OTTAWA, ONT.—On Monday, March 7, the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) celebrated its seventh annual afternoon of industry achievements at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, with its Hall of Fame Awards of Excellence Program. The Hall of Fame Awards Program was developed by the HAC to recognize those of its members (individuals, companies or properties) that have demonstrated significant accomplishments, exemplary leadership and tireless commitment to Canada’s lodging industry.  “The goal of HAC’s awards program is to reward strong standards in the industry that will enable this country to remain competitive,” said Tony Pollard, HAC president. “We are pleased to...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Kendall College and the National Restaurant Association, through its Conserve: Solutions for Sustainability initiative, have joined as co-founding sponsors of the International Foodservice Sustainability Symposium (IFSS), which will be held May 24-25, 2011 in Chicago, immediately following the NRA Show 2011. Developed by Railing & Associates, IFFS is the first conference of its kind to focus exclusively on the more complex sustainability issues such as emerging technologies, green building and perhaps the most highly nuanced subject of all—sustainable food. “The IFSS will provide foodservice professionals with the information and tools they need to make critical decisions about complex sustainability issues,”...

AUSTIN, TEXAS—Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) announced that the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC), after 15 years, will return to Baltimore in 2012. The conference will be June 25 to 28, 2012, at the Baltimore Convention Center. HITEC, produced by HFTP, is the world’s largest hospitality technology exposition and conference. “The HITEC location plays an important role to its overall success, essential to creating the right atmosphere for learning and networking,” said Frank Wolfe, CAE, CEO of HFTP. “Baltimore offers just this right atmosphere with the convention center area in the heart of the city, providing hotels...

MCLEAN, VA.—Home2 Suites by Hilton officially commemorated the opening of the brand’s first hotel today with a ribbon cutting ceremony and an announcement of a charitable community relations initiative. The first Home2 Suites, located in Fayetteville, N.C., welcomed representatives from the local community as well as executives from Hilton Worldwide, including President and CEO Chris Nassetta, to celebrate the opening of the first property for the newly developed extended-stay concept. Nassetta joined executives from the Home2 Suites brand management team, developer LBA Properties, owner Apple REIT and local dignitaries for the ribbon cutting ceremony and reception. As a signature element...

PHILADELPHIA—Hersha Hospitality Management, operator of upper-upscale, upscale, and mid-scale branded and independent hotels in major metropolitan markets, announced that the company will partner with Clean the World, an Orlando, Fla.-based nonprofit organization, to help fight the spread of preventable diseases around the world. Hersha’s partnership with Clean the World will result in more than 1 million bars of recycled soap and 500,000 bottles of recycled shampoo, gels and lotions being distributed to children and families worldwide. Hersha will be the largest hospitality management company to partner with Clean the World since its founding. Through this partnership, Hersha plans to annually...

SEATTLE—One of the Pacific Northwest’s most experienced sustainability leaders is helping to transform the Pan Pacific Seattle hotel into a model of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Molly Phillips, manager of CSR for the 160-room property located near downtown Seattle, has helped establish a program called PanEarth that includes not only a CSR vision for the hotel but also a committee that overseas four community pillars: Caring for Community, Caring for Our Planet, Caring for Challenges, and Caring Globally. Phillips, who has been at the Pan Pacific Seattle for about a year, at one time was manager, sustainable partnerships and senior...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the completion of updates to the Energy Star requirements for televisions and cable and satellite boxes. Effective in September 2011, these products must be 40 percent more efficient than conventional models in order to qualify for the Energy Star label. The updates are the first of more than 20 revisions to product requirements the Energy Star program is expected to complete this year. The new television requirements reflect an acceleration of pending changes made possible by a rapid market response to the current Energy Star requirements. Sustained consumer demand and strong...

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...

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,...

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...