LOS ANGELES—With the launch of Rooomr, travelers can now book eclectic and boutique properties around the world, all set against a backdrop of arts and culture events. What’s more, with the motto “Book a Room Change a Life,” Rooomr donates 5 percent of their gross revenues to at-risk youth each time a room is booked. Rooomr guarantees price parity with other sites, and passes none of the donation costs on to the consumer.In beta launch now, Rooomr’s focus is squarely on individualistic millennials, a diverse group historically ignored by the one-size-fits-all travel establishment. Rooomr pairs curated hotels around the...

STAMFORD, CONN.—Talk about a power-building workout: Guests of Element Hotels now can pedal their way to a fully charged tablet or smart phone. First announced at the spring 2012 launch of its Miami hotel, the eco-wise, trailblazing brand of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has installed a stationary bike with a pedal-powered generator in each of its fitness centers. The initiative marries two Element brand principles: providing health and fitness options for travelers and a commitment to green design.  The pilot to Element’s Pedal for Power program, unveiled at Element Miami International Airport’s opening event, saw bicycling enthusiast...

PHILADELPHIA—Hersha Hospitality Trust, a self-advised Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), announced that the company was selected to receive NAREIT’s 2012 Lodging & Resorts Leader in the Light Award; the highest achievement for lodging and resort REITs in the 2012 award competition. This national award, presented annually by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), recognizes Hersha and its EarthView program for superior and sustained portfolio-wide energy use practices and sustainability initiatives.Steve Wechsler, NAREIT’s CEO, recognized Hersha’s industry leadership in sustainability and presented Jay H. Shah, CEO of Hersha Hospitality Trust, with the Leader in the Light award...

DURHAM, N.H.—The message coming from top name brands is clear: climate change poses a threat to business in the form of increased costs and risks associated with extreme weather. As a result, companies are prioritizing the need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and lower their carbon footprint. The findings are gleaned from nonprofit Climate Counts’ sixth annual scoring release which rates major consumer brands on their approach to climate change. The latest scoring results show that 66 percent of companies rated have publicly available climate and energy strategies, compared to just 25 percent in 2007, the year the...

LAS VEGAS—Caesars Entertainment Corp. was awarded its sixth consecutive perfect rating from the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Corporate Equality Index. The Corporate Equality Index scores businesses based on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workplace policies.“To have received a perfect rating from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation on its Corporate Equality Index for the sixth consecutive year is a great honor,” said Fred Keeton, vice president of external affairs and chief diversity officer for Caesars Entertainment. “Our unwavering commitment to diversity initiatives and our industry leading approach to LGBT workplace equality will continue to be a mainstay and guiding principle...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—With its history going back more than 100 years, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) has long been the voice and gathering place for those in the U.S. lodging industry. Recognizing the explosion in interest in sustainability over the past several years, AH&LA, under the guidance of Patrick Maher, partner, The Maher Group, has beefed up the Green Resource Center on its website and increased its participation in and leadership around industry-wide green initiatives.“In 2011 and 2012, AH&LA saw a major increase in sustainability programs being used by members,” Maher says.It was a little more than four...

LAS VEGAS—MGM Resorts International recently completed the largest employee-donated canned food drive received by Three Square Food Bank, with the delivery of the last of a donation of more than 189 tons of canned food. This is the third consecutive year MGM Resorts employees have set a new canned food drive record with Three Square, nearly doubling last year’s giving.In a special ceremony held at the food bank, MGM Resorts and Three Square celebrated the milestone donation made by MGM Resorts and its employees. The event was held at the “MGM Resorts Volunteer Room”, a room vital to the...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Interest in the EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge, part of its Sustainable Materials Management Program, is picking up with the addition of participants including hotels, resorts, convention centers, entertainment venues, and other facilities. Organizations joining the program must commit to at least a 5 percent increase in at least one of the three food diversion categories: prevention, donation or composting. Or alternatively, they can commit to a combined 5 percent increase across all three food waste diversion categories. If a participant does not have food diversion data, the EPA says it will assist the organization in developing a program...

PHUKET, THAILAND—Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa teamed up with its affiliate dive center Sub Aqua Dive Center, as a boat sponsor of Go Eco Phuket’s “Dive Against Debris” as part of the resort’s commitment to protecting, conserving, and restoring Phuket’s natural environment.“Dive Against Debris”, the world’s largest reef cleanup, was organized by Go Eco Phuket (the dive centers of Phuket united as one) with the support of PADI and Project Aware. Held this fall, the event involved 502 participants, more than 300 of which were divers, 20 local dive centers, 14 dive boats, the Royal Thai Navy, the...

AUSTIN, TEXAS—Trash and luxury travel are topics rarely uttered in the same sentence, but the two have been linked as the Four Seasons Hotel Austin undertakes one of the most ambitious waste diversion initiatives in the country—by a hotel or otherwise. On November 30, the hotel launched its new Zero Waste program, a goal two years in the planning.“The amount of passion and dedication that’s already gone into developing this initiative is inspiring,” says general manager Rob Hagelberg. “I’m so proud to be part of a team that’s truly breaking new environmental ground in the state of Texas and...