Years ago, early in my career as a journalist, I took a break from work to go mountain climbing in Colorado. It was one of the best things I have ever done but it put me in a very precarious financial position once I returned from my trip. I was essentially “homeless” but was fortunate enough to have a friend willing to take me in until I got back on solid financial footing. As we all know, there are an incredible number of people in our country and on our planet, who are not so lucky. Search on “homeless” on...

I recently returned from a more than two-week vacation to Argentina and Brazil. A highlight of my trip was a visit to Iguazú Falls—the waterfalls of the Iguazu River on the border of the Argentine province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná. Together, they make up the largest waterfall system in the world. Think Niagara Falls times 10 with much less commercialization. The falls were just beautiful but there were too many people on the trails, and it was a challenge to even take a photo without getting someone else’s Aunt Margaret in it. Overtourism certainly came to...

When temperatures hit record, intolerable levels in your part of the planet, how quickly will tourism dry up? I have been thinking about that this week as record heat waves send temperatures far beyond 100 degrees in many places. It can be unhealthy just to be outside. In Phoenix, there have been 25 heat-associated deaths so far, and 249 are still under investigation. High temperatures are just one of the painful impacts of climate change and the long list of impacts on our industry are many. The temperature trends certainly heighten the importance of reducing our industry’s climate impact—greenhouse...

One of the most read pages on my website is “Hotel & Management Company Green Pages.” It has racked up more than 28,000 page views since it was first posted. The page simply includes links to hotel or management company pages dedicated to sustainability, corporate social responsibility, ESG, etc. Where possible I have included the specific name of the company’s green program. When perusing this page, be sure to let me know if your company is not included. While doing that, send me the link to the appropriate page on your site. Or, if you are aware of a...

This past week Marriott International released its 2023 Serve 360 Report highlighting the company’s progress on its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) efforts. The complete name of Marriott’s sustainability and social impact platform is Serve 360: Doing Good in Every Direction. Marriott’s Serve 360 platform was launched in 2017 in support of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. What Marriott does or does not do can be very impactful given its size. At the end of 2022, the company had 8,288 properties—more than 1.5 million rooms in 138 countries and territories. At that same time, Marriott managed the employment of...

When your bedding and towels have reached the end of their life, what do you do with them? Send them to the landfill? Donate them? If they were made with polyester or nylon, they would have shed plastic microfibers into the environment throughout their lifetime and will continue to do so in a landfill. Certainly, the life of all bedding and towels cannot be extended. I have written about Pürlin’s Zero Laundry—Zero Waste Linens before. These linens are recycled after each use. No guest uses the same linen. At HD Expo in May I learned about CiCLO™, a textile additive...

I just returned from The Hospitality Show in Las Vegas this past week. An AHLA/Questex conference and trade show, the event drew more than 3,500 attendees and 300 vendors. The event will return next year but in San Antonio in October. At least 70 to 80 of the vendors fell directly into the sustainability space—impressive to me and proof of how far our industry has come in recent years. Sustainability was also a frequent topic in the conference sessions. The biggest news coming out of the conference was announced during a session entitled, “The Hospitality Industry v. Human Trafficking: Marriott...

We are all aware of our industry’s staffing shortage and we are also aware of the refugee crisis prompted by conflicts around the world. This week both Marriott & Hilton announced they would step up their efforts to assist refugees by hiring them. Marriott & Hilton are among numerous other industry companies and organizations that have assisted refugees in recent years. Aiding those fleeing their own countries is critical currently. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are currently more than 27 million refugees worldwide. Nearly 8 million from Ukraine have been recorded in neighboring countries and...

If you are looking for more good reasons to eliminate plastic beverage bottles, be sure to read Hidden Hazards: The Chemical Footprint of a Plastic Bottle. It reveals the health, environmental, and climate threats caused throughout the lifecycle of plastic beverage bottles (made from polyethylene terephthalate or PET)—from the hazardous air emissions released in the petrochemical manufacturing process to the cancer-causing toxic chemicals leaked in the consumption and final waste stages. Making PET requires hundreds of chemicals, including ethylene oxide (EtO), the most potent cancer-causing chemical emitted by chemical manufacturers, and antimony. Antimony is one of at least 150 chemicals that can escape from...

This month has two key industry shows still to come—The Hospitality Show at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas from June 27 to 29 and HITEC at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from June 26 to 29. When The Hospitality Show was announced, the folks behind HITEC were not happy about the Show being scheduled concurrent to their event. It has created a situation where both hoteliers and suppliers have had to either pick and choose or send representatives to both events. Of course I look at every event through a sustainability lens and The Hospitality Show and HITEC both deliver...