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...

I just added another hotel to the Geothermal Powered page on the Green Lodging News website—The Hotel at Oberlin in Oberlin, Ohio. Anyone familiar with Oberlin College would not be surprised by the college’s latest venture. The 70-room hotel, set to have its soft opening this month (May), is on track for the rare LEED Platinum certification and will join just a handful of hotels in the United States in that group. I recently spoke with Christopher Noble, Project Developer, SMART Hotels LLC, to learn more about this outstanding property.“Our path to LEED Platinum is based on energy efficiency...

I used Earth Day to announce the launch of the planet’s premier Green Lodging Survey. Set to launch in June (watch for it!), the survey is being produced in partnership with Greenview. Eric Ricaurte is the Principal of Greenview and I will be working with him on this exciting project. Greenview has helped launch several innovative industry initiatives including the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative, the Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking study, the Hotel Footprinting Tool, the Green Venue Report, and the UNWTO’s sustainable cruise development strategies for South-East Asia.In June and months following hoteliers and innkeepers will be asked to...

Earth Day is April 22. I have been hearing from some companies and individual hotels regarding their plans. All 11 of Greystone Hotels’ California and Oregon based properties will donate a portion of gross room revenues from Earth Day to the Nature Conservancy. Earth Day will also be an organized day of service for all employees. Kimball International, Inc. is recognizing Earth Day and Arbor Day by continuing its traditional “Trees for Tomorrow” program. For 2016, the program involves a $1 donation for every employee to the Arbor Day Foundation which will plant a seedling in forests on behalf...

On April 22, 2013—Earth Day—TripAdvisor launched its GreenLeaders program. Almost three years later, that program that recognizes lodging establishments for their green initiatives has more than 11,000 participating properties in 66 global markets across North America, Latin America, Europe, as well as Australia and New Zealand. In the last year, TripAdvisor has added nearly 3,000 GreenLeaders participants. The free, voluntary program is clearly one of the most successful green programs to have ever launched in our industry. I interviewed Ryan Dillon, Responsible Travel Specialist at TripAdvisor and manager of GreenLeaders, for a Green Lodging News article that was posted...

At the top of a Marriott website dedicated to lesbian and gay travel, a Marriott statement reads as follows: “At Marriott, there is no room for inequality. We believe that every guest, whoever they are, wherever they go, should feel comfortable and welcome the moment they walk through our doors.” Marriott is just one example of many companies in our industry that have made sure that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community is welcome in its hotels. Of course it makes sense—legally, ethically, economically, etc.—to welcome all people just as much as any other without discriminating based...