PARADISE ISLAND, THE BAHAMAS—This month, Kerzner International will conclude its $1 billion Phase III development here with the opening of its newest tower, The Reef Atlantis. The new 497-key tower will offer guests home-like accommodations and amenities—with the beach as a backyard—while instigating conservation and protection of the world’s oceans. Through a partnership with Kerzner Marine Foundation (“KMF”), Kerzner’s nonprofit foundation that fosters the preservation and enhancement of global marine ecosystems through scientific research, education and community outreach, The Reef will be the main driver of an important new concept in travel called Blue Tourism. It will offer guests of...

PORTLAND, ORE.—Planning is underway for the 2008 Greening the Hospitality Industry Conference. The event will be held February 19 to 21 at the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver in British Columbia. The conference is targeted at the following industry types: association, independent and corporate meeting planners, convention and visitors bureau staff, conference center managers, hotel catering, sales and management staff, city and urban planners, transportation providers, and exhibition producers and decorators. The conference is the third of its kind. Previous events were held in 2005 and 2007. It is being organized by the Portland, Ore.-based Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC). The...

THE BAHAMAS—There have been many changes in the few years since “travel” and “sustainable” first appeared in the same sentence. Emerging technologies coupled with mounting consumer demand have given us green travel options from luxury ecolodges (that have a negligible impact on their ecosystems) to carbon-neutral resorts, tours and airlines. A new leader in this green revolution is Star Island, a private-island destination currently under development in the Out Islands of the Bahamas. When it opens its doors in late 2009, its mix of high-luxury and high-sustainability could be the talk of the travel industry and the inspiration for...

ATLANTA—Ever wonder how energy- and environmentally conscious the hotel guests next door are? According to a recent survey, they are likely reusing their towels, turning off the lights when they leave and recycling, if given the chance. The nationwide survey of 701 people was conducted by A Closer Look, Inc., an Atlanta-based market research company focused on the hospitality industry. “Seventy-five percent of survey respondents said it is important to them that the hotel where they stay follows green practices, and those surveyed are more than willing to do their part,” says David McAleese, CEO of A Closer Look....

NATIONAL REPORT—When looking for the “low hanging fruit” in a hotel—those areas that offer the easiest and fastest opportunities to save energy—one piece of equipment that is often forgotten is the kitchen exhaust hood. Unfortunately, most commercial kitchen hoods include single-speed fans that operate at 100 percent capacity all day long, even during idle (non-cooking) periods when ventilation rates can be safely reduced. The annual cost of wasted energy can be thousands of dollars per hood, or as much as $2 billion a year for the entire foodservice industry. One way to reduce energy consumption and costs is to control...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Autodesk, Inc. and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently announced the results of the 2007 Autodesk/AIA Green Index, an annual survey that measures how AIA member architects in the United States are practicing sustainable design, as well as their opinions about the green building movement. The index shows that green building has taken a firm hold on the industry and has captured the attention of both architects and their clients. The 2007 Autodesk/AIA Green Index survey reports 70 percent of architects say client demand is the leading driver of green building and that the primary reason these owners...

ALEXANDRIA, VA.—The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) announced that the NBTA Modular Hotel RFP has been updated for the 2009 bid season. The changes include the addition of six questions to help travel buyers and hotels reach common understanding of the hotels’ environmental programs, as well as changes to the pricing grid to support dynamic pricing requests. The Modular Hotel RFP, the industry-standard hotel RFP model, is managed by the NBTA Hotel Committee. The committee, which is made up of buyers, hoteliers, third-party RFP service providers, and related vendors, gathered feedback from the corporate travel community through a survey...

ATLANTA—ASHRAE has launched a new magazine to help decision-makers in the building community learn about the latest developments in innovative technologies and energy-efficient design and operation. Targeted at building owners, facility managers, architects and engineers, High Performing Buildings features working case studies of exemplary buildings developed by leading practitioners in the sustainability movement. Also included is a “lessons learned” section in each article where building designers and operators explain what went right, what went wrong, how problems were resolved and what could have been done better. “It is essential that ASHRAE share both the technologies and measured performance of high-performance buildings...

ORLANDO, FLA.—Going green is the right thing to do, and few understand that better than The Florida Hotel and Conference Center, which will soon receive Green Lodging certification from the State of Florida for its conservation practices. The luxurious Florida Hotel and Conference Center, which is connected to Orlando tourist attraction the Florida Mall, has significantly reduced its water and energy usage since it began working on its Green Lodging Certificate earlier this year. “Going green is a sweeping trend within the meetings industry and it is simply the right thing to do,” stated Simone Kuska, corporate director of sales...

NATIONAL REPORT—Visitors to the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa won’t find the usual Gideon Bible in the nightstand drawer. Instead, on the bureau will be a copy of An Inconvenient Truth, former Vice President Al Gore’s book on global warming. Guests will also find the Gaia equipped with waterless urinals, solar lighting, recycled paper and other green features. Similar features are found just 35 miles south at San Francisco’s Orchard Garden Hotel, which competes for customers with neighboring luxury hotels like the Ritz-Carlton and the Fairmont. The Gaia and the Orchard Garden Hotel are among a growing number of...