities. The main goal of the conference is to increase tourism revenue by facilitating collaboration and fostering sustainable tourism initiatives throughout the region, spanning Delaware, Greene, Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster counties of New York; and Wayne, Monroe, Pike...

RAPID CITY, S.D.—Rapid City Hotel Adoba has chosen to close for the Christmas Holiday for the first time in history, following a record year of growth and completion of the property’s second phase of renovation earlier this year. The hotel will close on December 24 at 10 a.m. and reopen on December 26 at 7 a.m.General Manager Stacie Hull says the primary reason for closing is to recognize her team’s achievement and provide her team members the opportunity to spend the holiday with friends and family.“Following strong revenues in 2013, above average occupancy, and the completion of phase two...

ENGLEWOOD, COLO.—In the company’s second annual “State of the Meetings Industry” survey, Destination Hotels & Resorts, the fourth largest hospitality management company in the United States, forecasts major meetings trends to watch for in 2014. Based on input from more than 180 corporate, association, independent, and government planners nationwide, the report provides insight on a number of key topics: budget; lead time; location; technology; culinary; teambuilding; and environmental sustainability. Money & Time Twenty-six percent of the survey participants forecast expenditures to be greater in 2014, an expected increase from the 20 percent who forecasted the same for 2013 funds, while 55...

CARTERSVILLE, GA.—Shaw Industries Group, Inc. has installed solar panels on the roof of its carpet tile manufacturing facility in Cartersville, Ga. The installation is expected to produce approximately 1.4 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of power annually—enough to power approximately 100 homes in Georgia each year. Feeding into the Georgia Power electric grid, Shaw will use this renewable energy to help power its Plant 15 (also known as Plant X), a facility that produces carpet tile for the commercial market.“Within Shaw’s holistic approach to sustainability, we continually explore opportunities to improve energy efficiency and employ renewable and alternative energy sources,”...

BANGKOK—Six Senses Laamu, in collaboration with Ocean Dimensions, announced that it has become a regional partner of the Manta Trust and a supporter of the Maldivian Manta Ray Project. As a result of this commitment, Six Senses Laamu is responsible for improving its methods of sustainability; preserving and restoring the surrounding marine environment; and protecting sensitive marine ecosystems and species.Six Senses Laamu and its partner Ocean Dimensions had the privilege of hosting Guy Stevens, chief executive and founder of the Manta Trust, for a week at the end October to explore Manta Point and to discuss future research and...

LAS VEGAS—In 2012, Caesars Entertainment Corporation achieved a total savings of approximately 750 million kilowatt-hours since its benchmark-year in 2007, representing an 8.5 percent absolute reduction in electricity and gas. The savings equal enough energy to power a community of more than 30,000 during this period.Additional details of the company’s efforts and commitment to enhance the environment, employee well-being, guest experience and economic development, are available in Caesars Entertainment’s fourth Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability report, “Vibrant Communities.”The report is the first report from a U.S. company to be written in accordance with the GRI G4 Sustainability Reporting...

SACRAMENTO, CALIF.—Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced that the Hilton Concord of Concord, Calif., has won a 2013 Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA) for its outstanding commitment to sustainability and the environment. Hilton Concord was the recipient for the GEELA Environmental and Economic Partnerships award and is the first Hilton brand hotel to ever win this award.GEELA is California’s highest and most prestigious environmental honor. This program recognizes individuals, organizations, and businesses that have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made notable contributions in conserving precious resources, protecting and enhancing the environment, and building public-private partnerships.“Hilton Concord is a true...

NAIROBI—Delegates at the recent Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) in Nairobi declared poaching to be the greatest threat to Africa’s tourism industry and branded poachers as Africa’s Public Enemy No.1.Lazaro Nyalandu, Deputy Minister for Natural Resources & Tourism, Tanzania said in an address to the whole conference: “Poaching is a global problem needing a global solution. It is estimated that Tanzania has an elephant population of 100,000 today but this is cut by 30 a day by poachers. They are so sophisticated that we need a military response. If their activities are not stamped out, we will have lost...