JEKYLL ISLAND, GA.—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announced the opening of The Westin Jekyll Island, a 200-room, convention-class, beachfront hotel on Georgia’s acclaimed barrier island. It is one of six new Westin hotels opening in North America this year and follows the brand’s 200th opening worldwide in 2014. “The Westin Jekyll Island is a terrific new addition to the Westin brand’s growing portfolio and provides a restful retreat for travelers on one of the most beautiful barrier islands in the United States,” said Bob Jacobs, Vice President of Brand Management for Sheraton and Westin. “This spectacular new Westin hotel...

NATIONAL REPORT—Throwing out food scraps and leftovers hardly seems controversial until you consider the stats: Some 870 million people, one-in-eight on Earth, go to bed hungry every night, notes the World Food Programme. Shortly after taking his post, Pope Francis took this issue to heart and to the public to mark the U.N.’s 2013 World Environment Day, noting “throwing away food is like stealing from the table of the poor and hungry.” The Pope’s remarks are made all the more poignant by a U.S. Department of Agriculture report estimating that 31 percent, or 133 billion pounds, of food available for...

TORRANCE, CALIF.—The lights are on where the buffalo roam. At the Lamar Buffalo Ranch field campus in Yellowstone National Park, an innovative distributed energy system that combines solar power generation with reused Camry Hybrid battery packs is now online. The result: reliable, sustainable, zero emission power to the ranger station and education center for the first time since it was founded in 1907.Announced in June 2014, the partnership among Toyota, Indy Power Systems, Sharp USA SolarWorld, Patriot Solar, National Park Service and Yellowstone Park Foundation is an innovative effort to extend the useful life of hybrid vehicle batteries while...

LONDON—In order to be able to offer hotels the opportunity to position themselves within the market according to their CO2 emissions, Considerate Hoteliers announces a new strategic alliance with BookDifferent.com. The booking site BookDifferent indicates which of its hotels have been certified with one of the top green accreditations within the travel industry. It allows travellers to choose the right hotel according to their own sustainable standards, and further gives the opportunity to support a charity associated with BookDifferent.Through this strategic partnership, all hotels featured on BookDifferent.com can now also access the services of Con-Serve and are encouraged to...

MCLEAN, VA.—Hilton Worldwide announced an initial three-year commitment with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to reduce its impact on the environment. As Hilton’s signature environmental partner, WWF will work with the company to evolve its global business practices. The collaboration also will further WWF’s mission to protect and conserve the Earth’s life-supporting resources by making the hospitality industry more sustainable.Hilton Worldwide properties around the world already contribute to the company’s waste reduction and water conservation targets through thousands of on-property projects. The collaboration with WWF builds on existing efforts in these areas and leverages the company’s initial work on sustainable...

FRANKFORT, GERMANY—A new dedicated Health and Wellbeing track and seminars in English and German on sustainability and diversity are among the features of the restyled education program at IMEX in Frankfurt from May 19 to 21.They are among 170 education sessions, 30 of which will be in German, within the overall program that is now focused in one area on the show floor—The Inspiration Hub. The extensive program is wide ranging with 10 tracks providing valuable information and insight on Business Skills, Marketing and Communication, Risk Management and Compliance. They will also cover Technology & Social Media, Trends and...

STAMFORD, CONN.—Element Hotels, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.’s eco-innovation lab, announced a collaboration with Sistine Solar, Inc.—a company that uses innovative design to change the way the world thinks about solar power—to produce a one-of-a-kind solar canopy for the Element brand. Starting today, Element Dallas Fort Worth Airport will debut a nature-themed, custom designed charging station that allows guests and locals to relax as they recharge their devices through the power of sunlight. This collaboration is a continued proof point of the Element’s commitment to sustainability and eco-design, further demonstrating how sustainability and socialization can go hand in...

ATLANTA—The Sustainable Tours part of the upcoming Sustainable Meetings Conference has been announced. The tours will take place on Friday, June 19 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Friday is the final day of the Atlanta conference that begins on Wednesday, June 17. Tour options will include: Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta Community Food Bank, Atlanta Streetcar Adventure, Center for Civil and Human Rights, Georgia World Congress Center, Hands On Atlanta, Museum of Design Atlanta, Southface Eco Office, and Westin Peachtree Plaza. One can register for the tours as part of the conference registration process.This year’s Sustainable Meetings Conference, with...

NATIONAL REPORT—At last month’s Clean Show in Atlanta, Ralph Daniels, President and CEO, Aquawing Ozone Injection Systems (AWOIS), thought about all of the ozone laundry companies that have exhibited at the show over the years—companies that, in many cases, are no longer in business. “The ones that have survived are the ones that offer local support,” Daniels says. “That is the key in hospitality.”AWOIS, and a handful of other companies like it, have stayed around because they offer not only local support but proven systems that can dramatically add efficiencies to laundry operations. By adding ozone to the laundering...

DUBAI, U.A.E.—InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) announced the signing of a management agreement with Diamond Developers to launch the second Hotel Indigo in the U.A.E. Hotel Indigo is IHG’s boutique brand and each Hotel Indigo property is designed to reflect the local neighborhood it is located in. From the design of the building to the hotel’s artwork and locally-inspired menus, each Hotel Indigo property is unique to its surroundings, so no two properties are the same. In addition, guests can look forward to immersing in stories of the neighborhood through creatively crafted spaces reflecting the area’s heritage—a key cornerstone of...