NEW YORK—ECPAT-USA, a nonprofit organization that advocates for policies to protect sexually exploited children, announced that Real Hospitality Group (RHG) has become the first hotel management company in the United States to enter the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of children by signing the Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct. The Code focuses on the protection of children from sexual exploitation in the travel and tourism industries. As a subscriber to The Code, RHG will develop and implement policies that condemn child trafficking and provide training to help their employees identify and report trafficking activities. The company will...

HOUSTON—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, which honor stand-out initiatives at hotel properties. In a ceremony held during the AH&LA Summer Summit at the InterContinental Houston near the Galleria, these awards, which have been awarded 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, and Diversity, among others.Winning the Good Earthkeeping, Small Property, is the Bardessono Inn & Spa in Yountville, Calif. The Bardessono is...

MIDDLETON, WIS.—There is nothing fancy about the title—The Green Team—but the eight people who make up that group at The North Central Group, an owner/operator/developer of 27 Marriott, Hilton and Carlson properties in the Midwest and Southwest, are relentless about making sure each property is carrying out as many of the company’s 158 green strategies as possible. The Green Team consists of four people from the Middleton, Wis.-based company’s corporate office and four from individual properties. Each hotel’s green progress is rated using a score card consisting of the 158 green strategies that have been pulled together from other...

ALEXANDRIA, VA.—The GBTA Foundation, the education and research foundation of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), announced the expansion of Project ICARUS, the first global travel management sustainability body, representing the interests of the global travel and meetings industry. Project ICARUS will include recognition and awards programs highlighting leading organizations in sustainability and a Global Advisory board with representatives from buyers, suppliers, academics and subject matter experts from Europe, North America, Asia, Australia/New Zealand and Latin America to provide expertise, leadership and guidance on sustainability.“Sustainability is an issue of strategic importance for corporations and organizations in the business travel...

LONDON—The International Tourism Partnership (ITP) and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), in collaboration with 23 leading global hospitality companies, today launched a methodology to calculate and communicate the carbon footprint of hotel stays and meetings in a consistent and transparent way. The group saw an opportunity to improve how the hotel industry communicates its impacts. Currently, approaches to measuring and reporting on carbon emissions vary widely. This can lead to confusion amongst consumers, particularly corporate clients, looking to understand their own potential carbon footprint and meet their own goals/targets in this area. In addition, the number of methodologies...

LAS VEGAS—Crystals at CityCenter has earned the VIVA “Best-of-the-Best” designation by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the global trade association of the shopping center industry. Crystals is one of only three 2012 VIVA (Vision, Innovation, Value and Achievement) award winners in the world.“The VIVA ‘Best-of-the-Best’ award honors and recognizes the most outstanding examples of shopping center design and development, sustainability, marketing, and community service worldwide,” ICSC said in a statement.“Crystals is an integral part of CityCenter and was created with a vision to bring a new level of environmental consciousness to the world-famous Las Vegas Strip,” said...

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.—Marriott International, Inc. announced the first hotel to open as part of its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment) Volume Program—The Courtyard Scottsdale Salt River in Arizona. The hotel is also the first Marriott-branded property built on U.S. tribal land in cooperation with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, creating nearly 30 jobs.“This partnership is a symbol of Marriott’s commitment to working with diverse business partners,” said Eric Jacobs, chief development officer, North American Lodging, Marriott International. “Our business thrives on partnerships with organizations that share similar philosophies and values. We believe that we have found a great...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The early adopters of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s (GSTC) new Criteria for Destinations have been announced. They are Fjord Norway; Teton County, Wyoming; Mt. Huangshan, China; and St. Kitts & Nevis. This group of destinations will be the first to test and provide feedback on the Destination Criteria, which complement the GSTC’s existing Criteria for Hotels and Tour Operators. The GSTC Criteria for Destinations describe the minimum standards that a destination must reach in order to move toward social, cultural, and environmental sustainability—maintaining the cultural and natural attractions that tourists come to see, while benefitting the local...

TORONTO—Luxury hotel brand Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Manchester Texas Financial Group LLC (MTFG) announce the signing of an agreement for Fairmont to manage a new city center hotel slated to open in 2015. The Fairmont Austin will be located directly east of the Austin Convention Center, at the northeast corner of Cesar Chavez and Red River Streets.The $350 million concept will be crafted by the project’s architect, Gensler Austin, to accommodate additional upscale features reflective of Fairmont’s luxury design and service aesthetics. For example, the planned number of rooms will likely be reduced from 1,035 to approximately 1,000—allowing...

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CALIF.—Delaware North Companies (DNC) Parks & Resorts at Yosemite president Dan Jensen recently led a community event and ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of a $1.15 million dollar eco-friendly remodel of the Village Store, which serves millions of park visitors annually. Attendees joining Jensen in the celebration included Yosemite National Park superintendent Don Neubacher, Tom Willey with T&D Willey Farms, Yosemite Valley students, Yosemite National Park visitors and community members. The event dedicated the newly refurbished store highlighting its 25 percent energy use reduction, sustainable design features and locally grown organic produce. This is...