A little more than a year ago I wrote about the McKibbon Hotel Group and its efforts to match orphaned pets with guests staying at its Aloft Asheville Downtown in Asheville, N.C. The hotel paired up with a local animal shelter, Charlie’s Angels Animal Rescue, in an effort to increase the dog adoption numbers in the community. As guests arrive at the Aloft Asheville Downtown, a dog welcomes them from behind the registration desk dressed in an “Adopt Me” vest. I thought it was a great idea and at the time of my article “ruffly” 20 dogs had found...

U.S. News & World Report recently listed what they believe to be the World’s Best Places to Visit. Topping the list: the Great Barrier Reef. Hugging the east coast of Queensland, Australia, the Great Barrier Reef extends from Cape York in the north to Bundaberg in the south—a total of 1,250 miles. The Great Barrier Reef encompasses 3,000 coral reefs, 600 islands and 1,625 species of fish and attracts 1.6 million annual visitors annually. An attraction in many ways, the Great Barrier Reef is a perfect example of an area highly vulnerable to climate change—coral bleaching caused by increasing...

A body dryer instead of towels? When Julien Veyron, Architect and CEO of atelier arcau, responded to my request for additional information on the Light Human Hotel concept (see article and column from last week), he mentioned the use of body dryers in the hotels as one step in helping to reduce environmental impact. Yes, all Light Human Hotel bathrooms will include body dryers. (Google “body dryer” and you will find just a few examples of companies that make them.) The use of body dryers is one example of the brand developers’ willingness to innovate and create a guest...

Those of you interested in learning about new hotel brands should follow the progress of the Light Human Hotel. It is a new brand coming out of France and the idea of Julien Veyron and Jean-Pierre Bandeira, two French entrepreneurs who first met during a business summit focusing on Latin America Property Development. Architect and planner, Julien Veyron was there for architecture firm atelier arcau’s business development. Jean-Pierre Bandeira was there to develop YOO Co. (founded by Philippe Starck and John Hitchcox). They met at the outdoor bar of the Trump International Hotel & Tower Panama and started to...

A big thank you to all of you who have already signed up for and/or completed the Green Lodging Survey that was launched by Green Lodging News and Greenview this past week. The survey will remain open through the end of August. If you have not yet visited the survey site, please take a moment to do so. Owners and operators of lodging establishments around the planet are eligible to participate. Please be sure to spread the word about the survey. You will continue to see reminders on the Green Lodging News website and in our weekly e-newsletter.Please be...

This coming week will be a very exciting week for Green Lodging News. On Wednesday, June 8, together with Greenview, we will launch the planet’s premier Green Lodging Survey. Owners and operators of lodging establishments around the globe are being asked to participate. If you fall into that category, please complete the survey. If you are part of a company that owns and/or manages multiple properties, please direct representatives at each property to participate. And, if you are in a position to influence participation through direct contact, publicity, etc., please do that as well. We need as many people...

During one of my travels in Oregon I had an opportunity to dine at one of the McMenamins restaurants. If you live in Oregon or Washington you have most likely experienced McMenamins. The McMenamin family now has more than 60 brewpubs, breweries, music venues, historic hotels, and theater pubs. I recently spoke with Shannon McMenamin, General Manager of Lodging, Gift Shop and Spa Operations to learn more about her family’s company. Shannon told me they now have 10 hotels open and two under development. Each of the hotel properties has a fascinating story behind it. For example, once home...

I posted an article this past week on Tom Rhodes, NC (North Carolina) GreenTravel Initiative Program Manager. I had an opportunity to meet Tom at a conference a number of years ago. One of my readers suggested Tom as someone I should profile in our Personnel Profile section. Of course Tom was a great choice. Any kind of city, regional, state or national green lodging recognition program is only as good as the person or people behind it. Tom is a very good reason North Carolina’s GreenTravel Initiative is such a success.For those of you not familiar with the...

I recently wrote about water bottle filling stations, their many advantages (dramatic decrease in plastic bottle consumption), how they can be used to increase profits, etc. This past week I posted an article on atmospheric water generation and several companies that have come along to offer systems that produce filtered, drinkable water from the humidity in the air. Whereas the water bottle filling stations require a water line connected to the machines, the atmospheric water generators do not. If they are solar powered they can be located just about anywhere—as long as humidity levels are at least 40 to...

Trade shows and conferences seem to come and go in our industry but one that has had staying power is HD Expo. The event, held at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas last week, brought together over 10,000 designers, architects, hotel owners and operators, developers, specifiers and purchasers with more than 800 hospitality design manufacturers and product providers. HD Expo is always a great venue to connect with suppliers of green products and services and this year was no different. Interestingly, there was one year the planners of HD Expo actually separated out many of its green suppliers and placed...