Green certifying lodging establishments is of course very common these days with the burden on property ownership/management to carry out the initiatives required for certification. But what if the tables were turned and it was the tourists who were asked to be certified before visiting a destination? That is what Discover Puerto Rico is trying to do with The Green Path, an innovative new microsite empowering visitors to become certified “Responsible Travelers” through engaging educational content and immersive storytelling rooted in sustainability. The Green Path was just launched on April 22—Earth Day. “The Green Path was first ideated in August 2024,...

A very happy Earth Day on Tuesday, April 22. I have been contacted by numerous public relations representatives pitching individual property and company success stories for this special day. (See Velas Resorts article as one example.) It is great to see so many in our industry giving so much attention to Earth Day—first celebrated April 22, 1970. Earth Day’s 2025 theme is OUR POWER, OUR PLANET, calling for everyone to unite around renewable energy so we can triple clean electricity by 2030. Green Lodging News frequently highlights renewable energy success stories and has a section on its website for properties that have deployed...

It is amazing to me that I still run across folks in our industry who still don’t understand the size and impact of the Asian American Hotel Owners Assn. (AAHOA). According to AAHOA, its 20,000 members own 60 percent of the hotels in the United States. AAHOA members have the power to push forward sustainability efforts in our industry in a big way. As franchisees and independent hotel owners, AAHOA members do participate in a wide range of mandatory and voluntary sustainability initiatives. In this space I have challenged AAHOA, as an organization, to more publicly formalize its green efforts....

Green hotel certification got a boost this past week with Green Key Global’s rollout of its Green Key Ready program. Green Key Ready was first announced at the American Hotel & Lodging Assn. (AHLA) Responsible Stay Summit on March 27. Green Key Global, a well-established certifier of green lodging establishments for several decades, is owned by AHLA and Hotel Association of Canada (HAC). Green Key Ready provides hotels with a structured, accessible and cost-effective steppingstone toward Green Key Eco-Rating certification. Gary Graham, Director of Operations & Program Development, Green Key Global, says Green Key Ready addresses what were barriers to...

I attended the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Responsible Stay Summit in Washington, D.C. this past week. The day-long event was held at the Four Seasons Washington D.C. Approximately 150 attended this third annual meeting that featured some of our industry’s leading sustainability champions. Rosanna Maietta, President & CEO, AHLA, welcomed attendees and summarized AHLA’s various green initiatives under the Responsible Stay umbrella. “Responsible Stay has grown significantly since 2022, when it was launched,” Maietta said. “It has become an essential force at AHLA.” The core focus areas of Responsible Stay include energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, and responsible...

I will be attending the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s third annual Responsible Stay Summit on Thursday, March 27. Be sure to watch for coverage on Green Lodging News. The event is being held at the Four Seasons Hotel, Washington, D.C. Up to 150 are expected to attend. I attended the event last year as well. I am looking forward to this learning and networking opportunity. (Click here for preview article.) AHLA has been very active in recent years in making it as easy as possible to run a sustainable hotel. At the core of its Responsible Stay initiative is...

World Water Day is Saturday, March 22. World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is also about taking action to reduce your property’s water consumption. Green Lodging News dedicates a section of its website to water conservation. There are currently more than 1,200 articles in that section that is filled with hundreds of water conservation best practices and ideas. What steps have you taken to reduce water consumption? Can you do more? Reducing water consumption is one of the cornerstones of every company’s overall sustainability initiative. The 2030 Agenda...

Saturday, March 22 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time, Earth Hour will take place. Since its beginnings in 2007, Earth Hour has been known for its “lights off” moment, with individuals around the world switching off their lights to show symbolic support for the Earth. Two years ago, the organizers of Earth Hour began encouraging participants to also give an hour for Earth—spending 60 minutes doing something positive for our planet. This year, the Fauchon L'Hotel Paris plans to celebrate Earth Hour at The Grand Cafe Fauchon from 7 to 10:30 pm. Diners will have the opportunity to enjoy a...

I have always had a fascination with the night sky. I remember seeing Halley’s Comet in 1986 and Comet Kohoutek in 1973. I have never seen the Northern Lights but hope to someday. Here in Florida, we are far from the Northern Lights. Light pollution hides most stars in the Tampa area, but I don’t have to travel far to see thousands of them. Nearly two thirds of Americans live in areas where it’s difficult to see stars glimmering, and about one third of the world’s population miss out completely on the beauty of stargazing. According to Booking.com, 2025 is set...

Earlier this month Green Lodging News reported that University of New Mexico Health Sciences researchers have detected microplastics in human brains at much higher concentrations than in other organs—and the plastic accumulation appears to be growing over time, having increased 50 percent over just the past eight years. Microplastics—tiny bits of degraded polymers that are ubiquitous in our air, water and soil—have lodged themselves throughout the human body, including the liver, kidney, placenta and testes, over the past half century. The constant use and laundering that hotel fabrics endure result in a vast amount of unavoidable synthetic textile shedding, contributing to...