ATLANTA—IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, announced a partnership with Mastercard’s Priceless Planet Coalition to turn guest spending into support of reforestation projects around the world. During the month of October, IHG will donate $2, the approximate cost of growing one tree, to Conservation International for their tree restoration work, for any transaction of $50 or more on a Mastercard card at select IHG-branded properties in the US*. Guided by Conservation International and World Resources Institute, the Priceless Planet Coalition is a program that unites corporate sustainability efforts and engages businesses and consumers to...

ORLANDO, FLA.—Newsweek announced Marriott Vacations Worldwide, a leader in leisure travel with a portfolio of trusted, globally recognized travel brands and vacation clubs, has been ranked first on Newsweek’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces list, along with being named No. 1 in hospitality and No. 1 most respected company. The 2023 Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces are a collaboration with the Best Practice Institute (BPI), a leadership development and benchmark research company. Marriott Vacations Worldwide received the recognition, based on associate surveys around employee satisfaction and sentiment, for creating a workplace where associates feel respected, inspired, and appreciated, and are at the...

LONDON—Place III Hotels has announced the grand opening of its first luxury hotel, The BoTree. The hotel comprises 199 rooms including 30 suites as well as a destination restaurant and bar. One of the most anticipated launches of 2023, The BoTree captures the spirit of Marylebone’s “village life”. It reflects the allure of central London with its enchanting spaces and personalized service, while establishing Place III Hotels’ own form of luxury, Conscious Luxury. Rishi Sachdev, founder of Place III Hotels said, “As the first hotel within Place III Hotels, The BoTree combines uncompromising standards with a purpose-driven ethos embodying our core values of Truth, Love,...

NATIONAL REPORT—To lead people and organizations successfully in the coming years, leaders need to have a clear understanding of these trends and how to implement them while considering the specific needs of their organizations and the context of their market. In this article, we’ll discuss the top five trends influencing global hospitality businesses, and their leadership, today. And we’ll offer some suggestions for how to get started in these areas, whether with your own ideas and initiatives, or some upskilling and education to get a boost. Digital Leadership & Technology Integration As technology continues to play a significant role in the hospitality...

PARIS—For the seventh year, Relais & Châteaux and Slow Food present their annual Food for Change campaign to protect local biodiversity and promote sustainable food consumption. Since 2014, Relais & Châteaux has been striving to make a better world through cuisine and hospitality in a manifesto presented to UNESCO. One of the association’s 20 commitments is “to preserve the diversity of cuisines and hospitality in this world so that future generations can know and share in their richness.” Each year since 2016, Relais & Châteaux chefs have been participating in the Slow Food movement to promote good, clean, and fair food for...

INTERNATIONAL REPORT—Marriott International, EcoVadis and several leading global hospitality organizations—Accor, Hilton, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Radisson Hotel Group, and two global hospitality group purchasing organizations, Avendra and Entegra—last week announced the launch of the Hospitality Alliance for Responsible Procurement (HARP). Driven by members’ commitment to improve sustainability performance, the Alliance will work to accelerate sustainable practices by fostering close collaboration with trading partners to build transparency and scale positive impact across their value chains. “As companies seek to engage their value chain partners in their sustainability efforts, they realize the complex scope, as well as common challenges, in their own sector,”...

SOLON, OHIO—According to the EPA, 8.5 percent of plastic material in the U.S. is recycled. Another 15.8 percent is combusted for energy, leaving more than 75 percent that is sent to landfills. According to MultiPlast Systems Inc., a hotel room uses approximately 25 pounds of plastic annually, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but when you take 25 pounds times 300,000 rooms in a hospitality market segment you get more than 7,500,000 pounds of plastic waste, of which about 75 percent (5,625,000 pounds) ends up in landfills. Buried in a landfill, those items can take up to hundreds of years to...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has introduced a draft of its LEED v5 Operations and Maintenance (O+M) rating system for existing buildings. LEED v5 is the newest version of LEED. It marks a transformative milestone in the built environment’s alignment with a low-carbon future and addresses critical imperatives such as equity, health, ecosystems, and resilience. The LEED rating system is the world’s preeminent green building certification system, with more than 100,000 projects certified globally. While the launch of LEED v5 begins with existing buildings, LEED v5 for Building Design and Construction (BD+C) will roll out in 2024. In conjunction with the...

NATIONAL REPORT—When your guests need to recharge their phones, tablets or even their e-scooters outside, finding a place to do so can be a challenge. To make outdoor charging seamless, several companies offer solar powered charging stations—in the form of furniture such as benches, tables, or charging poles. These can be ideal fits for common areas, employee break stations, golf courses, trailside, or even beach areas. According to Vaughn Dietze, owner and founder of Solar Energy Systems LLC, solar powered charging stations can help elevate the guest experience, educate guests about solar, reduce a property’s energy consumption, showcase your dedication...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—More than seven in ten Americans would be deterred from booking a hotel room in Los Angeles if hotels there are forced to house homeless people next to paying guests. That’s according to a new national poll commissioned by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and conducted by Morning Consult. Los Angeles residents are set to vote in March 2024 on whether to require all local hotels to house homeless people next to paying guests as part of a ballot initiative proposed by Unite Here, a labor union that represents LA-area hotel workers. If Unite Here’s ballot initiative passes,...