If you placed 700 million amenity bottles end to end, assuming 3 inches for each bottle, they would stretch for 33,143 miles. That is far more than once around the equator (24,901 miles) and about 1/7th the distance from the Earth to the moon. Why am I mentioning 700 million? This past week, Marriott International announced that it is expanding an initiative to replace tiny, single-use toiletry bottles of shampoo, conditioner and bath gel in guestroom showers with larger, pump-topped bottles. To date, the company has already rolled out larger bottles at about 1,000 properties in North America, and now expects most...

I learned this past week that about 18 to 20 percent of a building’s energy footprint is from windows and that part of their job is to help manage infrared rays, UV rays and visible light. Many of you may have known that already. Did you know that most of the sun’s heat comes in the form of visible light? That is why closing curtains and shades when guestrooms are vacant can certainly help some with heating and AC. Blocking UV light can help reduce the fading of carpeting, furniture and artwork. Walk the floor of HITEC and you...

Mixed in the news this past week about mass shootings, demonstrations in Hong Kong, a congressional trip or non-trip to Israel, etc. was some very important news about our climate. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that last month, July, was the hottest month on record for the planet. NOAA has been keeping records for the last 140 years. The year-to-date temperature for 2019 tied with 2017 as the second warmest January-July on record. During July, Arctic sea ice loss occurred at an average rate of 40,800 square miles per day, surpassing the 1981-2010 average of 33,500...

It is certainly not a ground swell, but it is further evidence of the increased interest in wellness throughout our industry: the announcement that the five-suite Inn at Moonlight Beach has become the first lodging establishment in the world to obtain Well Certification. It was awarded the certification by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) in collaboration with Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). For those of you not familiar with IWBI, it is a public benefit corporation whose mission is to improve human health and well-being in buildings and communities across the world through its WELL Building Standard. WELL Certification...

A big kudos this week to IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) for its commitment to switch to bulk-size bathroom amenities (dispensers) throughout its entire hotel estate of almost 843,000 guestrooms. The transition away from the bathroom miniatures will be completed during 2021. The pledge makes IHG the first global hotel company to commit all brands to removing bathroom miniatures in favor of bulk-size amenities. Last year, Marriott announced that Marriott-managed Courtyard, Fairfield, Residence Inn, Springhill Suites and TownePlace Suites brands would transition to shower dispensers. IHG’s voco Hotels, EVEN Hotels and avid hotels brands have all offered bulk-size amenities since...

It was 13 years and 677 e-newsletters ago that I launched Green Lodging News. I consider myself fortunate to have reported on the green side of our industry for so long. A very big thank you to all of those who have made those 13 years possible. My family is No. 1 on the list but Green Lodging News certainly would not be possible without all the vendor support I have received from day one. When you do business with a company that advertises on Green Lodging News, be sure to tell them where you found them. Vendors can...

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) just released a report entitled, “Sustainability in Hotels: Opportunities and Trends Shaping the Future of Hospitality.” If you are not familiar with the Urban Land Institute, the nonprofit’s mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. The Global CEO of ULI is W. Edward Walter, former CEO of Host Hotels and Resorts. The report, published by ULI’s Greenprint Center for Building Performance, contains case studies and is informed by insights from 25 leading hotel owners, developers, and investors, including members of ULI’s Hotel Development...

In the green lodging world it is huge news when a new 1 Hotels property opens and that was certainly the case this past week with the official opening of the 1 West Hollywood. It is the first West Coast 1 Hotel for Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group and joins three other 1 Hotels in New York City and Miami. As with the other 1 Hotels, 1 West Hollywood will be operated by SH Hotels & Resorts, a subsidiary of Starwood Capital Group. Sternlicht and his team are experts at weaving together luxurious green design, highly efficient operations, unique and...

One of the most important words to look for when considering energy-efficient equipment for your hotel is “variable.” I come across it often. In some cases, the technology has been available for years; in other cases, not. The main idea with “variable” is to not be running on 100 percent all the time. This past week in my feature on the very green Revisn aparthotel in Raleigh, N.C. you will see mention of a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) heating and air-conditioning system. By operating at varying speeds, heat recovery VRF units work only at the needed rate allowing for...

It is 26 years now since the initial development of the LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) rating system for commercial buildings. It has since expanded to include homes, schools and other categories. The U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) points-based certification system is undoubtedly the most successful green building rating system on the planet with 90,000 projects using LEED. In the hotel industry, based on information supplied to me in the past two weeks by USGBC, there are 767 projects listed as “lodging” in the USGBC database. Seventy-one of those projects are not publicly available because the project...