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...

Approximately every two years the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) releases the results of its Lodging Survey. The survey is done in partnership with STR and is funded by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation. The 2018 survey included all properties in the United States with 10 or more guestrooms—nearly 56,000 U.S. properties—easily making the survey sample the largest of any survey in our industry. The report based on the survey was released a little more than a week ago. See this article for a link to the survey report. This year’s survey report included data on many...

This past weekend my family dined at a Mexican restaurant here in Tampa. The food was just fine and as usual I could not eat the entire meal because of the volume of food given to me. I asked for a to-go box and, as most often is the case, I was given one made of Styrofoam (polystyrene). (The server also automatically gave us plastic straws which we declined.) This website lists some of the reasons Styrofoam is bad for the environment and all of us. Did you know that when paired with liquid and heat, a Styrofoam container’s toxins...

Articles about bed bugs are among the most read on the Green Lodging News website and for good reason. As tiny as the creatures are, they can become a dinosaur-size problem for you—in many ways. As mentioned in an article just posted on Green Lodging News, a year ago, a California family was awarded $1.6 million as a result of a lawsuit filed against their former landlords for not properly addressing a bed bug infestation. The lawyer representing the family said the award was the largest he had seen given to a single family. While the $1.6 million settlement...

My family and I are talking about going to Victoria, B.C. this summer for part of our vacation. If I go, you can bet I will be checking out the car rental program at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Suites Victoria. I may even choose a SOLO vehicle to drive. My wife and son won’t be too happy, but it will be one of the coolest cars I have driven in a while. You see, the SOLO is a one-passenger vehicle with two wheels in the front and one in the back. Made by Electra Meccanica, the SOLO...

With an unemployment rate of just 4 percent paired with tighter immigration policies, finding and keeping the best and brightest workers has become increasingly more difficult. Past surveys have shown that hotels or hotel companies with strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs have higher employee retention rates. The results of a recent survey strengthen the case for having outstanding CSR initiatives. Swytch, a blockchain-based clean energy platform, recently conducted a survey of 1,000 employees in the United States who either currently work for or have worked for a company with over 5,000 employees to explore their sentiments around employers’ corporate...

Be sure not to miss one of the most highly anticipated survey reports of the year—the 106-page Green Lodging Trends Report 2018. Produced by Greenview, it is accessible for download through this link. The annual Report is rich with data and highlights and summarizes responses to 115 survey questions in these categories: Energy Management, Waste Management, Water Conservation, Health & Wellness, Back of House, Communications, Staff Involvement, Community Involvement, and Climate Action & Certification. Greenview collected data for 4,544 hotels across 61 countries. If you did not participate in the survey leading up to the Report, be sure to do so...

I just returned from The NAFEM Show in Orlando. Held every two years, the show features the latest advancements in foodservice equipment and supplies. I will be summarizing many of the highlights in an upcoming article. This year there were more than 600 exhibitors so it would be impossible to mention all the news from the show in one article. One of the things that jumped out at me this year was the number of companies offering food waste reduction equipment—equipment that either grinds, pulps, digests or dehydrates food waste. Maybe I missed an exhibit, but I don’t recall coming...