SAN RAFAEL, CALIF.—The California Coastal Commission has approved a final forest preservation and development plan for Pebble Beach in the Del Monte Forest of Monterey County. The compromise ends decades of conflict about how to develop the remaining Pebble Beach Company lands in the Del Monte Forest, and will permanently set aside more than 635 acres of pristine native Monterey Pine forest while allowing the development of a new 100 room hotel, expansions of the existing Lodge at Pebble Beach and the Inn at Spanish Bay, and 90 new homes in and adjacent to existing developed areas.The plan also...

CHICAGO—Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced the launch of Food. Thoughtfully Sourced. Carefully Served., a global philosophy focused on sourcing and providing food and beverage options that are good for Hyatt guests and associates, good for the planet, and good for local communities. This philosophy will guide food and beverage planning at Hyatt properties from the operational level to the guest experience. With this new global identity, Hyatt properties will work to anticipate and satisfy the evolving preferences of its guests, ensuring that travelers have more options to fit their lifestyles while staying in Hyatt hotels around the world.Driven by insights...

LAS VEGAS—NEWH Inc.—the Hospitality Industry Network is partnering with the 2012 Hospitality Design Exposition & Conference (HD Expo) to bring a series of green programming to the annual tradeshow at the Sands Expo Convention Center in Las Vegas, May 15 to 17.The premier event is the Green Voice Luncheon: The Sustainable Design Competition Awards and Green Panel Discussion with the Experts, which will take place on Tuesday, May 15, from noon until 1:30 pm. Panelists include Herve Houdre, general manager, Intercontinental Barclay, New York, a noted author and speaker on sustainable lodging practices; Kathryn Fernholz, executive director, Dovetail Partners,...

INTERIOR, S.D.—Big changes are afoot at Cedar Pass Lodge, a Forever Resort and the only accommodation located inside Badlands National Park in South Dakota. The historic property, which originally opened in 1928, is adding new cabins built to LEED Gold specifications, in time for the 2012 summer season.New features at Cedar Pass Lodge include: •    New cabins featuring wood paneling salvaged from Black Hills pine trees felled by beetles. The wood bears the distinctive “beetle-kill” markings of grey streaked wood. •    New cabins are furnished with regionally sourced handcrafted lodge pole pine furniture felled by beetle kill and repurposed wood...

LAS VEGAS—Registration is now open for the Fifth Annual WaterSmart Innovations (WSI) Conference and Exposition, scheduled for October 3 to 5 at the South Point Hotel and Conference Center in Las Vegas. Full registration for the urban water efficiency conference includes admission to the WaterSense Partner of the Year Awards luncheon October 4, hosted by the Alliance for Water Efficiency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense Program.Last year’s event drew nearly 1,100 participants from more than 30 states and nine nations. WSI 2011 also featured more than 130 professional sessions and an expo hall with more than 50...

ORLANDO—On the heels of InterContinental Hotels Group’s (IHG) announcement that it would partner with Clean the World—potentially adding 3,274 properties to Clean the World’s 1,400 hospitality partners—Green Lodging News spoke with Clean the World’s co-founder and CEO, Shawn Seipler, about the impact of the partnership.“It means a number of things,” said Seipler, whose organization recycles and donates partially used soap and amenities to those in need around the world. “It is another major chain on board with us. It demonstrates continued acceptance of our program by the industry. In the first year of our partnership with Starwood, we added...

CHICAGO—The National Restaurant Association announced that exhibit space at its 2012 Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show has completely sold out. The newly redesigned exhibit floor will showcase more than 1,900 exhibitors, including more than 500 new exhibitors that will offer thousands of products and services to restaurant and foodservice operators. NRA Show 2012 will be held May 5 to 8 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. “A sold-out exhibit floor means NRA Show 2012 will be buzzing with thousands of new products and services that can make a difference in operators’ businesses,” said Jack Crawford, convention chair and president and CEO of Ground Round...

ORLANDO—Wyndham Vacation Ownership (WVO), the world’s largest vacation ownership company and a member of the Wyndham Worldwide family of companies, announced the launch of the Wyndham Million Trees Project, an initiative to plant one million trees throughout national forests in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation, the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees.As part of the Wyndham Green sustainability program to reduce the company’s environmental impact around the globe, owners, guests and associates at more than 150 Club Wyndham and WorldMark by Wyndham resorts and 10 corporate offices are being encouraged to contribute to the cause.“The Wyndham...

SAN FRANCISCO—Green Spa Network announces the launch of the first ever “GSN Plastic Reduction Challenge”—an 11-month campaign conducted in partnership with the Plastic Pollution Coalition—where awards will be given in seven different categories to winners from day, resort and destination spas as well as spa product companies.The objective of the contest is to reduce usage of disposable plastic—like plastic bags and bottles, food and beverage items, product packaging, shipping supplies, etc.“Plastic is a material that the earth cannot digest,” says Daniella Russo, co-founder and executive director of Plastic Pollution Coalition “Every bit of plastic ever made is still here...

JERSEY CITY, N.J.—Hyatt Regency Jersey City welcomed its largest check-in to date earlier this week. Working in conjunction with Hilltop Honey located in North Caldwell, N.J., Hyatt Regency Jersey City installed two honeybee hives with approximately 32,000 resident bees per hive. The bees are perched on the hotel’s fifth floor rooftop suite complete with views of the World Trade Center development, and will assist in a statewide agricultural initiative to increase pollination. The Mayor of Jersey City, the State of New Jersey apiarist, and the State Secretary of Agriculture were present on April 30 for the official bee launch....