SEATTLE—The Washington Lodging Association (WLA) has selected Best Western Peppertree Inns and Columbia Hospitality as the two pilot companies to participate in its Greening Washington’s Lodging Industry Program. Each pilot company will receive consulting assistance from WLA’s professional partner, Cascadia Consulting Group, to implement new environmental practices, and measure and market their successes. Open houses and workshops will be held to showcase the hotels’ efforts and share the results and lessons learned with industry peers, guests and the public. Columbia Hospitality’s participating properties include Salish Lodge & Spa, Snoqualmie; Bell Harbor International Conference Center, Seattle; and Talaris Conference Center, Seattle....

ITHACA, N.Y.—A team of three researchers has developed a standard measurement of expenses for energy and supplies that can be used as a sustainability gauge for the hotel industry. The researchers, Jie Zhang and Nitin Joglekar, of Boston University, and Rohit Verma, of Cornell University, explain their measurement in a new report from Cornell’s Center for Hospitality Research, “Developing Measures for Environmental Sustainability in Hotels: An Exploratory Study.” The report is available at no charge from the center. “Looking at the hotel chart of accounts, we see that managers have to analyze expenses in at least five areas of their...

AUSTIN, TEXAS—Former Disney executive Dennis Snow is scheduled to speak about how careful orchestration is needed to deliver world-class customer service during the closing session of the 2010 Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC) on June 24. Snow will also discuss with attendees his extensive experience in customer service, which he built through his 20 years with the Walt Disney World Co. The conference, produced by Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), is June 21 to 24 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. “In this day and age with technology allowing customers to share their travel experiences...

ALBANY, N.Y.—The “I Love New York” logo, one of the most famous icons ever created for a tourism campaign, has gone green. The new green heart is part of a new “Green Heart NY” campaign and website that was soft launched on Earth Day by the New York State Department of Tourism. The program was put together with the support of the New York State Department of Economic Development and the New York State Hospitality and Tourism Association (NYSHTA). The new website includes links to green lodging establishments, green restaurants, eco-certified attractions such as Niagara Falls State Park and...

NASHVILLE, TENN.—Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center recently announced that it has donated tens of thousands of pounds of perishable frozen and refrigerated food to Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief to assist with their emergency feeding response in the local Nashville community. The donated food was purchased by Gaylord Opryland for a conference of more than 1,500 attendees scheduled for three days of events at Nashville’s largest convention center. Some of the other food was donated by the restaurants and other parts of the resort not impacted by the recent flooding. The donation was made to the Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief...

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—In a strategic partnership that builds on Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.’s commitment to environmental stewardship, the global company announced an alliance with Conservation International (CI). The Starwood and CI collaboration is focused on setting and achieving environmental performance goals and creating awareness around environmental issues. In addition, Starwood’s CEO, Frits van Paasschen, recently joined the Executive Council of CI’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business (CELB), a division dedicated to engaging corporate and environmental leaders to develop creative solutions that improve business performance by helping to sustain healthy ecosystems. “As a multinational company with 1,000 hotels in...

CONCORD, N.H.—Following a very successful inaugural year, the New England Eco-Hospitality Expo will once again provide the venue to bring New England hospitality professionals together with experts in sustainability and companies providing eco-friendly products and services to encourage learning, discussion and leadership. The event will be held on Tuesday, May 25 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord, N.H., just off Exit 15, I-93. The expo will open with keynote speaker, KD Payne, discussing “Social Marketing and Getting Your Green Message Out.” Dan Ruben, executive director of Boston Green Tourism, will lead an Eco-Café...

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA—Adventure Green Alaska (AGA), the state’s first tourism certification program highlighting sustainable business practices, is entering its third year and accepting applications once again for certification. According to Sarah Leonard, AGA board director, nine businesses were certified in 2009 and eight earlier this year. All tourism-related businesses are eligible. The deadline for the next round of applications is June 30, 2010. AGA, which is run by the nonprofit Adventure Green Alaska, Inc., is a voluntary program run by a volunteer board that includes representation from lodging, academia, government and other sectors. Leonard says AGA was several years in the...

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte, which opened in October 2009 as the first LEED-built hotel for greater Charlotte, has introduced a living change to its green, vegetated roof. Currently planted with 18,000 sedum plants to enhance building insulation, and housing a chef’s garden providing organic herbs for the hotel, the green roof of The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte is also home to two new beehives which will generate honey for hotel culinary use. The two fully-contained hives, which were placed on the hotel roof last month, will be home to up to 60,000 honeybees by the time they are fully developed this summer....

HASTINGS, MINN.—The Minnesota Bed & Breakfast Association has launched a green lodging self-certification program for its members. The program, called Green Journey, was introduced at the organization’s recent conference in Minneapolis. Green Journey is the result of a two-year planning process and was put together by a committee of innkeepers representing B&Bs from around the state. According to Peter Torkelson, owner of The Scandinavian Inn in Lanesboro, Minn., innkeepers will have an opportunity to earn from one to five green leaves for their environmental accomplishments. The leaves will appear in each property’s profile on the association’s website. “The more...