SEATTLE—1 Hotels, the mission-driven luxury lifestyle brand founded by hospitality visionary Barry Sternlicht, announces the opening of 1 Hotel Seattle, a new sanctuary of sustainability and sophisticated design in the heart of the Pacific Northwest. Set in the South Lake Union neighborhood—home to some of Seattle’s most innovative tech companies—this nature-inspired retreat combines sustainable luxury, hyper-local culinary experiences, and the rugged elegance of the region’s landscapes. “Seattle is a city where nature and innovation coexist beautifully—and that’s exactly what we aimed to capture with this property,” says Barry Sternlicht, Founder of 1 Hotels and Chairman of Starwood Hotels. “This city...

JACKSON, WYO.—Visitors and staff at Grand Teton National Park now have more ways to recycle—and an easy way to reduce litter, thanks to a collaboration between nonprofit Keep America Beautiful, sustainability solutions innovator TerraCycle, and hospitality provider Grand Teton Lodge Company. With a grant from the National Park Foundation, the group is introducing new recycling infrastructure at the park to make waste disposal simpler, smarter, and more accessible. The centerpiece is a newly installed 20-foot recycling station at the busy Colter Bay Campground, which welcomes up to 4,000 overnight guests a night during peak season. This bear-resistant structure features 12 clearly...

NEW YORK—Leading luxury hospitality brand Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is continuing its global partnership with Make-A-Wish, collaborating to host the first-ever Bake-A-Wish challenge. The event brought together young Make-A-Wish alumni, former wish recipients with a passion for food and cooking, with three of Fairmont’s top chefs for a friendly culinary showdown at Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle. The bake-off, hosted by content creator and on-camera personality, Melanie Sutrathada, challenged both Make-A-Wish alumni—Roux (18), Theo (9), and Jacqueline (16)—and Fairmont chefs—Chef Nancy Guerrero from Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, Chef Isabel Chung from Fairmont Empress in Victoria, and Chef Eraj Jayawickreme from Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle—to create the world’s most “wish worthy” dessert. Each “wish alum” was paired with a chef...

PARIS—Ahead of World Ocean Day (June 8), Novotel marks the first anniversary of its transformative three-year partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), reaffirming its commitment to protecting the wellbeing and longevity of the ocean with the launch of two new food policies: Novotel’s Sustainable Seafood Principles in partnership with WWF France and the launch of a pioneering global Plant-Forward food ambition across 600 hotels. “At Novotel, we are taking decisive action to protect our oceans, and the partnership with WWF is a driving force of this commitment,” said Jean-Yves Minet, Novotel Global Brand President. “Through their guidance and expertise, we can drive change at...

INTERNATIONAL REPORT—The 2025 edition of the European Hotel Investor Compass survey by Cushman & Wakefield indicates a robust interest of investors in the European hotel sector, with Southern Europe being the most favored investment destination. A Cushman & Wakefield survey conducted among investors who have collectively invested over €16 billion in hotel assets since 2019 pinpoints the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, and France as Europe’s most attractive hotel investment locations. In particular, Madrid, Barcelona, and Rome are the top investment hotspots. Moreover, the survey displays strong investor confidence, with 70 percent of respondents intending to be net buyers in 2025. This surge...

ATLANTA—IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, has been named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For 2025 List by Great Place To Work and Fortune, coming in at No. 17. This year’s ranking underscores the company’s ongoing commitment to enhancing workplace culture and colleague benefits. Being named among the best places to work in the U.S. signifies that IHG Hotels & Resorts has surpassed rigorous standards, solidifying its reputation as an exceptional employer. To determine the 100 Best Companies to Work For, Great Place To Work analyzed the anonymous survey responses of more than half a million employees from Great Place To...

SEATTLE—Populus Hotels, a collection of carbon positive hotels that celebrate and protect the natural world, announced that Populus Seattle has secured two thousand tons of certified carbon credits as a part of its evolving, nature-based sustainability strategy. The certified carbon credits serve to offset the property’s embodied carbon footprint, equating to 1,630 mTCO2e*, making Populus Seattle the second carbon positive hotel in the country by its opening on May 22, 2025, in the city’s storied Pioneer Square. For this latest initiative, Populus Seattle worked with King County’s Forest Carbon Program to acquire high integrity, Verra certified forest carbon credits from King County-based projects whose core impacts include supporting land...

VISTA, CALIF.—Building owners and managers are encouraged to reduce water consumption and improve water efficiency to reduce operating costs and use water more responsibly. However, many don’t understand which factors in their facilities most impact water usage. Identifying these factors is essential for implementing effective water efficiency strategies. The key factors affecting commercial facility water consumption are the following: Occupancy: The number of people using the facility. Property use: Whether it’s an office building, school, arts center, or similar commercial facility. Landscaping: Native or natural landscaping typically requires less irrigation than non-native options. Food service equipment: Water-using appliances and mechanicals older...

NATIONAL REPORT—As conversations around sustainability grow across industries, hoteliers have to ask: Is this something we should be focusing on? If you’re going for a higher star rating, sustainable operations initiatives may be a lot lower on your priority list than daily room cleanings, providing hair dryers and other star requirements. However, sustainability may be more valuable for your hotel than you realize. It can reduce water and energy consumption and staff workloads, potentially saving you money. Sustainable operations initiatives can also be marketing differentiators, helping you showcase the value of your hotel beyond good star ratings. Below, we look at why sustainable tourism...

NATIONAL REPORT—The HVAC industry stands at a critical juncture, facing substantial regulatory pressures aimed at reducing its environmental impact through the phased elimination of high Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants. Driven by international agreements and local environmental guidelines, manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers are swiftly transitioning towards more sustainable alternatives. This shift is fundamentally reshaping compressor technologies, retrofitting procedures, and lifecycle management strategies for HVAC systems. Globally, regulatory bodies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the European Union's F-Gas Regulation, and international environmental protocols, such as the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, mandate a significant reduction in refrigerants...