Green Lodging News will turn 16 this July. It was approximately three years after the launch of Green Lodging News that Clean the World was launched. Many of you have worked with Clean the World over the years by donating money or new or partially used soap bars and amenity bottles. If, because of the pandemic, you stopped donating, please start again. The need is just as great or greater, especially with the attack of Ukraine by Russia. (Volunteers in Arlington, Va., and Seattle are in the process of assembling 200,000 hygiene kits for victims of the war there....

It was a busy news week again this past week—as most are given the momentum of sustainability efforts in our industry. First, I would like to highlight that Choice Hotels International appointed Megan Brumagim to the newly created role of Vice President of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). In this new role, Brumagim will lead Choice’s sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives. Brumagim knows Choice well, having joined the company in 2015 as the head of the company’s flagship Comfort Hotels brand and quickly ascended to the position of Vice President of Brand Management, Design and Compliance, where she...

To help clarify what every hotel should be doing at a minimum to reduce its impact on the planet, the World Travel & Tourism Council this past week launched its Hotel Sustainability Basics. The announcement was made at the WTTC Global Summit in Manila, The Philippines. It was an important step because many hotels are still not doing enough to save energy, water, reduce waste, etc. “Developed by the industry for the industry, it highlights 12 actions which are fundamental to hotel sustainability and will help raise the base level of sustainability across the entire hospitality industry by providing every...

As I am writing this, Earth Day is just one week away. How will your property mark this important day? This is my 16th year writing an Earth Day column. While there is certainly much good news to share about our industry’s efforts throughout the year, I often wonder if our industry’s net carbon impact on the planet will ever decrease (it may have during the pandemic) given our industry’s business model built on never-ending growth. As citizens of this planet, we certainly are not doing enough. Earlier this month, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that...

This week I would like to draw your attention to two well-known companies: Radisson Hotel Group and Club Med. As part of its Responsible Business Report 2021, Radisson Hotel Group just released news that it intends to reach net zero value chain GHG emissions by no later than 2050, in line with the SBTi Net-Zero Standard. In 2021, the Group reduced its carbon footprint by 23 percent per square meter and reduced 13 percent of its water footprint per square meter (vs. 2019). In line with the Group’s renewable energy transition strategy, more than 56 properties run 100 percent...

If you still are not convinced that going green, focusing on wellness, and promoting your hotel that way is the best way to position your business, allow me to share the results of several reports that “hit my desk” this past week. First, The Vacationer, an online travel journal, posted its Sustainable Travel Survey 2022 results. The anonymous survey included 1,096 American adults over the age of 18 and was conducted online using SurveyMonkey’s interface/audience on March 1, 2022. Eric Jones analyzed the survey. He is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Rowan College South Jersey. When asked how important sustainable travel is...

In case you missed it, earlier this month, the Biden-Harris Administration released the National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan, a roadmap to move the country forward safely and continue to fight COVID-19 as Americans get back to their more normal routines. Of course, a big part of getting back to normal is improving air quality in whatever dwelling we happen to be in—hotels included. As part of its Preparedness Plan, on March 17, the Administration launched the Clean Air in Buildings Challenge. It calls on all building owners and operators to assess their indoor air quality and make ventilation and air filtration...

As mask mandates disappear across the United States, the spring/summer events season is heating up. The first event can happen anywhere you are: Earth Hour on March 26 at 8:30 p.m. local time. In the past hotels have gotten creative by dimming and turning off non-essential lighting, having candlelight dinners, children’s activities, donation opportunities, coming up with special drinks, and more. This year, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts of the Greater Bay will mark Earth Hour. The Fairmont San Francisco, for example, will switch off façade, signage, and non-essential lighting, as well as dim the lights in public areas, restaurants,...

A little more than a month ago, officials of Castell Project, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the careers of women professionals in the hospitality industry, released the 2022 Women in Hospitality Industry Leadership report. You can read about the report here on Green Lodging News. In summary, the report was somewhat positive regarding the progress of women in leadership roles, but women still have a long way to go to catch up with men in our industry. This past week, officials of Castell Project released the “Black Representation in Hospitality Leadership 2022” report. The report was definitely not...

If I happened to be in Moscow in the coming days, I could get a room at a very nice hotel for $62 a night (about 6,240 rubles). Not a bad rate but me and most of the world do not want to have anything to do with Russia since they invaded Ukraine. I am no expert in politics and don’t want to make this a political column, but politics and the lodging industry are very closely intertwined and what Russia has done will impact many owners, developers, managers, employees, suppliers, and others in our global industry. Our industry is...