BETHESDA, MD.—Marriott Hotels, the flagship brand of Marriott International, Inc., launched its first traveler-inspired innovation—a healthy vending machine, featuring handcrafted salads, sandwiches and snacks made fresh everyday using local ingredients. The working prototype debuted in the lobby of the Chicago Marriott O’Hare, offering travelers healthy food options available all day and night during their journey. The innovation was inspired by Anjana Kallarackal, a 21-year-old college student, who answered the call to join Marriott Hotels in co-creating the future of travel as part of its Travel Brilliantly campaign.In looking to bring Anjana’s idea to life, Marriott Hotels reached out to...

SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M.—Bees can bring to mind sci-fi like headlines, and thoughts of painful stings. In reality honeybees are important contributors to the many fruits and vegetables that we eat. Earlier this summer, Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa added two colonies containing 20,000 bees each to its grounds, furthering Tamaya’s mission of being an environmentally friendly resort.Honeybees are the major pollinators of the resort’s many flower beds and its on-site orchard, vegetable and herb gardens. It’s estimated that in the first year, these bees will produce 70 to 80 pounds of honey as well as beeswax. While...

SINGAPORE—Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group announced that the company has joined the fight in reversing the rapid decline in the shark population, signaling its commitment towards sustainable seafood sourcing. Reaffirming its commitment to operate as a responsible business, the company will stop serving shark fin at its leased and managed hotels and food and beverage establishments across Asia Pacific beginning September 1, 2014. This initiative marks the 11th anniversary of Carlson Rezidor’s Responsible Business Month, where its hotels are encouraged to take action by championing activities that benefit the local community and the environment.An estimated 100 million sharks are killed...

LAS VEGAS—Mirtha Eusebio, a card dealer at Bally’s in Las Vegas, is getting excited about the trip she will be taking to the Dominican Republic from September 23 to 26 with two other Caesars Entertainment employees. The three will be joining Clean the World Foundation staff and representatives of Children International on a trip to distribute soap to those in need in three locations. The soap to be distributed was donated by lodging establishments and sanitized and reprocessed by Clean the World. Eusebio and her two colleagues were selected as a result of a contest held by the Caesars...

HARTFORD, CONN.—The 393-room Hilton Hartford recently announced its recognition by TripAdvisor as a GreenLeader, Bronze level into the TripAdvisor GreenLeaders program, which helps travelers plan greener trips by identifying environmentally-friendly accommodations. The Hilton Hartford is operated by the Waterford Hotel Group, a national hotel and convention center management firm.TripAdvisor GreenLeaders have met a set of environmental standards developed for TripAdvisor by a leading environmental consulting firm, with input from expert partners. The more green practices a hotel has in place, the higher its GreenLeader level, which is shown on the property’s listing on the TripAdvisor site. Travelers can now...

ATLANTA—Global Soap Project, the nonprofit organization focused on educating, empowering, and improving the hygiene and health of vulnerable populations around the world, has announced the opening of a new 7,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Las Vegas.The facility, which is double the size of its original Atlanta plant, has relocated to Las Vegas to more efficiently process the donations of used soap from more than 150,000-plus hotel rooms, including a large concentration in the Las Vegas area.Global Soap Project accepts used soap in bulk from hotels, and then processes them into large bars, which are distributed to 32 of the...

LAKE PLACID, N.Y.—Surrounded by the six million protected acres of the Adirondack Park—the largest publicly protected area in the contiguous U.S. states—Whiteface Lodge is mindful of the very special place it occupies in the world. From the timber used in its construction in 2005, all of which was found on-property, to its reuse of dying trees on its land as mulch and in landscaping, the rustic resort continues to strengthen its conservation commitment as awareness increases and technology improves. Among its recent meaningful green measures:•    A total of 7,993 bars of soap (and counting) recycled and distributed to families...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The International Code Council (ICC), ASHRAE, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announce the signing of a memorandum to collaborate on the development of Standard 189.1, the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) and the LEED green building program.The cooperation aims to create a comprehensive framework for jurisdictions looking to implement and adopt green building regulations and codes and/or provide incentives for voluntary leadership programs such as LEED.The agreement outlines the development, maintenance and implementation of new versions of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES/USGBC Standard 189.1, Standard for...

CINCINNATI—Attendee registration is now open for Boutique Design New York (BDNY), the award-winning trade fair and conference tailored exclusively to hospitality design professionals. The event will take place November 9 to 10 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Charting double-digit growth each year since its 2010 debut, BDNY now features 500+ exhibitors and encompasses 70,000 square feet of exhibit space—already sold out for 2014. BDNY’s dynamic growth was recognized by Trade Show Executive magazine’s Fastest 50 Awards & Summit, held in Chicago in May. BDNY swept the awards, ranking No. 1 in Percentage Growth in Exhibit Space as well as...

HONOLULU, HAWAII—The Hawaiian Islands represent a wide diversity of ecosystems and environments, including areas of breathtaking natural beauty as well as densely populated coastal cities. These unique environments are already changing under the influence of climate change from the effects of increasing temperatures, decreasing rainfall, rising seas, coastal erosion, land use and development changes, and increasing demands on natural resources. What can we expect in the future, and how can we best prepare? A new report titled, “Climate Change Impacts in Hawaii: A summary of climate change and its impacts to Hawaii’s ecosystems and communities,” produced by the University...