TALLAHASSEE, FLA.—The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Lodging Program and IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) have joined together in an effort to boost eco-tourism throughout the state. These programs will encourage hotel properties to continue to develop new strategies and implement practices designed to promote green travel.“By working together, the Department and IHG show a common understanding of environmental responsibility,” said DEP Office of Sustainable Initiatives director Brad Stombock. “Together, we will be impacting the tourism industry and making a difference in both Florida’s economy and ecosystem.”The program offers IHG-branded hotels the opportunity to earn a dual designation as...

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CALIF.—Travelers who want to recharge themselves and their Nissan Leafs can take advantage of a new feature at the Residence Inn San Juan Capistrano. The hotel is helping the environment with a California first by offering the Nissan Leaf Rapid Charger. The Rapid Charger is the first publicly available one of its kind in the state.As one of the premier hotels in San Juan Capistrano, the Residence Inn is the convenient halfway point between San Diego and Los Angeles. Without charging, most electric vehicles wouldn’t be able to make the entire trip. The Rapid Charger, however,...

NATIONAL REPORT—The bicycle is making a big comeback. More than 500 cities in 49 countries now have advanced bicycle-sharing programs—evidence of the growing interest in carbon-free travel. In the lodging industry, making bicycles available to guests is becoming more common and even standard practice in some companies. Starwood’s Element hotels, for example, are required to have at least two bicycles available for guests as part of the brand’s Bikes-to-Borrow program. All Kimpton hotel properties offer bicycles as well. Properties offering bicycles as an amenity are meeting the needs of an increasingly green-minded and health-conscious traveler community. The cost of...

LAS VEGAS—Twelve MGM Resorts International properties have been awarded a new designation by TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel website, that helps identify the most environmentally friendly hotels. The properties on the Las Vegas Strip were accepted into the new TripAdvisor GreenLeaders program. The program considers a property’s holistic approach to green practices and ranks them based on four levels of participation—Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum.ARIA Resort & Casino and Vdara Hotel & Spa each received a Platinum designation—denoting the highest level of environmental responsibility, an achievement earned by less than 10 percent of participants. Gold designations went to MGM...

ROCKVILLE, MD.—Caesars Foundation is sponsoring the National Park Trust’s (NPT) signature National Kids to Parks Day (KTP) initiative on Saturday, May 18, when cities and companies across the country will host park events. These events seek to promote outdoor recreation, conservation and carbon footprint reduction. KTP is a grassroots national movement to encourage children and families to explore local, state and national parks in their communities. “Never has there been a more critical time for educating ourselves and our children about being responsible stewards of the environment,” said Gwen Migita, Caesars Entertainment Corp. vice president of sustainability & community...

OTTAWA, ON.—Since its launch 15 years ago, the Green Key Eco-Rating Program has watched the lodging industry gradually embrace and embed a culture of sustainability into its daily operations. This move towards greener practices is resonating with Canadian business and leisure travelers as noted by the Hotel Association of Canada in their annual Travel Intentions Survey released earlier this year.The survey has been tracking the green tendencies of both business and leisure travelers since 2009. This year’s results show an increasing trend by the traveler to take specific green factors into consideration when making their travel plans.Baseline initiatives such...

LAS VEGAS—This year’s Hospitality Design Expo + Conference, to be held May 15 to 17 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, will feature a Green Voice Luncheon on May 15, a series of Green Voice Conversations with Experts on May 15 and May 16, and a special session on “Creating a Sustainable ROI for Hotels” on May 15. More than 900 exhibitors’ products and services—many of which have a sustainability focus—will be included on the Expo’s trade show floor.At the Green Voice Luncheon from noon to 1:30 p.m. on May 15, David Mahood, LEED AP, Olive Designs and Olive...

SANTA FE, N.M.—Felicity Broennan of the Santa Fe Watershed Assn., spearheading the public-private sector collaboration called the Santa Fe Green Lodging Initiative, has received the 2013 Sustainable Santa Fe Award for Green Economic Development. The 2013 Sustainable Santa Fe Awards are sponsored by the city’s Sustainable Santa Fe Commission, Earth Care NM, Green Fire Times, and the Green Chamber of Commerce.Santa Fe hosts more than one million tourists every year. While tourism is an important part of the Santa Fe economy, tourism puts considerable pressure on the environmental resources of the city. In 2012, The Santa Fe Watershed Assn....

BOULDER, COLO.—A kid’s voice can go a long way. Just ask Milo Cress, an 11-year-old from Boulder, Colo. Two years ago, Milo noticed that restaurants were automatically giving straws to customers—straws that ended up in the trash and ultimately the landfill. That did not sit right with him. The environmentalist that he is—he developed a solar-powered popcorn machine when he was six—Milo decided something needed to be done. With the help of his family he founded the Be Straw Free Campaign, an effort to encourage foodservice businesses to either eliminate straws altogether or at least transition to an “offer...

ANAHEIM, CALIF.— Disneyland Resort recently was honored by the nonprofit organization Clean the World Foundation, Inc. for its environmental efforts to recycle partially used soap and bottled bath amenities. The nonprofit organization sanitizes, repackages and distributes the amenities—which may otherwise be discarded by the hospitality industry—to people in need around the world, helping to prevent hygiene-related illnesses. Shawn Seipler, CEO and co-founder of Clean the World, recognized the Disneyland Resort at a ceremony, acknowledging the work of all three Resort hotels and their collective donation of nearly 20,000 pounds of amenities in 2012. Combined, the Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Paradise...