HEALDSBURG, CALIF.—The July 4 holiday weekend turned out to be a good time to open for the new water-themed h2hotel in California’s Northern Sonoma Wine Country. The four-story, 36-room hotel sold out—a good sign for the owners of the $19 million property. A collaboration among David Baker + Partners, the architect responsible for the AIA design award-winning Hotel Healdsburg, Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture, and Marie Fisher and Jen Gadiel Interior Design, h2hotel is primed to earn a  LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Unique in many ways, h2hotel is located within 10 miles of 100 wineries and...

CHICAGO—Hyatt Hotels & Resorts announced the launch of Meet and Be Green, a new program that encourages guests and planners to make green choices for their meetings. Dedicated Hyatt meeting planners will help source products with 100 percent recycled content where possible, find local suppliers, and maximize efforts to reduce waste to create a meeting experience that exceeds expectations and helps the environment at the same time. For new meetings booked by December 30, 2010, and held by March 31, 2011 at full-service Hyatt hotels and resorts in the United States and Canada, groups participating in the Meet and Be...

ATLANTA—Two newly constructed Marriott International-branded hotels located in Atlanta’s Gateway Complex—adjacent to one of the world’s busiest U.S. airports and home to the Georgia International Convention Center—will be among the greenest hotels in the city. The SpringHill Suites Atlanta Airport Gateway is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) registered by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and on track to becoming Atlanta’s first LEED Gold hotel. The Atlanta Marriott Gateway will apply for LEED Silver status upon opening in August. This major step in Atlanta brings Marriott one step closer to its goal to expand its LEED portfolio...

LONDON—The home of the only British canal boat in North America, a more than 1,900-property strong Green Hotel Directory, an Earth Guest program by one of the biggest hospitality chains in the world, and an initiative to reduce building on China’s famous Mount Huangshan are showcased on a new website launched by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). The Best Practice Gateway, which can be accessed from www.wttc.org, currently features more than 20 case studies from around the world, which together help to illustrate the travel and tourism industry’s leading role in sustainability. “Travel & Tourism can be an...

BROOMFIELD, COLO.—Vail Resorts has launched its new Echo website, VailResortsEcho.com, to better educate and engage guests and employees about the company’s comprehensive sustainability efforts aimed at protecting the natural resources that surrounds the resorts and helping build stronger communities. Vail Resorts Echo encompasses environmental stewardship, charitable giving and community engagement. “We are thrilled to launch the new Echo website,” says Rob Katz, chairman and chief executive officer for Vail Resorts. “The new site provides a wealth of information on Vail Resorts’ goals and ideals of our entire corporate stewardship effort for our stakeholders. Making the Echo information accessible to everyone...

BURBANK, CALIF.—Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund (DWCF) has announced the 2010 recipients of nearly $1.5 million in grants to protect vulnerable wildlife and ecosystems around the world. The funding enables nonprofit organizations to provide support for more than 45 species across the globe—from protecting the critically endangered Sumatran rhino in Indonesia, to tracking northern jaguars in the foothills of Mexico, to studying the threats of the endangered green sea turtle. “As part of Disney’s longstanding commitment to the environment, the work supported through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund is more important today than ever in helping preserve our planet’s most precious...

BOSTON—Spend some time chatting with Brian Gorski, director of engineering at the 498-room Hyatt Regency Boston and you will quickly understand how the all-electric hotel has been able to slice its annual power consumption by a whopping 42 percent—from 12.3 million kilowatt hours of usage per year to 7.1 million. The drop in energy consumption did not happen in just one year but over a time period of approximately 10 to 12 years when approximately $3 million was spent on improvements in infrastructure, equipment and other systems to improve energy efficiency. NStar, the Massachusetts-based, investor-owned electric and gas utility,...

GAITHERSBURG, MD.— The Holiday Inn Gaithersburg was recently presented with the prestigious “Gaithersburg Environmental Award” by the Honorable Mayor Sidney Katz and Gaithersburg City Council for their outstanding efforts to improve the city’s environment. Awarded each year, the City of Gaithersburg seeks to show appreciation and recognize members of the community for giving back to the environment, while encouraging others to get involved in making the city a greener place to live, work and play. The Holiday Inn in Gaithersburg completed an extensive environmentally-friendly landscaping renovation in October of 2009. More than 90 percent of the surrounding property was modified...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Fairmont Washington, D.C. has awarded a contract to Boulder, Colo.-based Renewable Choice Energy to offset 100 percent of the hotel’s electricity use. The three-year contract calls for Renewable Choice Energy to supply the 415-room Fairmont Hotel with more than 9.5 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy credits (RECs) generated by wind farms across America. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts have been dedicated environmental stewards since 1990 with the development of the company’s comprehensive Green Partnership program, designed to minimize the hotels’ operating impacts on the environment. “Every business has a responsibility in the community to be environmentally conscious,”...

ORLANDO, FLA.—The luxury amenities used by guests at The New York Palace Hotel will have a second life in third world countries. The luxury Manhattan hotel added to its corporate responsibility initiatives by implementing an innovative soap-recycling program. “Reducing environmental impact is a priority for us, and Clean the World’s ability to recycle discarded soap was a simple solution for our ‘reduce waste’ team,” said Elvir Dervisevic, director of housekeeping. The New York Palace Hotel is the first hotel in the New York Metropolitan area to join the Clean the World program. Whitney Hoover, an independent sustainability consultant, and Cecile...