WASHINGTON, D.C.—New Orleans restaurateur Ralph Brennan testified on Tuesday this week before a House congressional subcommittee, providing details about the BP oil spill’s devastating impact on tourism and restaurants in the Gulf Coast region. Brennan is a former chairman of the National Restaurant Association and is president of the Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group, LLC. He joined other tourism representatives and Gulf Coast Claims facility administrator Kenneth Feinberg before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. “Across the affected areas, restaurants report a range of experiences and concerns,” Brennan said. “Those located seaside or in beach communities are decimated...

BETHESDA, MD.—The Courtyard Charleston/Summerville in South Carolina will be the first hotel built using Marriott International’s green hotel prototype, in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). This will dramatically accelerate the company’s goal to have 300 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) hotels by 2015. Marriott is the first in the hospitality industry to launch a green hotel prototype that has been pre-approved by USGBC as part of its LEED Volume program, meaning that any Marriott hotel that follows these plans will earn basic LEED certification, or possibly higher, upon USGBC final approval. The new Courtyard hotel...

MCLEAN, VA.—Hampton Hotels, the international brand of nearly 1,800 mid-priced Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, and Hampton by Hilton Hotels, announced that the Hampton Inn and Suites Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport achieved LEED Silver certification, as recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). It is the first Hampton Hotel property to earn this recognition for sustainable building design, construction and operations. “This is a wonderful accomplishment for Hampton Hotels, and we are proud to add the Hampton Inn & Suites Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport with LEED Silver certification to our Hampton family,” said Phil Cordell, global head, Focused Service and...

Periodically, print trade publications go through the process of asking their subscribers to renew their subscriptions (the reason no e-mail newsletter was delivered to subscribers this week). This is a very common practice. It is an important step for publications to take. There are all kinds of reasons addresses change: businesses move offices, people change jobs, some people go to that great zip code in the sky. Green Lodging News just turned four years old. In the four years that Hasek Communications has been publishing Green Lodging News, it has not asked its readers to renew their subscriptions to the...

LOUISVILLE, KY.—The Bed & Breakfast Association of Kentucky has become the first lodging organization in Kentucky and one of the first in the nation to introduce a Green Lodging Certification Program. Launched in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, 2010, BBAK’s Green Lodging Certification Program (GLCP) is being run in partnership with the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection (KDEP) that reviews, designates and recognizes lodging facilities that make a commitment to conserve and protect Kentucky’s natural resources. The program’s environmental guidelines allow lodging facilities to evaluate their operations, set goals and take specific actions...

NATIONAL REPORT—Going blue is not only about cheering for the University of Michigan. Going Blue is also about becoming more water efficient, and is as important a component of the greening of the lodging industry as any other. The hotel industry has made great strides in managing water consumption—changing faucet aerators and showerheads, and replacing older toilets—but there are still more opportunities for additional savings.  A water audit can help to find them. Why Pay Such Attention to Reducing Water Use? Water may still be cheap, but that does not mean it is plentiful. In many parts of the country water...

DENVER—Four Seasons Hotel Denver, set to open this fall, will showcase nearly 1,200 original works of art by contemporary Colorado artists, enhancing the hotel’s modern design concept. The unique collection will be on display throughout the 45-story building, creating a gallery-like setting that will rival a private art museum. “We are thrilled to support the local arts community and showcase amazing works created by artists from across the state of Colorado,” says Thierry Kennel, general manager of Four Seasons Hotel Denver, noting that 90 percent of the pieces on display are by local artists. The collection's 1,180 pieces showcase varying...

NATIONAL REPORT—LEDs (light-emitting diodes) have been making their way into the lodging industry for years now—in exit signs, exterior signage, for downlighting, track lighting, and in other applications. In the guestroom or in other spaces where standard incandescent or compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) need to be replaced, however, LEDs have not been practical due to cost. Could that be changing? The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will end the sale of 100-watt incandescent bulbs in the United States by January 1, 2012, 75-watt bulbs by 2013 and 40- and 60-watt bulbs by 2014. As incandescents are phased out,...

LONDON—Whitbread PLC, the United Kingdom’s largest hotel and restaurant group, announced that as part of this year’s capital investment program it will be spending more than $10.6 million on a sustainability program to boost the environmental performance of its hotels, restaurants and coffee shops. The move forms an important part of Whitbread’s ‘Good Together’ sustainability strategy and will help the business deliver against its targets of a 26 percent reduction in energy consumption and a 20 percent reduction in water use by 2020. The investment drive will focus on Whitbread’s existing estate and will see the introduction of a package...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Green building professional credential holders with one of the LEED AP or LEED Green Associate designations can now look for the new “GBCI Credential Maintenance Program (CMP)” logo to identify courses that meet the LEED credential maintenance requirements. Ongoing learning makes innovation and market transformation of the building industry possible by introducing new ideas and preparing professionals to embrace them to create high-performance building projects. Credential maintenance ensures green building professionals remain at the cutting edge in their knowledge of green building practices and LEED, bolstering the LEED Professional Credentials’ reputation as a mark of excellence for the industry’s...