WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) annual Summer Summit, held at the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz., will offer attendees insight from industry insiders, networking with diverse groups of industry professionals, and the opportunity to shape future AH&LA initiatives via more than a dozen committees. In addition, the annual Stars of the Industry Awards ceremony will honor exemplary employees and programs, and attendees can book a one-on-one eco-appointment with AH&LA’s Green Guru, Pat Maher. As a precursor to the Summit, AH&LA’s Women in Lodging Connect will host a panel and reception with the newly-formed Arizona...

Waste management programs can be more challenging for hotels than other green initiatives because there are many kinds of waste to address, and it takes ongoing attention to achieve good results. Yet, successful programs are financially rewarding, and they are noticed by hotel customers more than any other green initiative. This article is intended to help hotels reduce waste and reap the associated benefits. Hotels reduce their operating costs when they manage their waste stream well. Waste management programs cut costs by making some purchases unnecessary, save staff time and reduce trash disposal bills. However, disposal costs vary markedly by region,...

CONCORD, N.H.—The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) and the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Assn. (NHLRA) announced that the Gale River Motel & Cottages (GRM&C), Franconia, N.H., is the first motel labeled as an Environmental Champion under a new program coordinated between the two organizations. In November, NHLRA kicked off its redesigned green certification program for restaurants and lodging facilities to make them more accountable for keeping up their green practices. NHLRA began offering a tool to educate hotels and restaurants on making their businesses more sustainable. Michelle Veasey of the NHLRA’s Sustainability Program and Tara Mae...

BRADENTON, FLA.—At a time when energy costs have reached an all time high, savvy hotel and condo owners are finding highly effective ways to conserve energy and save money. By installing constant airflow regulators in bathroom and kitchen exhaust vents, owners and operators are able to accurately and automatically control the amount of heated or conditioned air that is constantly blown out of their buildings. While having the airflow automatically regulated improves the indoor air quality and enables the use of smaller high-efficiency fans, the greatest savings comes from the reduced load on a facility’s heating and cooling systems. Constant...

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF.—After months of planning, the agenda for the West Coast Green Lodging Conference has been finalized. The event will be held at the Embassy Suites Lake Tahoe Hotel & Ski Resort, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., from August 22 to 25. The conference, directed toward hotel general managers, chief engineers, innkeepers and owners, will address the reasons for going green, how to do it, the financial impact (return on investment), the public relations and marketing benefits, and the ways in which the community benefits. The event will begin on Sunday, August 22 with a welcome reception. On Monday,...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) jointly announced changes to the Energy Star product certification process to ensure that only products meeting the program requirements can receive an Energy Star label. These changes accelerate steps DOE and EPA have initiated over the past several months to bolster the verification, testing and enforcement aspects of the Energy Star program. “The Energy Star program started out small and has grown quickly, and now the brand is immensely valuable to consumers and businesses,” said Gina McCarthy, EPA assistant administrator for Air and Radiation....

WESTMINSTER, COLO.—The Westin Westminster announced that it will capitalize on Colorado’s 300-plus days of annual sunshine with the installation of a state-of-the-art solar panel system to help provide power to the 369-room hotel. The solar panels, which are scheduled to be installed next month on the roof of the hotel, will produce 42,576 kilowatt-hours per year—the equivalent to planting more than 192 trees annually. The Westin Westminster has applied to receive a grant from the federal government and a solar rebate from Xcel Energy, making it the first hotel in Colorado to take advantage of these programs. The 32-kilowatt solar...

ATLANTA –New research supported by ASHRAE indicates that non-chemical devices (NCD) marketed to control the growth of biological agents, such as Legionella in cooling towers, may not materially reduce biological growth. Research project No. 1361, Biological Control in Cooling Towers Using Non-Chemical Water Treatment Devices, a two-year project recently completed by Dr. Radisav Vidic at the University of Pittsburgh, evaluated five non-chemical devices using different technologies to control biological activity in a model cooling-tower system. The devices studied included a hydrodynamic cavitation device, pulsed and static electric field devices, an ultrasonic device and a magnetic device. In Dr. Vidic’s...

PARSIPPANY, N.J.—Wyndham Worldwide, one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) on April 9 during a celebration event at the company’s Parsippany global headquarters. The certification is for the headquarters. One of numerous planned Wyndham Green events throughout Earth Month, the LEED celebration was attended by more than 100 guests and included remarks by Melverne E. Cooke, chief of staff for the office of Assemblyman Alex DeCroce, Parsippany Mayor Jamie Barberio, USGBC vice president, market development, Doug Gatlin and Wyndham Worldwide chairman...

BOSTON—As part of Earth Month, the Seaport Hotel will begin offering its overnight guests who arrive in hybrid or electric vehicles access to a complimentary charging station and a complimentary night of valet parking through the end of 2010. The charging station will be the first available at a Boston hotel, yet another first for eco-friendly Seaport. “We hope that many guests will take advantage of this new amenity,” said Jim Carmody, vice president and general manager for the Seaport Hotel. ”So many people are driving hybrid vehicles now, and that will only increase in the months...