ORLANDO—The Green Hospitality Conference & Tradeshow will be held December 17 to 18 at the Hyatt Regency Orlando. Four organizations have joined together to organize the event: The American Green Lodging and Hospitality Assn. (AGLHA), Florida Caribbean Green Meeting Industry Council, NEWH Green Voice, and the University of Florida TREEO Center. The conference will feature three tracks of educational sessions: Green Meetings, Green Lodging, and Green Interiors. The theme of the conference is “Well-being | Prosperity | Conservation.” The Green Meetings track will include two sessions on the APEX/ASTM Green Meeting Standards & Certification and a case study of...

AUSTIN, TEXAS—Hotels for Hope, the Austin, Texas-based hotel brokerage company, announced its partnership with Clean the World, the social enterprise that distributes recycled soap and hygiene products from hospitality partners to children and families in countries suffering from high death rates due to the top two killers of children—acute respiratory infection and diarrheal diseases.Clean the World joins Hotels for Hope’s current list of charitable partner organizations that focus on humanitarian aid. Through the partnership, Clean the World will benefit from Hotels for Hope’s model for giving, which contributes $2 for every roomnight stay to charitable partner organizations that seek...

CHICAGO—The National Restaurant Association has partnered with the U.S Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star division to collect data on restaurants’ energy and water usage that could lead to eventual Energy Star certification for the industry. The survey runs through November 1, 2013.“We really need to capture this data industry-wide to generate enough information for a potential Energy Star certification,” said Jeff Clark, director for the NRA’s Conserve Sustainability Education Program. “If EPA can develop a certification program, restaurateurs will then be able to hang a sticker or sign on their doors or in their restaurants indicating they are Energy...

UVALDE, TEXAS—Inside a greenhouse on the grounds of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Service Center in Uvalde, Dr. Raul Cabrera recently inspected several groups of ornamental plants for signs of damage or distress. “This is the first component of our practical gray-water investigation,” explained Cabrera, who along with colleagues from the Uvalde center and the Texas Center for Applied Technology started research in late 2012 to confirm the potential use of gray water for home landscape irrigation. Gray water, explained Cabrera, is basically the soapy water that remains after tap water has been run through a washing machine or...

NATIONAL REPORT—Retina scans, robot room service and rooms that reconfigure themselves? Here today, coming tomorrow, and no, it’s not science fiction if nanotechnology has its way. In the hotel of the future, technology is king, and what it means to guests—and even to lighting—means everything. While “dream machines” will have to wait, the evolution of the hotel environment is already underway. Mobile Millennials and still-bustling Boomers are driving the demands of 2020, starting with the power to evoke the comforts of home. As personal control and customization becomes commonplace, matching service to a memorable stay will become imperative to appealing...

LAS VEGAS—Radisson Blu announced the rollout of Experience Meetings, a meetings and events program. It will launch across the globe beginning in January 2014. Developed as a means to improve the effectiveness of meetings, the program will place a strong emphasis on innovations in food and beverage, changes to the spatial environment as well as advancements in meeting technology. “We are thrilled to launch this new service for Radisson Blu properties globally,” said Rose Kutzli, Vice President Branding, Radisson Blu. “With Experience Meetings, guests around the globe can rely on a consistent product wherever their meeting needs may take them....

ITHACA, N.Y.—An analysis of sales and rates for 9,000 hotels has demonstrated a net neutral effect for the hotel industry’s efforts to implement sustainability. The analysis was made possible by a massive database maintained by Sabre Holdings, including Travelocity. The Cornell study concluded that the hotel industry’s fears of losing business due to implementing “green” operations is unfounded. However, on average, hotels also don’t see a revenue boost from going green.The study, “Hotel Sustainability: Financial Analysis Shines a Cautious Green Light,” by Howard G. Chong and Rohit Verma, was published by the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) and...

PARSIPPANY, N.J.—Wyndham Worldwide, one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, has received a Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program for its newest building on the company’s corporate headquarters campus in Parsippany, N.J. The campus previously received two Silver-level LEED designations, making it the first and only company in New Jersey to hold LEED certifications in both Commercial Interiors and Existing Building Operations and Maintenance.“A tremendous amount of thoughtful planning goes into the design, construction and operation of our buildings,” said Frank Campana, senior vice president, corporate real estate and...

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK—Forever Resorts’ Grand Canyon Lodge-North Rim has received an Environmental Achievement Award from the National Park Service for Environmental Stewardship at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The award was conferred specifically for the Grand Canyon Lodge-North Rim’s waste reduction program.In 2009, the lodge embarked on a program of daily hand sorting of all solid waste. In 2012 alone, it recycled nearly 55,000 pounds of cardboard, 3,600 pounds of paper, 10,000 pounds of metal, 40,000 pounds of glass and 18,000 pounds of plastic. In addition, 103,000 pounds of food waste was converted to a...

MCLEAN, VA.—Hilton Worldwide unveiled its annual Corporate Responsibility Report, noting that it has met another companywide sustainability goal ahead of schedule as well as made progress against the company’s full range of sustainability and responsibility commitments.Through continuous improvement and corrective action among its more than 4,000 hotels, Hilton Worldwide achieved its five-year goal to reduce water consumption by 10 percent and waste output by 20 percent in 2012, one and two years ahead of schedule respectively and continues its progress toward its goal to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions by 20 percent by the end of 2013. Since...