STAMFORD, CONN.—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announced that its Element brand is gaining momentum in Florida with plans for a second hotel in the Miami metropolitan area. A groundbreaking ceremony for Element Miami Doral took place on March 11 with Doral Mayor Luigi Boria and other local officials in attendance, as well as several Starwood executives. The new Element is expected to open in July of 2015 as part of a dual-hotel development, joining Aloft Miami Doral which opened in March 2013. Owned by Eurocon, LLC, Element Miami Doral will offer 139 stylish, sustainable rooms.“We are delighted to...

CHICAGO—The National Restaurant Association announced the recipients of the 2014 Kitchen Innovations (KI) Awards, which honor equipment and technology that specifically improves the back of the house operations and benefits restaurant operators.“2014 marks an important milestone for the KI Awards,” said Sam Facchini, co-founder and co-owner of Metro Pizza and 2014 NRA Show Convention Chair. “In addition to proudly celebrating our 10 year anniversary of the Awards, this year’s honorees demonstrate the continued tradition of the KI Awards in celebrating innovative companies making a measureable impact on the day-to-day operations of the foodservice industry.”The 2014 KI Award recipients reflect...

CORAL GABLES, FLA.—The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) has announced the details for its new Caribbean Hospitality Industry Education Forum (CHIEF). The event will be held October 3 to 5, 2014, at the El Conquistador Resort, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, in Puerto Rico. CHIEF will offer sessions on the state of the industry, new outside-the-box approaches to areas such as social media and managing distribution channels as well as other sessions that focus on operations, sales and marketing, sustainability and financial efficiency. CHIEF will be an educational and sales setting with a strong focus on the use of...

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF.—Showcasing its commitment to the Global Soap Project for the past two and one-half years, the Embassy Suites San Luis Obispo hotel announced that it has been awarded the 2013 Hotel of the Year for sending soap shipments to The Global Soap Project every other month without fail.The Global Shop Project recycles millions of bars of soap from a global network of hotel partners and redistributes the soap as part of relief efforts and hygiene education programs in more than 30 countries around the world.“We are very excited to partner with the Global Soap Project for...

NEW DELHI, INDIA—ITC Hotels Luxury Collection will add an 11th property with the opening of ITC Green Bharat in July. The property is taking shape on the outskirts of New Delhi in the northern region, amid the Aravalli hills.Pioneers of “Responsible Luxury,” ITC Hotels’ super-premium Luxury Collection has blazed new trails in sustainable hospitality as the first and only chain with all properties accorded LEED Platinum certification. The ITC Green Bharat is being built to meet these same rigorous standards, and will provide guests an idyllic getaway that also contributes to a planet-positive ethos.“We are proud of the high...

DANA POINT, CALIF.—The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel raised $29,000 for Surfers Healing through the Sixth Annual Holiday Surfboard Auction and Fourth Annual Surfing Santa Competition. Surfers Healing is a foundation for autism that hosts free surf camps that introduce children with autism and their families to the therapeutic properties of surfing. Last year, Surfers Healing took more than 4,000 children surfing during surf camps held across the country from Malibu and Doheny Beach in California to Wrightsville Beach, N.C. and Toronto, Canada.The concepts for the Surfboard Auction and Surfing Santa Competition were developed by The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel’s General Manager...

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA—Do you think you could ever get to the point of being able to describe your hotel as the greenest on your continent? If you followed the lead of the innovators behind Hotel Verde in Cape Town, South Africa, you might be able to. The hotel was built with sustainability in mind from the ground up. It’s literally in the walls since the construction includes Cobiax void formers—recycled plastic balls placed strategically within the concrete slabs that are required for the various floors. They dramatically reduce the amount of concrete required, while maintaining the structural integrity.Andre...

CHICAGO—Most travelers say they prefer to buy from or patronize green vendors and service providers when they are out of town, according to a joint survey conducted by The GO Group, LLC, an international ground transportation provider and GO Airport Express, a GO Group member company based in Chicago.More than 450 people responded to the survey which asked recipients whether they made travel decisions based on companies’ environmentally-friendly practices. Of these, a total of 66 percent said being green has at least some influence on their travel purchases, with nine percent of those noting they always prefer green vendors;...

BAY LAKE, FLA.—Harvest Power unveiled the Central Florida Energy Garden, an organics management and renewable energy facility that is the first of its kind in the United States, converting organic waste into renewable biogas and natural fertilizers. The anaerobic digester combines a unique set of proven technologies and will divert hundreds of thousands of tons of waste from Central Florida landfills.Located within the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), the Energy Garden uses anaerobic digestion—a biological process that relies on trillions of naturally occurring bacteria—to produce renewable biogas. When operating at full capacity, the facility will process more than 120,000...

OBERLIN, OHIO—Oberlin College will soon construct a state-of-the-art hotel, restaurant, and conference center that will be named in honor of Peter B. Lewis, the late philanthropist and chairman of Progressive Insurance Co.The Peter B. Lewis Gateway Center will become the cornerstone of Oberlin’s Green Arts District, an ongoing development encompassing the northeast corner of North Main Street and East College Street. The Lewis Center project is a planned 100,000-square-foot, mixed-use development that will incorporate renewable energy systems, and it is designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Platinum rating. In addition to a 65-room hotel and conference...