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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.

Hyatt Regency Orange County Features Organic Garden

GARDEN GROVE, CALIF.—Hyatt Regency Orange County, a recently renovated hotel near the Disneyland Park, includes “green thumb” on its list of eco-friendly hotel initiatives. High above the hotel’s 653 guestrooms and 65,000 square feet of meeting space rests an organic garden on the 17th story rooftop. Fresh-picked garden bounty, including basil, thyme, Italian parsley, tomatoes and sweet peppers, is used in many of the gourmet dishes served at TusCA, the hotel’s signature Italian restaurant. “We are proud to offer a unique experience for our guests by providing fresh, organic herbs picked daily for the TusCA restaurant right from our...

Four Seasons San Francisco, Enterprise to Offer Nissan LEAF

SAN FRANCISCO—Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco and Enterprise Rent-A-Car announced the availability of the city’s first and only electric vehicle (EV) rental program and charging station to be hosted by a hotel, for the Nissan LEAF EV. The program and charging station are located on property and are available exclusively for property guests. Enterprise is continuing the largest EV roll-out in the nation by adding the Nissan LEAF to the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco rental program. Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco is the first hotel partner in San Francisco to partner with Enterprise to offer EVs to guests. “Four Seasons...

CasaMagna Marriott Resort Recruits Guests to Save Sea Turtles

PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO—The CasaMagna Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa has started a new program aimed at helping female turtles lay eggs and hatchlings to make it to sea. Guests are welcomed to take part in the conservation effort. CasaMagna Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort has created a summer tradition and is again inviting guests to take part in a educational vacation experience—the “Secretos del Mar” Sea Turtle Rescue Program, unique among Puerto Vallarta hotels. Guests are encouraged to spend time with a local biologist, learn more about the endangered species and participate in combing the beach so female turtles...

Clean the World Foundation Adds Three to Board of Directors

ORLANDO, FLA.—Clean the World Foundation, the largest global distributor of recycled hotel soaps and bottled amenities, has elected two executives and a medical professional to its Board of Directors. Mark Rucker, vice president of Lodging for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., and Bob Scaglione, chief marketing officer at Sharp Electronics Corp., in Mahwah, N.J., were chosen to join the Clean the World Foundation Board of Directors at a June 13 meeting. Dr. Paul J. Skomsky, an Orlando cosmetic dentist, was chosen at a meeting July 7. The appointments are effective immediately. Rucker, Scaglione and Dr....

Graduate Program Involving University of North Texas, CATIE Gains Momentum

DENTON, TEXAS—Graduate students seeking to advance their careers in different offshoots of sustainable tourism are gaining unique experience through a joint program of the University of North Texas (UNT) and Costa Rica’s Higher Education and Research Center (CATIE), in Turrialba, Costa Rica. The program allows graduate students to earn a joint degree from UNT and CATIE. Students spend the first year at UNT in Denton, Texas, and the second at CATIE. The program launched last fall with six students. Those students, now in Costa Rica, are expected to receive their degrees in May 2012. The next group of students,...

Coppola Resort Properties Form Alliances with Two Groups

NAPA, CALIF.—Francis Ford Coppola’s resorts in Belize, Blancaneaux Lodge and Turtle Inn, have formalized two strategic alliances that further the company’s commitment and dedication to fostering best practices in ecotourism and sustainable travel. Blancaneaux Lodge and Turtle Inn have joined the Sustainable Tourism Program led by the Rainforest Alliance, the international nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to helping businesses develop and implement practices spanning sustainable forestry, agriculture, tourism, climate and education. The two Coppola properties have also joined forces with one of the early leaders in the sustainable travel movement, Sustainable Travel International’s global Sustainable Tourism Eco-Certification Program (STEP. “The Coppolas...

Xanterra’s Fourth Sustainability Report Shows Strong Progress

DENVER—Xanterra Parks & Resorts is making significant progress toward reaching environmental goals outlined in its 2015 Environmental Vision, a set of aggressive environmental performance goals. The operator of lodging and concessions in national parks and resorts around the country spelled out its progress using environmental performance metrics, called “Ecometrix.” The company’s achievements and measurable progress toward its environmental goals are detailed in the company’s fourth Environmental Sustainability Report. In the report, Xanterra’s president and CEO, Andrew Todd, wrote about the devastation brought about by recent environmental disasters, such as the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Todd cited Xanterra’s...

Hilton Named Official Hotel Sponsor of Special Olympics

MCLEAN, VA.—Hilton Worldwide recently announced that the company is the official hotel sponsor of the Special Olympics World Summer Games 2011 in Athens, Greece, and of Special Olympics International through 2014. To celebrate the partnership, two-time Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan announced that Hilton Worldwide will launch the “Celebrating Special Olympics” traveling photography exhibit, a set of exclusive displays featuring images from famed photographer Richard Corman. “Hilton Worldwide’s global reach and industry-leading brands make it a natural partner for Special Olympics, and we are thrilled to be able to work with the company as our official hotel sponsor for the 2011...

Disaster Drives Viana Hotel Owners Toward Energy Efficiency

WESTBURY, N.Y.—When Westbury, New York’s Viana Hotel & Spa was in its design stage, it was shortly after Hurricane Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast. Oil prices shot up and the United States’ dependence on foreign oil was in the spotlight. It was within this climate of energy uncertainty that Alan Mindel and his team at Samar Hospitality decided to build the most energy-efficient hotel possible. Designed to achieve LEED-NC Silver certification, the 116-room Viana Hotel & Spa on Long Island features a closed-loop water-source heat pump system for heating and cooling as well as an 11-kilowatt photovoltaic system on...

Study Cites Benefits of Smaller, Lighter Flat-Screen TVs

ARLINGTON, VA.—The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) issued a report detailing the dramatic reduction of TV and computer monitor sizes and weights since the advent of flat-panel monitors and TVs. The report, Materials Footprint Reduction of Televisions and Computer Monitors: 2004-2010, found flat-panel TVs are 82 percent lighter and 75 percent smaller than their cathode ray tube (CRT) TV predecessors of a similar screen size. The report also found today’s 40- to 70-inch flat-panel TVs weigh 34 percent less than 13- to 36-inch CRT TVs. “The staggering reductions in materials in TVs and computer monitors have real and lasting environmental benefits,...