BETHEDA, MD.—Marriott International headquarters has been awarded the gold medal for green buildings. After a three-year effort to become more sustainable and environmentally-friendly, the 30-year-old building is celebrating its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Existing Building Gold status—an investment that is saving the company $700,000 annually and that will result in up to $1.3 million in expected tax credits over three years. This achievement moves the company closer to the goal announced last fall to expand its green building portfolio to approximately 300 properties in five years, the broadest commitment of its kind in the industry. Today,...

VALLEY CENTER, CALIF.—The Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians announced the completion of a 1 Megawatt solar plant that provides enough power to run approximately 90 percent of the Harrah’s Rincon Casino & Resort’s heating ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC). The plant reduces grid consumption, curtailing enough energy to power about 2,200 homes. The 3,936-panel solar field, which was manufactured and installed by Suntech, will produce enough energy to offset almost a quarter of the casino’s total power consumption. Bo Mazzetti, chairman of the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians, said he is grateful for the leadership that the Harrah’s Rincon team...

BROOMFIELD, COLO.—RockResorts and Vail Resorts Hospitality are tapping into a new program, “Water on the Rocks,” to eliminate nearly all plastic water bottles in guest operations. RockResorts properties from Vail to St. Lucia and Vail Resorts Hospitality properties in all four Colorado mountain resorts—Vail, Keystone, Breckenridge, and Beaver Creek—are expecting to save an estimated 640,000 plastic water bottles from the waste stream thanks to the “Water on the Rocks” program. It eliminates plastic water bottles from guestrooms and offers hotel guests reusable water bottles with refilling stations. Started at The Pines Lodge, A RockResort luxury property located in Beaver Creek,...

WAGONER, OKLA.—The Canebrake resort has become the first location in Oklahoma to be certified as a sustainable tourism destination. ECO, or Encouraging Conservation in Oklahoma, is a program through the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department (OTRD) and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality that promotes, develops and encourages sustainable tourism throughout the state. The Canebrake has been awarded Gold Certification. Hardy Watkins, OTRD executive director, said certifying The Canebrake resort is the first step in providing sustainable tourism options for travelers in Oklahoma. “I would like to congratulate The Canebrake on becoming the first ECO Certified destination in Oklahoma,” Watkins...

PHOENIX—The Arizona Hotel & Lodging Association (AzHLA) has not made a big splash about it yet but it is in the process of rolling out a Certified Green Lodging Program throughout “The Grand Canyon State.” According to Kristen Jarnigan, vice president of communications for AzHLA, seven properties have been certified and one other certification is pending. The Westin La Paloma in Tucson and the Enchantment Resort in Sedona are two of the properties that have completed the certification process. Jarnigan says the program has been introduced to AzHLA members but a more aggressive public relations/marketing push will not occur...

ITHACA, N.Y.—As hotels worldwide seek to unravel the challenges and contradictions of sustainable operation, panelists on a new webcast from SAS and the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) explain how to successfully implement green operations and avoid potential pitfalls. They suggest that the key to managing a sustainable business is to be strategic, sincere, and comprehensive in green initiatives. The webcast brought together Alyssa Farrell, marketing manager for sustainable solutions, SAS; Dennis Quaintance, CEO and chief design officer, Quaintance-Weaver Group; and Alex Susskind, associate professor, Cornell School of Hotel Administration. The contradiction of sustainable hotel operation goes like this:...

NATIONAL REPORT—Any discussion about green cleaning today should include the ways that water—plain old H2O—is being used to replace the toxic chemicals that cleaning and maintenance personnel have had to work with for decades. Cold water poured straight from the tap and used in that state is not going to clean much but if heated to a high temperature, ionized or infused with an extra oxygen atom, it can be just as effective or more effective at cleaning than the harshest chemicals. Many vendors now offer cleaning products that rely solely on water for cleaning. Some products are available...

MINNEAPOLIS—Carlson, a global hospitality and travel company with operations in more than 150 countries, announced that Carlson president and CEO Hubert Joly has signed the United Nations Global Compact. The initiative encourages businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies supporting 10 principles in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. Carlson is one of the first global hospitality and travel companies to become part of the compact, the world’s largest corporate citizenship initiative. It was first announced in Davos by then-U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in January 1999, and it was officially launched at the...

BOSTON—The Comfort Inn & Suites Logan International Airport, a Saunders Group Hotel, is nearing completion of a multi-million dollar eco-driven renovation. Today more than 90 green practices are in place including in-room recycling bins, a food waste composting program that engages guests, a laundry ozone system that eliminates most hot water usage, spa-quality shampoo and soap dispensing systems that eliminate 270 thousand small bottles from entering the waste stream, a pool ionizing system which makes the water sparkling clean without unhealthy chlorine, and a small fleet of CNG (compressed natural gas) shuttles. To promote excellent indoor air quality, the...

BARBADOS—From May 9 to 12, the 11th Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism, otherwise known as the Sustainable Tourism Conference, will be held in Barbados. This year’s conference will be held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Center (formally Sherbourne Conference Center). The theme for this year’s conference is “Keeping the Right Balance: Creating Opportunities Through a World Class Sustainable Tourism Product,” and is being organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organization in collaboration with the Barbados Tourism Authority. Strategic heritage tourism planning will be the focus of the opening general session, and a panel of experts will examine the subject...