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News & Features

Whether an industry announcement, or a hotel accomplishment, Green Lodging News reports on the most up-to-date news and offers a unique perspective on trends—all with the purpose of making your company more profitable. Got news or a story idea to share? We frequently post contributed articles here. Contact Glenn Hasek, editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

News & Features

Home News & Features
Whether an industry announcement, or a hotel accomplishment, Green Lodging News reports on the most up-to-date news and offers a unique perspective on trends—all with the purpose of making your company more profitable. Got news or a story idea to share? We frequently post contributed articles here. Contact Glenn Hasek, editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

Environmentally Friendly Hotels Site Owner Raises Bar for Inclusion, Thousands of Properties Removed from Site

RIDGWAY, COLO.—The number of green lodging properties represented on the Environmentally Friendly Hotels website is being reduced dramatically as the owner raises the bar for inclusion. At one time there were more than 5,600 properties listed on the seven-year-old site. Today that number is closer to 2,500; it could soon dip to 1,500. Kit Cassingham, owner of Sage Blossom Consulting and owner of the website, says at one time a property needed to be doing just one of the 39 actions listed on her site in order to be included. Now the property must take at least 10 green...

Motel 6 Contest Yields Energy Savings of More Than $200,000

DALLAS—Motel 6, known for providing guests with a clean, comfortable room at a low price, announces the winners of the brand’s 2010 “Phoenix My Break Room” energy-saving program. This unique employee incentive program challenged Motel 6 team members at corporate-owned locations in North America to reduce energy consumption at their motels over a six-month period. One location in each of the brand’s 10 operational regions earned the prize of a renovated break room, modeled after the award-winning Motel 6 “Phoenix” room design. Winners were determined based on the percentage reduction of energy consumption (kilowatt hours used) from the previous year,...

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Commit to Go Dark for Earth Hour

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—Starwood is switching off on March 26—but just for one hour, and for a great cause. The global hospitality leader will once again join the worldwide movement of people and businesses planning to turn off the lights for Earth Hour 2011 in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common—our planet. This year will mark Starwood’s third annual participation in Earth Hour, making it one of the biggest companies to create a statement with a voluntary hour of darkness. Hundreds of hotels in the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. portfolio will take part...

Cornell Studies Guest Reactions to Energy Saving Initiatives

ITHACA, N.Y.—In one of the first empirical studies of the effects of energy saving treatments on hotel guests’ satisfaction, Cornell University researchers have found that carefully designed conservation treatments do not diminish the guest experience. The study, sponsored by Philips, was conducted at the Statler Hotel, the four-diamond hotel operated as a teaching and research laboratory by the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. Conducted by Associate Professor Alex Susskind and Professor Rohit Verma, the study tested reduced television power levels and alterations in bathroom lighting in the guestrooms. The study, “Hotel Guests’ Reactions to Guest Room Sustainability Initiatives,” by...

Halekulani Says It is First Luxury Hotel to Offer GMO-Free Cuisine

WAIKIKI, HAWAII—Halekulani, located in Honolulu, is now offering menu items free of genetically modified organisms (GMO). As of March 2011, Halekulani is the first luxury hotel in the United States to offer guests this pedigree in organic gourmet cuisine. “Halekulani is introducing its new ‘GMO-Free Cuisine’ in response to its clientele’s growing desire to be provided this option in an era of increasing focus and awareness on product choices and wellness,” said hotel COO Peter Shaindlin. Halekulani’s GMO-Free Cuisine is available at the hotel’s oceanside open-air restaurant, Orchids, as well as through in-room dining. Menu items, as conceptualized by executive chef...

InterContinental New York Barclay Launches Green Engage Meeting Option

NEW YORK—A leader in the New York sustainable hospitality scene, the 100 percent wind energy-powered InterContinental New York Barclay has unveiled its signature Green Engage Meeting. The hotel hosts more than a thousand groups and meetings annually, ranging from gatherings of up to 10 to larger conferences of 200 or more guests. With the Barclay’s no-extra-cost signature Green Engage Meeting, the hotel assists planners in minimizing the negative environmental impacts of a meeting, while raising awareness in a positive way. The Green Engage Meeting offers sustainable food, beverages, supplies, amenities and team-building eco-opportunities, all within a luxurious, urban environmentally-friendly hotel...

Kimpton to Extend Earth Day Celebration to EarthCare Week

SAN FRANCISCO—Honoring its 30-year commitment to environmental responsibility and care, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants will celebrate Kimpton EarthCare Week from April 15 to 22, 2011. From pop-up eco art exhibits to organic spa packages and recycling drives, this national celebration builds upon Kimpton’s devotion to environmental responsibility and will inspire guests to give back to local communities when they stay, eat and play with Kimpton. Local community members, hotel guests and restaurant diners can participate in Kimpton EarthCare Week events and offers in 23 cities nationwide. Activity examples include: • Pop-Up Eco Art Exhibits: Select Kimpton hotels will partner with local...

Accor Hotels New Zealand Raises Funds for Earthquake Victims

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND—The Accor hotel group and its hotel owners announced that they will donate $1.50 for every room sold at its 29 hotels and resorts across New Zealand through March 31 in order to raise urgent funds in aid of the Christchurch earthquake relief effort. Accor will donate $1.50 per room per night for 35 days between the February 25 and the March 31. Vice President for Accor Hotels New Zealand, Paul Richardson says, “It’s important to note that this is not a guest levy but a direct donation being contributed by each hotel, and we hope to raise...

Once a Synagogue, Syracuse’s Hotel Skyler Prepares for April 1 Soft Opening

SYRACUSE, N.Y.—The 58-room Hotel Skyler, set to have its soft opening here in Syracuse on April 1, could soon join the exclusive club of hotels that have earned LEED Platinum certification. There are just two other U.S. properties that have earned such a distinction—the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, N.C., and the Bardessono in Yountville, Calif. Hotel Skyler, which is pursuing the top-level LEED designation, is truly unique; it was first a synagogue constructed in 1921 and later a home for a theater group. According to Tom Fernandez, director of marketing for the Syracuse-based Woodbine Group, which owns Hotel Skyler,...

Ecotourism Conference Set for September 19 to 21

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference (ESTC), is a one-of-a-kind annual conference focusing on sustainable business strategies and solutions that inspire innovative change in the global tourism industry. This year, the ESTC is co-hosted by the Hilton Head Island (Hilton Head Island Visitor & Convention Bureau) and being held on Hilton Head Island, S.C., from September 19 to 21, at the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa. Organized by TIES (The International Ecotourism Society), a 20-year-old leading industry association dedicated to promoting tourism as a viable tool for sustainable development, the ESTC serves as an industry-wide platform to...