CHICAGO—An independent panel of foodservice operator experts from across the industry has selected finalists for the third annual 2014 Operator Innovation Awards. The judges have selected finalists in each of five categories: Health and Nutrition, Marketing, Menu Development, Sustainability and Technology. The winners in each category, in addition to the Innovator of the Year, will be announced live in Chicago at the Destination: Celebration gala on Saturday, May 17, during the 2014 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show.  “The Operator Innovations Awards finalists demonstrate the business case for innovation by connecting with consumers in new and interesting ways that...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) announced the winners of the AH&LA Achievement Awards, part of the annual Stars of the Industry Awards. These awards, presented annually since 1966, distinguish individual hotels that have developed outstanding programs, events, and campaigns. Winners were chosen in the categories of Good Earthkeeping, Community Service, Special Events, Guest Relations, and Technology Innovation.The winner of the Good Earthkeeping award in the small property category is The Huntington Hotel in San Francisco, for successfully implementing a hotel-wide trash training program that reduced the trash output by almost 70 percent, saving $12,000 a year....

ATLANTA—From changing occupant energy use to exploring radical innovations in buildings, ASHRAE’s third High Performance Buildings (HPB) Conference highlights innovation; proven methods for improving building operation resulting in deep energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality; measured performance; and HPB case studies demonstrating new technologies.The High Performance Buildings Conference will take place April 7 to 8, 2014, at the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. Building upon the 2012 High Performance Buildings Conference and 2009 Net-Zero Energy Conference, the conference seeks to advance the industry’s efforts to accomplish a true high-performance built environment.“The conference aims to help decision makers in...

MONTGOMERY, ALA.—Wind Creek Hospitality (WCH), one of the largest hospitality companies in Alabama, announced a new initiative focused on promoting regional food that includes growers, purveyors, consumers, chefs and restaurateurs, amateur cooks, food banks, and nonprofits promoting healthy lifestyles.  “Wind Creek’s Southern Table: Setting a Place for Good Food” is a multi-faceted initiative spearheaded by WCH President Jay Dorris. Designed to expand access to good food for citizens across the region, this effort will promote the culinary industry and its traditions, and support locally grown and produced food.In making the announcement in Montgomery, WCH’s Vice President of Marketing Michael...

ITHACA, N.Y.—A new study from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) at the School of Hotel Administration has documented an unexpected benefit when hotels earn a certification for environmental sustainability: they tend to run more efficiently. In the study, Cornell’s researchers tested the operating efficiency of U.S. hotels using financial performance data from PKF Hospitality. Hotels that had earned the “Eco-Leaf” designation from Travelocity.com were more efficient in several areas of resource use than hotels that did not have eco-certification.The study, “Exploring the Relationship between Eco-certifications and Resource Efficiency in U.S. Hotels,” was written by Jie J. Zhang,...

ST. MICHAEL, BARBADOS—Some of the world’s most popular and appealing travel destinations are in jeopardy, vulnerable to issues like climate change and unsustainable development. Several leading organizations have joined forces to address these challenges head-on by helping tourism destinations in the Caribbean and Latin America to safeguard their natural and cultural assets, while enhancing communities and securing a vibrant regional economy. The new Sustainable Destinations Alliance for the Americas (SDAA), which was launched today (March 27) at an event in Barbados, marks the largest-scale effort to date through which public and private entities have united to focus on destination...

NEW YORK—ABM, a provider of facility solutions, announced that ABM’s energy business started construction on a 2 MW solar array to be implemented on Cornell University’s campus in Ithaca, N.Y., representing the Ivy League university’s first large solar endeavor. ABM will provide Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) services. ABM joint venture partner Building Energy will finance and own the solar power plant in partnership with Distributed Sun, LLC, which developed the project for Cornell.The 6,500+ panel “Lansing” solar array will provide Cornell University with fixed, low-cost energy rates over the life of the 30-year...

NATIONAL REPORT—Hotel companies around the world are preparing for the eighth annual Earth Hour on Saturday, March 29 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time. Sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour has grown to involve hundreds of millions of people across 7,000 cities and 154 countries in a collective statement of concern about climate change. While many lodging establishments will be extinguishing lights for an hour and asking guests to do the same, others are using the occasion to build business—offering Earth Hour-inspired drinks, for example.MGM Resorts International will once again dim lights at its resorts....

PORTLAND, ORE.—The Oregon Tourism Commission, dba Travel Oregon, has been named a Platinum-level “Leader in Sustainable Tourism” by the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) and National Geographic Traveler. The award recognizes demonstrable leadership and innovation in preserving and communicating an authentic sense of place through a wisely managed tourism campaign.The awards committee judged the nominees based on how their efforts preserve the environmental, cultural and historical integrity of a destination and how the program demonstrated leadership and innovation and accomplished its goals. The Platinum award is the top-level award.Travel Oregon received the honor for its work implementing...

MCLEAN, VA.—Hilton Worldwide announced that it has extended its global soap recycling initiative to all 10 of its Japan hotels. The program supports the company’s commitment to divert waste from landfills through reuse, recycling and donations via its global RePurpose program, and enables Hilton Worldwide to make a significant contribution toward combating hygiene-related diseases in underprivileged communities in Asia.Hilton Worldwide has partnered with Hong Kong-based Soap Cycling, Asia’s first soap recycling nonprofit organization, and JTB Trading, Inc., which sponsors the collection and shipping of the recovered soap to Hong Kong.“We are pleased to extend soap recycling to our hotels...