WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Restaurant Association has launched the pilot of Greener Restaurants—a new national program to recognize restaurants’ environmental sustainability efforts. A limited number of restaurants have signed on to participate in the pilot that will open to industrywide participation in the next few months. Greener Restaurants will show operators how to save money while “going greener” and share their successes with guests. “We listened to what our members have told us they wanted: a flexible, effective and affordable program to help them do the right thing for the planet and for their business, and worked closely with them...

BOSTON—The Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism (MOTT) has added a green tourism section to its website. Called “MAGREEN,” the section includes information on traveling without a car, a list of green certified hotels and restaurants (37 listed as of April 6, 2010), information on state parks and other natural attractions, rural offerings, and places to go to see solar and wind installations. Also available are tips on how to reduce one’s environmental impact while traveling. For hoteliers, links to information on rebates, energy conservation, water conservation, waste management and green meetings are also provided. Hotels holding LEED,...

SAN FRANCISCO—The four-diamond W San Francisco made history this week by earning the first LEED certification of an existing building belonging to a major hotel brand. With its Silver LEED certification, W San Francisco becomes only the seventh hotel in the United States to receive the recognition for an existing building. Stringent criteria for an existing building certification measure “operations, improvements and maintenance on a consistent scale, with the goal of maximizing operational efficiency while minimizing environmental impacts,” according to the U.S. Green Building Council, which administers the LEED program. “For our guests, the green experience at W San Francisco...

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...