LAS VEGAS—The NEWH Green Voice Conversations returns for its fourth year at HD Expo.  The event will take place at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas from May 13 to 15. Carefully chosen by NEWH and the Hospitality Design Group, notable experts on the topic will lead the audience through a series of interactive sessions covering sustainable themes and practices that impact all aspects of the industry. With “green design” being a topic that continues to be of great importance in the ever-evolving hospitality design sector and an issue that is also directly related to consumer demand, these conversations provide...

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL—TripAdvisor announced the list of the first TripAdvisor GreenLeaders hotels in Brazil. Developed with the advice of the Rainforest Alliance and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), TripAdvisor GreenLeaders is one of the largest sustainability projects aimed at hotels and has awarded the GreenLeaders designation to more than 8,000 accommodations around the world and 52 now in Brazil, spread through 16 states and 41 cities. The states of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais are the ones with the largest amount of sustainable accommodation with 11, nine and eight hotels respectively.Now on TripAdvisor, anyone can...

PORTLAND, MAINE—The Olympia Companies will manage a state-of-the-art hotel that is currently being built in Oberlin, Ohio by Oberlin College. The property will anchor The Peter B. Lewis Gateway Center, the cornerstone of Oberlin’s Green Arts District, an ongoing development encompassing the northeast corner of North Main Street and East College Street. It is a planned 100,000-square-foot, mixed-use development that will incorporate renewable energy systems and other innovative technologies designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Platinum rating. “We’re honored to be chosen as the manager of this remarkable new property,” said Kevin Mahaney, President and CEO of...

PARIS—Every year on Earth Day, Accor’s 180,000 employees worldwide organize actions to support the 21 commitments protected in CHARTER 21—the group’s sustainable development program—and share their environmental achievements and progress. Inspired by Agenda 21, which was adopted by 173 Heads of State at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, CHARTER 21 is an action plan with the principle goal of protecting the planet, its people and their environment.Arnaud Herrmann, Accor’s Sustainable Development Director, explains: “Results for 2014 showed global improvement and progress made on all of Accor’s commitments under the CHARTER 21 program. That is encouraging for...

ATLANTA—The itinerary for the Green Meeting Industry Council’s Sustainable Meetings Conference is taking shape. This year’s event, with the theme, “Power to Change,” will be held June 17 to 19 in Atlanta at The Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel. Registration is currently open.A featured speaker on June 17 this year is Laura Turner Seydel, Chair, Captain Planet Foundation. The Atlanta-based Foundation was founded by Ted Turner in 1991 and is now chaired by his daughter, Laura Turner Seydel. The Foundation supports high-quality, hands-on environmental stewardship projects that have enabled more than 1.1 million youth across the United States and around...

NEW ORLEANS, LA.—A smoke-free ordinance went into effect in New Orleans last week. The unanimous passage of this ordinance, led by Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell and Councilwoman Susan Guidry, has thrust New Orleans into the national spotlight as a leader in public health advocacy. New Orleans joins eight Louisiana communities and more than 1,200 municipalities nationwide that have gone smoke-free. Additionally, the New Orleans ordinance has created a landslide effect across the state as other cities have taken notice and are considering similar ordinances. The Harrah’s New Orleans Casino is now smoke-free.In recognition of the historic nature of this ordinance...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), the sole national association representing all segments of the 1.8 million-employee lodging industry, has released Hotel Industry Principles as part of the industry’s long-standing effort to raise awareness of human trafficking and provide hotel operators tools and resources to educate employees on identifying and reporting these crimes. The release of these principles comes on the heels of Senate passage of legislation (S. 178) to help victims of sex trafficking and crack down on perpetrators of this heinous crime. “As an industry, we recognize that hotels can play an important role in...

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLA.—PGA National Resort & Spa has become the first U.S. resort property to achieve the International “Environmentally Sustainable Meetings & Events” certification from ASTM International, an ANSI accredited standards development organization.PGA National attained dual certification in the Venues and Accommodations Level 1 categories. iCompli, a division of BPA Worldwide, performed the third-party certification. These categories are two of the nine criteria developed by the industry to provide event planners and suppliers with specifications for producing events in a more sustainable manner. Staff management, communications, waste management, energy, air quality, water, procurement, and community partners are all...

BETHESDA, MD.—As part of its global sustainability strategy to address climate change, Marriott International announced the company’s global energy intensity decreased cumulatively by 2.6 percent over 2013, 13.1 percent compared to a 2007 baseline.Across the majority of the company’s four global regions, energy results continued to decline. In The Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe, energy intensity for managed hotels decreased over 2013 by 3.0 percent, 0.7 percent and 1.3 percent respectively. In the Middle East and Africa, energy intensity increased by 1.2 percent over 2013 as the region stabilized and travel increased.“Our global decrease in energy intensity demonstrates the...

MONTEREY, CALIF.—The Portola Hotel & Spa partnered with the Monterey Regional Airport to celebrate Earth Day. Today, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Portola Hotel & Spa staff were stationed at the Monterey Regional Airport Baggage Claim area to give away reusable bags made of 100 percent recycled materials. The phrase “I used to be a plastic bottle” was printed across the reusable bags as a friendly reminder of the utility that comes with recycling. Portola Hotel & Spa will also be giving out reusable bags to guests checking into the property on Earth Day while supplies last.“Portola Hotel...