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...

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,...