As reported this past week on Green Lodging News, The Duffie Companies’ Home2 Suites by Hilton Silver Spring (Silver Spring, Md.) is on its way to becoming LEED Platinum—the highest level of green building certification available through the U.S. Green Building Council. Earlier in May, MGM Resorts International announced that MGM Springfield, located in Springfield, Mass., has received the world’s first LEED New Construction Platinum level certification for a gaming resort. The Home2 Suites by Hilton Silver Spring and MGM Springfield join these other LEED Platinum hotels or resorts in the United States: Proximity Hotel, Greensboro, N.C.; Hotel Skyler...

I attended HD Expo in Las Vegas from May 15 to 17. With approximately 900 exhibitors and 10,000 attendees, the show is proof that our industry is still enjoying strong growth—through both new construction and renovation. I walked the aisles looking for signs of sustainability. Companies are much more subtle than they used to be in pushing their green commitments, but I did come across quite a few examples of suppliers with interesting stories to tell and products or services to introduce. It would be impossible to include all the companies but here are some examples that caught my eye. Living...

The definition of an allergy-friendly room has often been in flux in our industry. More than a decade ago, PURE Allergy Friendly Rooms were introduced. At that time, the PURE process included steps ranging from ozone shock treatment to an air purification system to a showerhead with a chlorine filter. PURE Allergy Friendly Rooms have since evolved and are now called Pure Rooms as part of a Pure Wellness experience. The current seven steps include: ozone shock treatment, sanitize air handling unit, deep clean soft and hard surfaces, apply Pure Shield Barrier, install air purification system, install antimicrobial tea...

I will be attending HD Expo from May 15 to 17 at the Mandalay Convention Center in Las Vegas. The trade show and conference are among the best annual events for the design community and others to find everything from furniture to artwork—from companies that take sustainability to heart. For the first time in its history, this year’s HD Expo will have a Wellness Pavilion. Curated by Hospitality Design magazine, in partnership with the Well Building Institute and NEWH, seven sessions will delve into what wellness means for the hospitality industry, showcasing not only big brands integrating wellness and sustainability,...

In March, Orlando, Fla.-based Legacy Vacation Resorts (LVR) announced that it had officially achieved Certified B Corporation status. Clean the World, also in Orlando, is another organization that has achieved the B Corporation designation. If you do a search on Hospitality on the B Corporation site, you will find just 15 businesses listed. Among them: Taos Ski Valley, Inc., Qbic Hotels, and the Sleeping Lady Resort. Other hospitality-related businesses can be found under other categories such as Catering & Meeting/Event Management and Travel & Leisure. There are currently more than 2,500 Certified B Corporations in more than 50 countries....

Plastic has been the topic of several of my columns recently. I would like to add one more to the list for three reasons: Orbitz, Yelp, and the results of a very important study published earlier this month in Nature Geoscience. First, Orbitz is helping travelers stay at waste-conscious hotels by listing hotels and locations on its website that are doing their part to reduce or eliminate waste—specifically single-use plastic. The website includes a clickable U.S. map that explains specifically what type of plastic has been banned by the entire state or part of the state. In Illinois, for example,...

Glenn Hasek The big news out of California this past week is Assembly Bill No. 1162, legislation that would eliminate single-use plastic bottles used to provide amenities to California lodging guests by January 1, 2023. It was introduced by California Assembly Member Ash Kalra and coauthored by Assembly Member Mark Stone. The next hearing date for the bill is April 23. While I applaud this groundbreaking legislation—a bold step to reduce the mountains of plastic amenity bottle waste that ends up in landfills, oceans and elsewhere—I am baffled by our industry’s response...

Glenn Hasek Each year has its landmark days—days on which we celebrate or remember a solemn occasion. Earth Day, April 22, is one of those days for both. Yes, Earth Day is a day to celebrate the progress our industry has made in energy, water, waste, cleaning, air quality, etc. Yet, April 22 is also a strong reminder of how far our industry still must go to reduce its negative impact on our planet. Rather than address the challenges we face in this column, I would like to share some of the more positive Earth Day news that has crossed...

They may not be the perfect solution to water container pollution but paper-based products—whether in cartons or bottles—are so much better than their plastic alternatives. This past week I posted an article about four companies that now offer water in cartons or bottles that are primarily made from paper—a renewable resource. If you are currently still giving your guests or staff plastic water bottles, I challenge you to sample the water containers featured in my article. Something has got to be done to stop the proliferation of plastic bottles. Sixty-nine billion bottles are created each year and 38 billion of...

You do not have to look far to find examples of human rights violations by Saudi Arabia. Last year’s killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul is a recent prominent example. Saudi Arabia’s intervention in the war in Yemen is another example. According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, 56,000 civilians and combatants were killed in Yemen between January 2016 and October 2018. Terrible for such a small nation. It is certainly challenging to lift Saudi Arabia up as a country to emulate but some recent news out of the country on...