SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA—JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts has expanded its luxury portfolio in South Korea with the unveiling of the new 170-room JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul. The new hotel is the second JW Marriott to open in Seoul and the first hotel in the city to receive LEED Gold certification.“South Korea is a one of Asia’s fastest growing global economies and a strategically important North Asian travel hub,” said Simon Cooper, President & Managing Director of Asia Pacific for Marriott International. “JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul will further strengthen our luxury brand portfolio in this very important market...

NATIONAL REPORT—Last year was a big year for national green lodging certification with the launch of TripAdvisor’s GreenLeaders program but at the state level there was still a lot of certification and recognition activity and that will continue through 2014. There are currently 27 state level programs that offer some degree of certification or recognition for lodging establishments actively working to reduce waste, energy consumption and water consumption. Green Lodging News previously had listed 28 states but Montana has been removed from the list. Its partnership with Green Directory Montana is no longer active. Within the 27 states that...

BOSTON—Driven by superior features and falling costs, the market for light-emitting diode (LED) luminaires, or optimized permanent light fixtures, will grow more than 12-fold over the next decade—from $2 billion today to $25 billion in 2023, a compound annual growth rate of 25 percent, according to Lux Research.Lux Research used historical trends as well as projected average price reductions to build a model that calculates the adoption rate of LEDs within each end market application—office, industrial and street lighting. They found that recessed modular will emerge the largest LED luminaire market, growing from $1.5 billion in 2013 to $14.5...

PARSIPPANY, N.J.—Wyndham Worldwide announced that RobecoSAM, an investment asset management firm, has recognized the company as a 2014 Silver Class Sustainability Leader in its annual Sustainability Yearbook. This is the first time the company has been included in the Sustainability Yearbook and received the Silver Class rating.The Sustainability Yearbook lists the world’s most sustainable companies in each industry. This year, in addition to being within the top 15 percent of their industry, companies needed to achieve a score within 30 percent of the best-performing company in their industry to be included. Wyndham Worldwide is the only company in the...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched the WaterSense H2Otel Challenge as a way for agency partners and other organizations to encourage hotels to use best management practices that will save water and money, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.  “Hotels that reduce their water use will not only help their community save precious resources, but can gain a competitive edge in today’s green marketplace,” said Nancy Stoner, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. “Since 2006, WaterSense has helped Americans save more than 487 billion gallons of water, and now we’re building...

ROCKVILLE, MD.—Econo Lodge is celebrating the one year mark of its Room to be Green program. A first of its kind initiative executed across the entire lodging portfolio, Room to be Green is designed to reduce environmental impact and waste, meet the changing expectations of today’s environmentally conscious guests and potentially lower operational expenses, (including energy and water costs) at the property level. The Econo Lodge brand, which is fully franchised by Choice Hotels International, Inc., one of the world’s largest hotel companies, is a leader among economy hotel brands for implementing mandatory green initiatives throughout all its properties....

ORLANDO, FLA.—The Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) has partnered with Clean the World Foundation to provide visiting groups an on-site option for corporate social responsibility (CSR) events. An increasing number of organizations visiting Orlando wish to make a positive impact on the local community where they gather for their conventions and tradeshows. Through Clean the World’s ONE Project, meeting planners can unite the fortunate with the less fortunate.Attendees collaborate to build hygiene kits for disadvantaged people. Kits include bars of recycled soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a washcloth and an inspirational message. They are distributed to shelters,...

TORONTO—Green Hotels Global, a system that provides metrics-based information on the environmental footprint of hotels, and TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, announced a partnership to add 1,375 Marriott properties, which are Green Hotels Global’s clients, to TripAdvisor GreenLeaders. The addition makes TripAdvisor GreenLeaders the largest program of its kind in the United States with more than 3,600 participating accommodations.TripAdvisor GreenLeaders helps TripAdvisor’s community of more than 260 million travelers plan greener trips by highlighting U.S. accommodations engaging in environmentally-friendly practices.Through the partnership, hotel properties participating in Green Hotels Global’s environmental sustainability benchmarking tool will now be automatically screened...

CHEVY CHASE, MD.—The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company recently announced the launch of new, exclusive Ritz Kids children’s programming through an expanded partnership with Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society.“We are very excited to continue our highly successful relationship with a unique individual whose entire life has been spent dedicated to preservation of the environment, with particular attention to marine conservation and education,” said Herve Humler, president and chief operating officer of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co.The new global brand standard for children’s programming includes activities for resorts, in addition to multiple touch points for children at city and urban properties. The refined...

LAKE FOREST, CALIF.—For the first time, travelers who enjoy smoking have instant access to more than 100,000 hotels worldwide that cater to guests who smoke. Smoketels.com is a new online reservation service dedicated to smoking hotel rooms only. Bookings allow travelers the freedom to choose from more than 250,000 smoking hotel rooms across the country and around the globe.The site was designed to save travelers hours of surfing the Internet in their search for a smoker-friendly hotel. With this underserved demographic in mind, Smoketels.com provides immediate access to hundreds of rooms in many cities. It is becoming increasingly harder...