ST. JOHN, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS—Here at Maho Bay Camps, you have to be careful what you throw away. Your “trash” just might end up as part of a piece of art on sale to a visiting guest. For more than 10 years now, glass bottles, aluminum cans, worn tablecloths, napkins, towels, sheets, shredded cardboard and paper, and even laundry lint have been converted into saleable pieces of art as part of Maho Bay Camps’ Trash to Treasures program. Last year, the resort sold $250,000 worth of art made from items otherwise destined for the trash heap. With the program a...

CHEVY CHASE, MD.—The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co., L.L.C., and renowned diplomat for the environment, Jean-Michel Cousteau and his Ocean Futures Society, have signed a 10-year agreement to further develop and expand the award-winning Ambassadors of the Environment (AOTE) program from the current location at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman to a select group of the brand’s other resort and urban hotel destinations around the world, including Kapalua, Maui and Sanya, which opened April 24, 2008. The program, which emphasizes education and respect for ecosystem sustainability through “hands-on” activities, was recently named “Best Children’s Program for 2007” by Virtuoso, the consortium of travel...

LEXINGTON, KY.—The National Tour Assn. (NTA) announced that its annual convention, to be held in Pittsburgh, November 15-19, will be its first green convention and will take place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the first and largest certified green convention center in the world. “NTA is taking steps to lessen the negative impact all of us have on the environment,” said NTA Chairman and CEO Bob Hoelscher, CTP. “As travel professionals we have a special responsibility to preserve the world’s destinations for future generations. NTA is taking action to implement best practices and help our members see...

ESTES PARK, COLO.—Holiday Inn Rocky Mountain Park Inn, a Forever Resort, was named by Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) as the second highest ranking hotel of 854 Holiday Inn hotels across America in “Overall Satisfaction” by random guest surveys during the month of March 2008. In 2004 the Rocky Mountain Park Inn was the first hotel operation in the state of Colorado to be recognized by the EPA National Environmental Performance Track program and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Gold Level Environmental Leadership Program for their outstanding environmental efforts for recycling and reduction of energy, water, waste...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.—The Atlantic City Council voted unanimously on April 23 to require all casinos there to be nonsmoking by Oct. 15 with the option of building enclosed smoking rooms. All of New Jersey’s 11 casinos are located in Atlantic City. Although the state law banned smoking indoors except for casinos, the current city ordinance restricted the smoking areas to 25 percent of the gaming floor of casinos. However, the smoking areas were not contiguous and not enclosed. Under the new ordinance, the enclosed smoking room(s) cannot exceed 25 percent of the gaming floor space and gaming will...

CHESTER, VT—The Chester Innkeepers Association is the first Vermont innkeepers association to have all of its members designated as Green Hotels as members of the Vermont Business Environmental Partnership (VBEP), a state program that recognizes businesses that go the extra step in being environmental stewards. The association has created an environmental mission statement that is available on its website. The innkeepers have shown their commitment to reducing their environmental impact by conserving energy and water, and purchasing environmentally preferable products that close the recycling loop or reduce chemical use. Additionally, the inns communicate their environmental commitment to their guests,...

MEMPHIS, TENN.—Homewood Suites by Hilton, the international brand of upscale, all-suite, residential-style hotels, announced it has been honored by the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) with a Watlov Family Outstanding Service Award for the brand’s philanthropic support of the organization. Homewood Suites has partnered with NCH for more than two years in helping to raise funds, and hold clothing and linen drives. Additionally, Homewood Suites recently completed a short documentary on NCH, which will air on the in-room entertainment guide, LodgeNet, later this spring. “We are truly honored to be recognized by NCH for our work with the organization,”...

SAINT PAUL, MINN.—Minnesota’s travel and tourism industry is going to be getting much greener in coming months thanks to efforts on two fronts. The first initiative is a day-long seminar scheduled for May 13 at the Crowne Plaza St. Paul Riverfront hotel. The purpose of the seminar is to help the area’s businesses prepare for the Republican National Convention (RNC) that will be held September 1 to 4 in Saint Paul. The second initiative is the formation of a Minnesota Travel Green Task Force. Its mission is to develop a travel green program aimed at increasing the environmentally beneficial...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) is distributing a Green Assessment Survey to approximately 9,500 members, from which the association will evaluate and quantify current initiatives and determine a baseline for eco-friendly action. For each Green Assessment Survey returned, AH&LA will donate $1.00 to the National Arbor Day Foundation in recognition of Arbor Day on April 25. The three-minute survey includes a well-rounded series of questions on various eco-friendly initiatives including: • Specific recycling programs; • Eco-friendly vendor relationships; • Linen reuse programs; • Energy- and water-saving actions; and • Motivation for environmentally-friendly program implementation. Assessment Surveys will provide necessary feedback and real-world examples of various levels of...

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announced that its newest brand, ELEMENT hotels, will require all hotels brand-wide to pursue the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED certification. With its first hotel debuting this summer and more than 20 hotels set to open by the end of 2009, ELEMENT will make history as the first major hotel brand to commit to LEED certification. Designed for longer stays, and consisting entirely of new-build hotels, ELEMENT is uniquely positioned in the industry to spur widespread green development. ELEMENT designated its first hotel, Starwood-owned ELEMENT Lexington, Mass.,...